New Dell labtop, can't play DVD
 

Hi all

I just bought a new Dell labtop, with winxp on it,

it has a DVD rom, but no DVD software with it(how strange), gave me the Roxie package,

anyway, I tried playing DVD using PowerDVD and Windvd, both programs will crash once on the 5 second mark of the DVD

tried both pirated dvd and original title DVD, nothing


please advice

it reads the DVD in windows explorer so I think the hardware's fine

up

I may be off the mark here....so excuse me if I am...I rarely watch dvd's on my pc...BUT dont you have to set a region code in the player software? Im thinking I had to do something like that when I was playing with it when I first got mine

yeah, but I tried it with DVD bought locally

and how do I set the thing?

it was working fine on my desktop

That Im not sure about, I would guess there is somekind of setting option, I have since had to reformat my harddrive on my laptop and since I dont use it for dvd viewing I never loaded the program back. The help files for the Roxie program you mentioned should probably tell you.

well, I found the setting and Set it to Region 1 for Canada (it wasn't set),

but still have the same problems, damn

hmmm...That was my only idea....Im sorry it didnt work

Will your computer play regular cdroms/cd-r's? If so, it is more likely you are having a small software issue. You might try looking on Dell's website (support.dell.com) and enter your service tag for specific downloads to your computer. They should have downloadable software for your DVD player. If all else fails, call Dell, tell them whats going on and I'm sure they would be more than happy to get you fixed up. Remember, just because the hardware is new doesn't mean there can't be something wrong with it, because UPS/FedEx don't care about what happens to the package, just that it gets to it's destination on time.

great point

what's a service tag?

it does sound like simply a software problem,

tried using windvd and powerdvd, very popular choices, no go,

tried reading the Dvd disc, reads fine,

rebooted and it plays vcd and other media,

it just doesn't play dvd media, it reads dvd data

A service tag is a small number that is listed on your computer somewhere. All Dells made in the past few years at least come with a sticker that has a barcode and the service tag on it. You can simply go to the Dell website and enter that code and it will give you the exact support and files you need for your specific machine. I second the notion that it's most likely software, but I wouldn't rule out hardware. Go check out the Dell support site. If you can't get it worked out, write or call Dell support, and they can help you out. It is, after all, their job.

I wonder if the standard package comes with a dvd software,

this is a company-issued, and the techs at the company is too lazy to help me