The cd-rom should have been set-up during install. From a command line, try...
mount /mnt/cdrom
If it doesn't give you an error, you're golden, and can then see what's on the drive with...
ls /mnt/cdrom
...or going to the /mnt/cdrom directory in your filemanager-of-choice.
If it works, you can create an icon on your desktop to mount the drive. Right-click the desktop and choose something like "create new drive"... I'm an work and can't check. Then, point it to the /mnt/cdrom.
If it doesn't mount, try as root. If that works, you'll need to edit your /etc/fstab to allow users to mount/unmount the drive. Find the line that points to /mnt/cdrom and add "users" without the quotes to the options at the right side.
If it doesn't work, you'll need to work on it some more. It will be pretty much the same as the USB thumb-drive, which I'll now explain...
Any command in red will need to be run as root. You'll need to create a mount point...
mkdir /mnt/usb
chmod 0777 /mnt/usb
Try mounting the long way...
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
If it doesn't work, then try looking in your /proc/bus/usb/devices file for a listing... Specifically, what /dev/ it is. I think that should be the right file... Again, I don't have access to a Linux box. Try whatever /dev/ it says in the mount command above.
If that works, then you can add a line to your /etc/fstab to allow normal user accounts to mount/unmount it...
Code:
/dev/sda1 /mnt/usb vfat noauto,users,rw,umask=0000 0 0
Be sure to use the correct /dev/ and /mnt/ entries to get it to work. Then, any user should be able to mount with...
mount /mnt/usb
...and unmount with...
umount /mnt/usb
...notice there is no N betwixt the U and the M.
You should also then be able to create an icon on the desktop for the USB drive, too. Just click that to mount and open the filemanger, and right-click / unmount to unmount it.
