"Naples" says CD-ROM drives are $15 ... That's about what I expected, but none of the local big-box stores* sell them any more. The nearest they come is CD/DVD readers in the $50+ range. CD-RW comes cheaper than that. I hadn't contemplated repair, I just wanted to verify that there wasn't a simple fix like reloading a driver.
My searching did turn up nice Microsoft optical mice for under $10.
There's a computer show next weekend. I expect I can find a drive at "my price" there.
Thanks to everyone.
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*Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, Office Depot. The Asian hole-in-the-wall computer stores have largely vanished around here.