newbie install problem with CD-ROM mount

[Dave Topham]

I am totally new to linux and debian. I tried to install from CD-ROM but it (a Hi-Val (MITSUMI) FX400) wasn't recognized. Following the installation instructions I tried the second choice of booting in DOS/Win first and copying installation files to the C: partition. This works OK, but still, when I get to the part about mounting the CD-ROM it fails with no indication of why. How can I trouble-shoot this? Is there a way to shell out of the installation menus to try a manual mount? or where do I look to see why the CD-ROM fails to mount? I believe the driver was installed when I was prompted for that in a previous step, but can I check somewhere that it actually was? Is it possible that this CD_ROM is not supported by LINUX? What info should I post to this list so someone can undertand exactly where my problem lies? (I know you can't guess at it from my limited descriptions here).  Thanks very much for your time, Dave