I know how to create an emergency start-up disk, but how do I create one that enables the CD-ROM drive to work?
Restart your computer in MS-DOS mode and confirm that the CD-ROM drive is accessible. Copy the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files from the boot drive to an existing bootable floppy disk. Note that these are not the same as the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys that may be present when running in Windows. Copy each file referenced in Autoexec.bat or Config.sys (such as Mscdex.exe), to the emergency disk. Edit each file reference in the floppy disk's Autoexec.bat or Config.sys to refer to the correct location of the file on the floppy disk. For example, you might have to change C:/windows/command/mscdex.exe to A:/mscdex.exe.
Now boot from your floppy disk to test. You should have access to the CD-ROM drive.