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Question for computer peeps

2K views 38 replies 9 participants last post by  MudGrl 
#1 ·
So my laptop won't read DVD's. It will read CD's and will burn them, but it quit reading DVD's. The read light stays lit even when the drive isn't spinning. I have the latest firmware and driver installed. I tried uninstalled the drive and reinstalling it, but it still won't work. When I open a DVD with Powerlink, I get an error "A disc with an unsupported format in drive D:." And that is it. Anybody have any ideas? :(
 
#3 ·
There are TWO lazers in your combo cd/dvd drive.

The CD Lazer is fine, the dvd one sounds like it is dead.

it's a common problem.

Best fix is to get an external DVD drive, that connects by USB port.

to replace the lappy drive is well over 100 bucks.

I wish it was better news.

P.S. ( I have one just like it)
 
#13 ·
You should throw your lap top away. I'll take it for you.:naughty:

It shouldn't be copyright issues. It will play burned dvd but not standard. Try the same DVD in a standard DVD player first to make sure it isn't a DVD issue. If the DVD works in another player I would agree that it could be a codec issue.
 
#16 ·
LOL

OK. Good Luck.

But i have "been there and done that"

there are several good codec packs out there. just be sure not to copy one on top of the other, remove the last one before installing the next.

also done that too.

when you get tired of tail chaseing, try "Media player Clasic for playback, it even has 5.1 support where the newer Media players do not.
 
#25 ·
copy protection should not prevent you from viewing a dvd on the original medium. all the protection is there for is to stop the copying of the data from the disk which is another process unto itself. For simple viewing, any dvd program should work. It may need an updated codec for newer dvd's, but other than that it should work. Klite has a codec pack that will let you view dvd's through media player. Microsoft has crappy codec's anyway.

As for copying dvd's, I use DVDFab Decrypter Platinum. It's been able to copy everything except for a recent Sony release.
 
#28 ·
copy protection should not prevent you from viewing a dvd on the original medium. all the protection is there for is to stop the copying of the data from the disk which is another process unto itself. For simple viewing, any dvd program should work. It may need an updated codec for newer dvd's, but other than that it should work. Klite has a codec pack that will let you view dvd's through media player. Microsoft has crappy codec's anyway.

Thank you! I knew it was a codec issue. I reformatted my laptop earlier this year and I think that when I reformatted, I haven't been able to play DVD's. It is just weird that a licensed version of Cyberlink PowerDVD doesn't have the codec to play the DVD...but I think I need more of a software codec not one that comes with DVD playing software?
 
#27 ·
for playback of virtually anything media related (admit it's been a while since I was into this) I still use VideoLan/VLC. free, from the folks at sourceforge, and there's even a portable version that runs off of a thumbdrive.

that being said, recognizing it's a DVD in the first place is an issue I haven't had to deal with, other than the one time a non-county customer put a Data DVD into their CD-Rom Drive (dual drive desktop) and complained they couldn't access the information they had requested from me... (in other words, different issue altogether for the slow on this site) Wouldn't believe the number of e-mails, and phone calls back and forth on that stupid, simple issue...
 
#32 ·
The fact that you have some dvd's that aren't even recognized by the system leads to a more driver related issue than a codec. A codec is needed to actually play the video whereas any dvd recognized by the system can be browsed like a data disc. Since it does play some disks and not others I would look at the following:

motherboard bios update
dvd driver firmware update
motherboard chipset drivers
unsupported dvd format. stuff like dual layer discs and the drive not supporting dual layer discs. pressed/manufacturer dvd's shouldn't have an issue with the age of the dvd drive, but burned discs can as well as the burned discs type ( -R,+R,etc...)
 
#33 ·
I have the latest firmware and driver issues for the DVD drive. I checked with it yesterday.

I hooked up my external DVD burner to my laptop. My Computer recognizes that there's a DVD in the drive. Cyberlink PowerDVD doesn't recognize that there's a DVD in the drive, says unsupported format . Nero Showtime plays the DVD, however..
 
#35 ·
No, it's just regular movie DVD's. It will play DVD's that are "backed up" and it will read DVD's that have data on them (a backup). Just not regular DVD's. I will look again that the drive is correct with cyberlink here in a minute.
 
#36 ·
did you bychance play a foreign region dvd at some point? You can see what region the drive it set to in the device manager under the drives properties. If you've switched the region and its out of changes allowed, the drive is shot.
 
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