Member Avatar for explodinghead75

I hope this is the right place to post this thread. I just got a used Sony DVD player for my computer and it seems to read CD-ROMs fine but yesterday I tried to put a DVD in it and XP pops up a message asking me what I want to read the DVD with. Apparently XP can't read DVDs, cause that wasn't an option, so I chose Real Player and it gives me a message saying it can't read the DVD because my computer is missing software? I don't understand why this happens.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Short diagnosis and why it happened: DVD movies use the DVD‑Video format (a VIDEO_TS folder with .VOB/.IFO files) which contains MPEG‑2 video and specific audio formats. Windows XP on many systems doesn’t include an MPEG‑2 DVD decoder by default, so a plain player like RealPlayer (or a DivX codec) often won’t play commercial DVDs. That explains why saw CDs work but not DVDs, and why installing a DivX codec alone didn’t help. was right to point at codecs, and ’s K‑Lite install fixed the missing decoder in this case; ’s CyberLink suggestion is another common solution.

Quick, practical troubleshooting (in order):

  • Put the disc in and open My Computer / Explorer. If you see a VIDEO_TS folder, the disc is a DVD‑Video (good).
  • Check Device Manager to confirm the optical drive is recognized and has no error icons. Try another known-good DVD (movie or data) to rule out a scratched disc.
  • If the drive is fine but playback fails, uninstall any old codec packs, then either install one reputable codec pack or use an all-in-one player that bundles decoders (many users choose VLC or a commercial player like CyberLink/PowerDVD).
  • If playback still fails for some commercial movies, check region settings and try a different player—encryption/copy‑protection can block playback if the player lacks the right library.

Cautions and final tips: installing multiple codec packs can create conflicts; fully uninstall older packs before adding a new one and choose the “standard” install to avoid extras. If the drive won’t read any DVDs (but reads CDs), the drive may be a CD‑only unit or failing—test the disc in another PC and consider checking for a firmware update.

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Member Avatar for maui_mallard

Yeah... I think it has something to do with a certain player. Try downloading Cyberlink DVD. I use this and it works good. But this should allow you to play DVD's

Member Avatar for bobbyraw

you might be missing some codec and other decompresser for the video format. A good FREE program is DIVX. Also if you have all the correct DVD codec /decompresser you can use windows media player to play any DVD.

Member Avatar for maui_mallard

Codec! Thats the word I was looking for! Ha

Cyberlink DVD comes with that codec..just to let you know

Member Avatar for bobbyraw

You are welcome Mallard

Member Avatar for explodinghead75

Thanks! I think I'll try DIVX and see if that works.

Member Avatar for explodinghead75

I installed DIVX and it still doesn't work. When I put in the DVD real player is the only option I had to play it and that still doesn't work so I uninstalled real player now there is no option for playing the DVD; only opening files. When I ran DIVX there is no option to play the DVD there either.

Member Avatar for maui_mallard

Try my suggestion... Cyberlink DVD works great

Just try one of the free ones to see if it works

Member Avatar for explodinghead75

YAY! I tried k-lite codec and I can finally watch DVDs! Thanks Caperjack. Thanks for your suggestion as well Maui; I tried DIVX first because I had heard of it and I don't know why that didn't work, possibly because I had 2 codecs installed because when I installed K-lite it told me to unistall OGG codec? I don't know but at least it's working now. I could have had this working sooner but for some reason I didn't get notification emails. Anyway, thanks everyone.

Member Avatar for caperjack

good to hear you got it to work.

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