inspiron 8100 will not recognize cd/dvd drive!

i bought an inspiron 8100 2nd hand after my laptop crashed. it does not recognize the cd/dvd drive in bios. there is no os or hdd currently on the computer, and i'm unsure if that would affect the cd/dvd drive being recognized. i've been told it does and that it does not matter if there is an os and hdd, that the drive should be recognized either way. now, is there an easy way get the drive to be recognized, and if so, how do i do it? or if not, can i get a drive that will slide in the front where the floppy drive is in one of the drive bays? thanks!