Install debian linux: no driver for CD/DVD

[anw]

Just yesterday (sort of out of the blue) I was given a new machine on which to install Debian Linux. I used the single CD technique I've use for years, make a single iso image, boot it, then proceed with the rest of the installation from the internet.

The problem is that after the initial boot, I got a message that said it didn't have a driver for the CD reader. It is a CD/DVD reader/writer, and I think it's a SATA interface (I'm not with it right now; I'm going back over to where it is this afternoon). Assuming I can find a driver for this device, how do I either a) get the driver on the Debian installation CD, or b) get the initial install to read it from a second CD?

I assume the initial boot that got me this far is from something in the PC's ROM, and linux has to have its own driver, but it was a bit of a surprise to have it boot, then tell me it needed a driver to read the CD!

TIA
anw