I just purchased a new HP laptop and didn't realize before I bought it that it does not have a CD drive. It says that I have the ability to get an external something-or-another but I'm wondering if there is an easier less costly way to deal with this. The things it's telling me to purchase is like $60-$110 and I'd rather not dish out that money.

Answer:
I found the CD drive external for 10 bucks
http://cgi.ebay.com/24X-USB-2-0-Super-Sl…
Answer:
What you just purchased is NOT a Laptop but a Netbook!

On top of not having a CD/DVD drive, there are other limits in the OS (Windows 7 Starter)

This edition of Windows does not include:

* Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the “Windows Basic” or other opaque themes. It also means you don’t get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.

* Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.

* The capability to switch between users without having to log off.

* Multi-monitor support.

* DVD playback.

* Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.

* Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home personal.

* Domain support for business customers.

* XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7.

If you can live with the limitations, use an USB thumbdrive instead of a external CD/DVD but otherwise, try to exchange it for a regular laptop.

Answer:
If all you intend to use the CD drive for is to load new software onto the laptop, then there’s a pretty simple solution as long as you’ve another computer with a CD drive on it. Just use a USB flash drive of at least 1 GB capacity and copy the contents of the CD into a folder on the flash drive. Then plug the flash drive into your new laptop and go to the folder and run the setup program that is included on pretty much any program CD. You may have to look into the Autorun folder to find it.
Answer:
Im assuming you got a netbook. Usually, netbooks with cd drives leave less space for more important parts, so an external cd drive would be a good choice. You dont need to purchase it for that much from HP. There's lots of cheaper deals. You can get a great drive on ebay for only like 15 bucks. Here's a link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Acer-Aspire-One-…

and don't worry, it works with all netbooks, not just acer.

Answer:
Return it