Sorry I couldn't be more help Chris. At least when the guys who do know how to fix it come along, they've eliminated 2 issues!?!?! You say as far as you know there are no driver issues. Has she gone into device manager & Checked? (Start >> Control Panel >> System >> Hardware >> Device Manager.) Look for yellow warning signs. Driver issues don't always jump out at you, seem to wait until you need them... If that doesn't help then I'm pretty much out of ideas. Is nothing happening at all, or is it telling you cd/dvd drive not found. If you type the words ' cd/dvd drive not working' into google it comes up with all sorts. Have a poke around there, will probably find a page relating to your problem. Google & Webuser, between them, you'll get there!!!
Good Luck Mate, Mugsy