Laptop DVD problems - help!

Im trying to get a DVD to play on my laptop however, i've noticed that its not picking up the presence of a DVD in there. It works fine with CDs but DVDs wont work. Checking the region, its set on region 1 but when I try change it to R2, it wont let me. Theres 4 changes left, theres an R2 disc in the drive and I am the administrator. Anyone else had such a problem? Its bugging me!

Are you sure it's a DVD drive? Bit sucky egg, but if it don't say DVD on the front it may not be.

Are these commercial DVDs or home burnt? I know my old Tecra doesn't always recognise DVD+Rs.

DVD Show up in File manager?

RegionKiller or something similar might be your friend....

Can't remember the name of the thing I use which is totally useless.



The fact I can't remember, not the thing I use obviously.

Might be an idea to upgrade the firmware. Mine wouldn't entertain discs but once i upgraded it, there were no problems at all.

Yeah its a proper DVD, no copy or anything like that. Im trying to update the driver but there doesnt appear to be any newer version.

Originally Posted by robchester

Yeah its a proper DVD, no copy or anything like that. Im trying to update the driver but there doesnt appear to be any newer version.

It's not necessarily the driver you're after. Go to the manufacturers site and look for a firmware upgrade. You'll find your current version number in the device manager.

Old laptop? They burn out so quickly I'm afraid. Try updating the firmware as suggested, and try reading other DVDs. It may just be buggered

Originally Posted by Woz

It's not necessarily the driver you're after. Go to the manufacturers site and look for a firmware upgrade. You'll find your current version number in the device manager.

The man is spot on.

I've seen issues in the past where the firmware somehow gets corrupt, and as a result, the opto sensor doesn't "fire up," effectively meaning that it assumes no CD/DVD present.

Updating the firmware, even if the current version is the latest is usually the best fix for the issue.

Cant even find the firmware. Have tried the Samsung site and its not on there.