Powerbook G4 CD/DVD Drive problems

I have just acquired a second hand G4 powerbook. It's not in the best of conditions but it works fine. That is until you place a DVD in the drive. It don't seem read DVD-ROM despite the fact it's a DVD-ROM drive.
Can anyone suggest what it could be or am I looking at replacing the drive?
I have also noticed that when I boot the Computer, A MAC Finder logo appears on the screen, with what can only be described as a folder that has a question mark on it. This comes up for about 16 seconds before it boots into the OS.
Can anyone tell me what that means? Is that linked to the drive problems?
Many Thanks
KM

Maybe you're booting into OS 9.
Check out:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106389
Joe

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