DVD drive won't play DVD's anymore?

[Tejanorey]

My wife has installed a few programs on her computer...don't know if its the reason why this drive doesn't work but it hasn't worked since. I uninstalled them..and it still didn't play dvd's..I uninstalled the Windows Media (default player she would like to use) and installed the new version and still didn't work..it asked me to get a DVD decoder...I got FFDSHOW (like on my other computer and it works like a charm) and now it gave me a new error..

I did a print screen, here is the link to that..

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/5972/untitled1oz.jpg

Its a matshita ujda750 driver that I need...Can't seem to find it or a solution to my problem anywhere...

Tejanorey

"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army."
- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings to keep the enemy from immediately fleeing

 

[firewolfrl]

uninstall the optical drives in Hardware manager then reboot and see if the DVD drive reinstalls itself correctly

 

[dglienna]

I had the same problem. InterActual Player (by Roxio) quit playing DVD's since I installed DivX, it seems. I finally got around to fixing it yesterday, by clicking on Help -> Suggest DVD Decoders. They had one that cost $11.95 (after the on-screen $3 discount). I installed it, and now it works.
They have more expensive versions that play digital surround sound, but this is for my laptop, so I'm happy again.

I got CinePlayereDVDpack, which is the cheapest that I've found. Now, I wonder if DivX works for playing DVD's?

-David
2006 Microsoft Valueable Professional (MVP)

 

[cdogg]

You need to have software that comes with MPEG-2 decoding capabilities (such as PowerDVD or WinDVD). FFDSHOW does not come with an MPEG-2 codec, hence the reason why Windows Media Player gives you the error.

Perhaps your wife or someone else accidently uninstalled a program with the codec that they didn't recognize trying to clean up Windows.

Did you have any software that came with the burner originally? Usually they come with one of the apps I mentioned. If not, you will need to reinstall an app that includes the missing MPEG-2 decoder.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[BadBigBen]

Follow CDOGG's advice, and install a DVD Player Software, such as PowerDVD or WinDVD...

alternatively you could install a CODEC Pack (

http://www.free-codecs.com),

which has said MPEG-2 Decoder and other codecs...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[Tejanorey]

But what I don't understand is when I built my own computer the only dvd player software it had was the one that came with WinXp which was Windows Media Player...and it plays dvd's fine, I don't know what happened to hers..

Tejanorey

"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army."
- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings to keep the enemy from immediately fleeing

 

[cdogg]

In your case, you must have unknowingly installed an MPEG-2 decoder, probably through a 3rd-party application. Once this is done, you can play DVD's either through Windos Media Player or through the app you installed. That's probably why you "thought" Windows Media Player had this capability.

Here's an official Microsoft link that lists some popular DVD codec plug-ins (not free of course):

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/getmore/plugins.aspx#DVDDecoder

Here's another one that plainly shows that MPEG-2 decoding is not a built-in function for WMP:

https://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/errors.aspx#80010105_0x00000000

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[BadBigBen]

@Tejanorey - did you install any Software accompanying the DVD or CD Burner? like NERO ie...

As NERO Vision Express does have a MPEG2 DECODER/ENCODER (for creating Video CD's and DVD's) built in...

just for your info...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[Tejanorey]

I installed and tried these which I beleived had Mpeg-2 capability..

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Winamp.htm

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Stinky_MPEG_2_Codec.htm

and they didn't work...

I did uninstall the driver and had WinXp reinstall the driver and now it just tells me flat out on the error message that I need a new DVD decoder....surely there must be a free one that will work...

Tejanorey

"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army."
- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings to keep the enemy from immediately fleeing

 

[cdogg]

As mentioned before, FFDShow is not for DVD playback. It can be used to playback SVCD (Super Video CD's that use the MPEG-2 codec), but is not intended for DVD. Winamp is mainly an audio player and is not for MPEG-2 playback. If you read the comments section for Stinky's MPEG-2 codec, there are plenty of cases where it did not work. This is often the case with "free" solutions.

I understand your frustration, I really do. However, this forum and site is not intended for home user support or to help you save $20-$30 on what WILL work.

I suggest you dig up the software that came with your DVD drive and use that. Otherwise, purchase WinDVD or PowerDVD.



~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[dglienna]

Surely $15 (or less) won't kill you! I posted that I used CinePlayereDVDpack and it is working great!. Even plays disks that my SONY RECORDER won't play the last tracks of. I suspect that the disk has scratches in it. It is a music DVD.

-David
2006 Microsoft Valueable Professional (MVP)

 

[Tejanorey]

No...the money would not kill me...but I found the solution and didn't have to install anything..

I downloaded this program and just placed it on the desktop..

http://www.freewr.com/freeware.php?download=lalim-dvd-player&lid=1062

And somehow...Windows Media's Player can now play DVD's...if I where to delete that file or program then it no longer works...don't know how this is accomplished the fact that it works but it now works...

and yes...free

Tejanorey

"Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army."
- Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings to keep the enemy from immediately fleeing

 

[cdogg]

Tejanorey,
Good for you that you found a free solution. I knew there were some out there, and that you would eventually stumble across one that works. I was just making the clarification earlier that such requests are usually considered "self-service" if you know what I mean!


As for that program fixing your problem, are you sure the DVD window doesn't look like this:

http://www.geocities.com/lalimdvdplayer/index.html

It seems that the Executable file makes changes to the registry, and probably installs the codec that allows Windows Media Player to work with DVD's. I'm not sure, however, why Windows Media Player would stop working if you delete this file. Deleting the file shouldn't uninstall the codec, unless this EXE has the codec built-in.

Oh well, at least you found a work around!

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884