If my previous post allows you to access programs, then it's your CD/DVD drive that's problematic.

Try this: click the pebble, then select Control Panel on the dark side of the menu (white on black text). When it opens up, make sure it shows the Vista version of the CP; it should show a large dot next to "Control Panel Home" rather than "Classic View". Click "Play CD's or other media automatically", and then make sure the little checkbox at the top that reads "Use Autoplay for all media and devices" is checked.

Waaaay at the bottom is a little button called "Reset all defaults". Click that first, CLICK "SAVE" AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT, then reboot. Does it work? Great. Otherwise, go through the "drop-down" menus and select something that makes sense. In my personal case, I used iTunes for audio CD's and something called WinDVD for movies; for software and games, I have "Install or run program". MAKE SURE TO CLICK "SAVE" ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE CP or else it was all for naught.

If all that doesn't work, go back to the CP and select "Classic View" on the upper left. Find the "Sound" icon and activate it (if the name shows an underline when you hover the mouse over it, click it once, else double-click it). Click the "Playback" tab and in the area where you see devices, right-click in the white area underneath and select "Show disabled devices". If anything suddenly appears, select it, and then click "Enable". Click "Apply" and "OK".

If this doesn't work, come back here and I'll see what I can do.