possibly deleted cd-rom driver???

i am trying to fix my boyfriends computer but windows won't load..i get the msg

the following file is missing or corrupted: C:\CDROM\OAKCDROM\.SYS There is an error in your CONFIG>SYS file on line 17

Device driver not found: 'IDECD000'
NO valid CDROM device drivers selected

installed on mouseport
invalid directory
bad command or file name

he is running windows 98...he told me he has a bunch of viruses on the comp but i cant even load it to try and get rid of them and he doesnt have an anti-virus program installed so i have put one on...i tried to install one in safe mode but the cd-rom doesnt even recognize anything and it isnt listed on the C drive

i'm lost as what to do.....any help would be appreciated

 

also have no recue disc

he got the computer from a friend and there isnt any recuse disc or anything for the computer

 

If that's the actual line from config.sys (c:\cdrom\oakcdrom\.sys, then you need to get that \ out of the filename. If the filename is correctly formed, then I would verify that the file still exists. If it does exist, you might want to try replacing it with a good version (either from another Win98 machine, or from a bootdisk that includes the Oak universal CD driver).

If you have a virus problem on the machine, and it is having configuration problems, the easiest thing to do would be to reinstall the OS. It sounds, though, like you got the machine with no OS disc.