CD or DVD drive doesn't see data disc in windows xp home sp2

Just my idea. But, if this is a recent occurrence and the problem hasn't happened previously, your drive just may be worn out and need to be replaced. I have a couple of old cd drives in my computer that won't read the information unless I keep inserting the disks in them and keep trying to get them to work.

It would help to know more details about this. Like, is it a new drive or an old one, etc.

You can also try and clean the drive by using a cd cleaner and physical cleaning the drive by dusting. If you clean your drive with a cd cleaner and it doesn't pick the disc's then you should use Clough's recommendation!