No cd/dvd drive in BIOS after upgrade 32XP to 64 Seven

My first post! It seems like there are several versions of this problem out there, here is mine:

I just did a clean install of 7 Ultimate 64 bit using an upgrade disk on my Dell Inspiron 1545. I had been running XP 32 bit service pack 3. Everything is working fine, except my cd/dvd burner does not appear in devices in the 7 interface, and neither does it appear in BIOS. I may have made a mistake by not using windows easytransfer--I selected the files I wanted to bring over manually with a flash drive. It have power and will open and close fine, if a little slowly but it might be my imagination.

Can anybody help me with my next move? Do I need to go buy an external?

Try this (1):
Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs
Your CD or DVD drive can't read or write media
The CD drive or the DVD drive does not work as expected on a computer that you upgraded to Windows Vista

Try this(2):
1) Shut down PC.
2) Physically disconnect the CD/DVD Drive.
3) Reboot to Windows with NO DVD drive.
4) Shut down PC.
5) Physically reconnect the CD/DVD Drive.
6) Reboot to Windows with DVD drive.
7) Check Device status.

Thanks for the quick reply!

I've already tried the fix tools, and they don't work.
I preformed the steps you described, and there is not change.

If its not detected in the BIOS windows will never see it or be able to use it. If its not detected in the BIOS its either defective or there is a broken or loose cable. Check the power and data cables to that drive. If you have a spare data cable try swapping that in. If it still won't work you could try testing the drive in another PC.

EDIT: Incorrect BIOS settings could also cause it not to be detected

You could try resetting the CMOS memory (BIOS) but that is a major hassle according to the Dell manual
Documentation

Remove the CR2032 CMOS backup battery for at least 10 minutes, reinstall observing battery polarity. Put the PC back together and try.

Changing or installing an Operating System has no affect on the BIOS or devices that are detected by the BIOS.

However, a device may not be detected by Windows if the motherboard chipset drivers were not installed. We see this a lot on the Dell forum. Dell driver downloads (including Intel GM45 chipset drivers) Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

Can't update firmware because driver is not found. In BIOS settings, is it safe to mess around and try different combos out? I have not changed any since the update. Anybody have any guesses?

Check the BIOS (F2 to enter Setup at POST), most have an option to reset them to the default settings. But, I'm still not clear why the BIOS is not detecting the drive. There is no reason, other than a hardware failure, for the BIOS to not detect it. As I previously noted, what you do with Windows or install has no affect on the BIOS.

Remember when flashing a BIOS update

The process probably cleared your setting back to defaults.
What would cause your problem is a SATA adapter thus being disabled, or reset to a mode where your DVD-RW is not going to be compatible (or found).