Looks like you have a case of Dead-driveitis. For a quick check-make sure that the cables are fully attached to the drive. If so and you are using Verbatim or similar media I will guess that your CDRW drive has taken a powder and needs replaced.
The only other thing would be-have you recently loaded new software or had some sort of issue with the computer itself. Power supplies can and do fail too. Have you taken the covers off and blown out the dust? This is simple and should be done every few months to keep the internals cool. Fans are famous for holding dust, btw.
If all else fails a new CD/DVD burner will set you back about $60. This assumes that your machine can have one put in. Personally, I use Sony drives, but there are other good choices out there.