my DVD-RAM drive which has served me really well for like 2 years now, i suspect is finally dying. :(

Symptoms:

1. Won't boot CD's inserted to it (in Windows or at Startup for installations)

2. Doesn't seem to recognize a disk is inserted, i cant hear the drive spinning up.

im pretty sure this is the last of it, but i just want to be sure, a DVD-RAM drive is a good drive, what do you think?

If there is a Floppy Disk Drive in the machine...
Make a FREE Smart Boot Manager [SBM] bootable floppy (http://paulski.com/zpages.php?id=1612), boot that [the FDD must be 1st in the BIOS's boot menu], and if the program can see the optical drive [has it listed in the menu]...
Use the up/down keys on the keyboard to highlight the appropriate optical drive, then...
Put an bootable optical disk in that drive, close the drawer, wait a few seconds while the drive tries to read the disk [you should see the LED blinking]...
Then hit "Enter", and the disk should boot.
If that attempt is unsuccessful [red warning displayed]...
Hit "Enter" to OK/close the warning, then...
Back at the list of bootable drives...wait some more seconds 'till you think the drive may have succeeded in reading the disk, and hit "Enter" again.

If a disk (especially a retail pressed CDROM) wont spin-up in windows the drive must be considered faulty, have bad cable or connections or, at best, be full of dirt.