Software/Uploads allowing DVDs to play on a PC (vanity)

12/06/2011

[Outlaw Woman]

Didn’t find a list of files

Here’s what I’ve done so far since last nite:
Downloaded VL
Just downloaded the decoder TChris provided and working on updating the windows media player as well.

When I typed in explorer d: in the run box it came back and said to insert a disk which there is already one in the drive. *sigh* Guess I will hit it again tomorrow. I really hope that I can get this to work. It will be wonderful to be able to ‘watch’ dvds after going without tv for so long.

Thanks 1,000,000 for your help TChad!

[TChad]

When I typed in explorer d: in the run box it came back and said to insert a disk which there is already one in the drive.

That's not a good sign. Probably a bad DVD or a bad drive.

There might be lint or dust inside the drive that is blocking the lens. If you have canned compressed air, you can use that to try to blow out the inside of the drive after you have opened the drive tray. If you don't have canned air, you can just use lung power, but there is some risk of depositing spit on the lens.

Let's see if you have better luck with different DVDs.

[Outlaw Woman]

TChad...I do have a can of compressed air and will do what you have suggested. I haven’t had time to do anything at all today though. I hope you don’t mind if I continue to keep contacting you when I am able to work on it. Let me know if that’ll be a problem.

[TChad]

Let me know if that’ll be a problem.

I should be around. Just reply here or Freepmail me.

[Arthur McGowan]

Set “AutoRun” to play a DVD when you insert a DVD.

[Outlaw Woman]

I’ll try that. Thank you

[mrsmith]

Forget the DVDs.
Every movie or TV show (new or old) you want to watch is on the internet- free.

Download them and then watch them with VLC- I’ve been doing that for years.

[Outlaw Woman]

Well...I would except I’m on dial up.

[mrsmith]

Go to http://www.dslreports.com/search and type in your zip code.
Most places are under $30 now.

I assume you’ve gotten a cheap antenna and have the free high definition channels to watch.

You could find a used DVD player (Craig’s List or yard sale)and run a thread here for help installing it in your computer. It’s a pretty simple job

[mrsmith]

THe best place to get a used internal DVD player would be a computer repair shop. $20 or less.
Good luck.

[Outlaw Woman]

TChad I hope you’re around this evening. Just wanted to let you know where I am on this puzzle.

To recap:
I’ve downloaded VLC
I’ve also updated Windows player per TChris’ instruction

Now...I have another DVD that I know is good. When I put it into the drive (D) it never launches.

The drive, (D), works fine when a CD is loaded. It even labels it in ‘My Computer’ as CD. When I load a DVD, it shows it as DVD and yet, I cannot get it to ‘play’. I’ve blown it out with compressed air as suggested.

The drive reads CDs perfectly and you can ‘hear’ the CD ‘running’ when it is inserted. But when I insert the DVD there is absolutely no movement in the drive.

Why would it read CDs and launch but when putting a DVD nothing at all happens?

I greatly appreciate your time TChad and hope I’m not intruding on your evening but sure would like to know what you think.

TIA

[Musket]

You’ve never actually tried this, have you?

The thread is kinda old now but, yeah, I've done it many times. I watched the movie Contact and some other one, and many instructional DVDs from Homespun. It was on XP and it happened exactly as I stated, put in DVD, it launched Windows Media Player and I watched it. Now I understand that sometimes things get munged up and in that case as everyone else in this thread says - get VLC Player. Cheers!

[TChad]

I wondered how you were getting along.

If Windows Media Player did not play the DVD automatically, try again to play it with VLC Media Player.

So, once again: Start the VLC Media Player program, click Media > Open Disc, select DVD and click Play.

If that fails, try this again:

Click Start > Run > (you type in the Run box) explorer d: > you hit enter. Do you get a file listing, or do you get the same "Please insert a disk" message?

There are separate lasers inside your DVD player for reading CDs and DVDs. Just because you can read a CD does not mean that you can read a DVD.

[TChad]

Click Start > Run > (you type in the Run box) explorer d: > you hit enter.

Of course you should have the DVD disk inside the drive when you try this.

[Arthur McGowan]

I have Vista (ugh) and WMP has never played a DVD for me.

[Outlaw Woman]

Well..apparently it’s not going to work TChad. Compressed air used 2 times; downloaded programs to decode DVDs etc etc. Nothing is working. It never launches. I typed explorer d: still nothing.

Thanks for taking the time to try to help me figure out the problem.

(damn) lol

[TChad]

Nothing is working.

That's what I expected. Six year old DVD drives are just not reliable.

If you are up for replacing the drive yourself, it will probably require only a Philips head screwdriver, and maybe not even that.

This is not a bad instructional video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qh6av2UviA

The guy in the video is replacing a drive connected with an IDE cable, which is what your computer has.

This drive would probably work in your computer. Don't get a SATA (Serial ATA) drive.

Or you can just get a USB drive that requires no installation, you just plug it into one or two USB ports.

So, do you want to try to replace the drive?

[Outlaw Woman]

Hey thank you very much for the information. I appreciate it. At this point I’m leaning toward the stand alone player because my HD is pretty old and will no doubt be replacing it within a few months.

Now I have a question; the ‘stand alone DVD player’...will that work with a TV as well?
And...when I get it, do I have to download anything to make it work with my HD?

I’m very disappointed as for awhile there I thought I would be able to watch movies and other DVDs soon. Now it’s turned into a bigger ‘project’... *sigh* lol

Thx TChad!

[TChad]

Now I have a question; the ‘stand alone DVD player’...will that work with a TV as well?

There are standalone DVD players that output to computers, and standalone DVD players that output directly to televisions.

Here is an example of a standalone DVD player that outputs directly to a television. It is not designed to work with a computer. Before buying something like this you should make sure that it has the outputs needed to connect with your specific type of television. The days when you could connect all your TV-related components with coaxial cable are gone. You have to verify that your new equipment will be compatible with your existing equipment.

The USB DVD burner I linked above will not drive a television by itself, and while it is possible to configure your computer to to permit it to output to a television, in my experience that will probably work poorly. You should use such a drive to watch DVDs on your computer, not on your television.

I suppose I should mention that if you are buying new equipment you may want to purchase a Blu-ray player in addition to or maybe even instead of a DVD player.

Good luck. These things tend to get more complicated than it seems they should.

[Outlaw Woman]

Very good. Well I’ll be getting the ‘Polaroid’ on the New Egg page you linked. It’s 19.99. Reviews are good; except most said it was fragile/cheaply constructed but other than that.

Thanks again for the info.!