What do i do when external optical drive doesn't show up in finder? how can i import software, music, etc. when the drive isn't recognized/mounted/whatever?

the internal optical drive on my early 2006 20"imac has mechanical problems ejecting discs. i've gone thru all the recommended steps to eject discs, and have luckily been able to eject the last 3 discs but only after spending 30-60 minutes going thru all of the steps over and over, and today just trying "eject disc" in itunes since i had itunes open. i don't want to put another disc in - the drive clearly has problems with the mechanical eject mechanism, and from what i've read that's not unique to my computer.
i bought an external optical drive: lite on, clamshell design to avoid problems with the eject mechanism; i contacted the mfr who said it's mac compatible.
the drive plays dvds, which is all i've tried so far, but doesn't show up in finder. so i don't know how to use it to load software, or music, or anything besides watch dvds.
is there something i can do to get the drive recognized/mounted/whatever? i would prefer to not spend the $220 which was quoted to me by an authorized mac repair company, even tho i think that's probably a reasonable cost given the delicacy of the operation as shown on ifixit.com.
thanks!

I have an external LaCie burner and it will not show up on my Mac unless I insert a CD or DVD - in that case, the media will show up (I have these settings in the Pref Pane):
If you want to burn files or music to blank media, you can use Finder or Disk Utility for files, but should use an iTunes playlist/iTunes for music and a movie burn app for videos/movies (such as iDVD, Roxio Toast, Burn, etc).
If you simply want to drag files over as a backup, an external hard drive is a much better solution than a burner.

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What do i do when external optical drive doesn't show up in finder? how can i import software, music, etc. when the drive isn't recognized/mounted/whatever?

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