DVD wont play

[jbadger]

I recently got a new laptop. DVD played fine first time. Since then i have only updated XP with SP2 and now it failed to work. I can use any disk (data, audio, vcd) and it will work, but if i place a DVD in the drive it fails to recognise a disk is even there, after 5 minutes of spinning it and trying to read it.

Certain DVD's it will acknowledge do exist momentarily (mainly just Lord of the Rings) but it still doesn't actually play the film as Power DVD or Acer Aspire Cinema just hangs trying to play it.

I tried to return the system to its original state using the system restore disks, but that failed to improve things.

I'm not even sure if this is hardware, software or stupidity, but i can't figure out what is wrong. I have heard that sometimes SP2 can cause problems with DVD's but not exactly like this and also i have returned to its original state as above using the system restore disk. DVD drive is a QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242B running on XP home. As far as i know no driver updates are available.

The dvd that i initially watched no longer works at all.

[hkluis]

I have a similar problem with my Averatec which uses the same drive as yours. It ran fine until sometime and among the things I did was to upgrade to XP SP2 as well as BIOS. Now it won't recognize DVD disks. Since the CD still works it doesn't sound like a hardware problem. I called Averatec and they wanted me to use the Restore disk but I hesistated because it's a hassle to back up my while drive.

[utah3m]

Averatec support has not responded to email. Phone support acts as if they are unaware of a problem.

[hkluis]

Well Averatec did respond to my email, but told me to call instead about my problem. I had previously called and after a very long hold the tech finally answered, but told me to use the restore disk.

jbadger: is your laptop Averatec also?

[utah3m]

Machine is Averatec 3200 (3225HS-20)

I called before I wrote and was told Averatec did not recommend SP2. However the Averatec web site indicates otherwise.

BTW, DVD's play just fine via USB drive -- only with the Power DVD software. So, the "solution" is just buy and carry an external drive and power supply. ;-)

When using the external drive, windows media player says wrong region is set. Something like you must use Region 1 and your system is set to Region 1. Please change the region.

Had planned on getting one for daughter who is leaving for college in a week, but now will need to look around....

[hkluis]

Mine was a 3225HS20 also! Well it's good to know that I'm not alone. I bought it for a college kid as well, and was extremely impressed by its light packaging and price. I was thinking of moving up a model for myself, but now I have to think twice.

I have since then tried downgrading the BIOS, and also installing Neros 6 which has a DVD player. None recovered the DVD function. Since it works with CD, this couldn't be a machanical problem. There must be some firmware or configuration that got corrupted.

Is yours still under warranty? If so you could try returning it and see whether they will fix it by replacing the drive vs software. Mine is under warranty but it's a hassle to arrange because my kid has it in college already. Good luck.

[DeadKenny]

I have the same problem with an Acer Aspire 1362 WLMi laptop I've just bought.

The DVD drive just won't recognise DVDs (DVD Video, ROM, R or RWs). Works fine with CDs. The drive just spins for a bit and then stops and Windows doesn't even react to it.

It's a DVD Dual driver (+/- R/RW support), model TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L532A.

The system came with XP Home and SP2 pre-installed. It does have Acer's Arcade software (which is by Cyberlink who make PowerDVD).

I've heard talk of issues with PowerDVD, however the PC seems to not recognise DVDs even on boot up. I've tried to find driver updates, a new BIOS, and firmware fixes but this thing seems to have all the latest stuff.

The retailer (ebuyer in the UK) is hopeless as they have no phone support any more and only use an electronic note system which takes at least 7 days to respond to.

I could RMA it to the retailer, but if it's something that fixed by a patch it would be a waste of money and time. I've tried contacting Acer support using their online support forms but they haven't replied yet. It's difficult to get them on the phone but I keep trying, so maybe I'll get through.

I can't believe this is a genuine fault seeing as it's only DVDs and I've read the same problem with various Acers and other brands on a number of sites (but no one has an answer).

Still, it's goods that don't work so really it should just go back, but it's hassle.

[jbadger]

Well i am not sure what the actual problem is, but it was solved quite easily for us (i was enquiring on behalf of a friend). we just called Acer (to which we didnt have trouble getting through), they wil get it collected, and returned at no cost- not only that but it was speedy serivce also.

However after returning my friend found that a SIMILAR (not exactly same) problem occured after a while. This time it would play- but only sound. We found it was due to a game (Sims) that had been installed just before the problem occured was activating the TV-out port and could not turn it off while it was installed. The DVD wont play to prevent copyng of it via the TV out port. So ninstalled (as she didn't want it anyway) and the problem was solved.

So to those with a new(ish) Acer give them a call. For the rest just see if osmething is activating the TV-out port, couldn't even tell that this game was activating it as i didn't use the port anyway!

[komyt]

Hello all,

I'm a frustrated Averatec 3200 laptop owner, and I joined another forum to get some help with this problem. I"ll paste the responses below for your review, and maybe I'll pass on your dialogue to them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cannot play purchased/rented DVDs on DVD drive, Get error - unsupported disc format.
Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic
aileenw Posted: Oct 12 2004, 05:31 PM


Jr. Member - Buy DVDXCopy Platinum


Group: Member
Posts: 1
Member No.: 9129
Joined: 12-October 04



Hi,

I have a dell PC at home that comes with a DVD/CD-ROM drive (NEC NR-7900A). I can play any kind of VDCs or burned DVDs on it with no problem. However, if I try to play a purchased or rented DVD using PowerDVD (ver 5), I get error message: "The disc in drive D has an unsupported format." (I also tried to play DVDs using the latest version of WinDVD, but then I get this error msg: "No disc in drive D:") When I try to click on D: drive via Win Explore to see it's contents, I get error: " No disc in drive d:. Please insert a disc."

Again, this problem only happens with purchased/rented DVDs. Any other DVD/VCD/CD are okay.

I'm running Windows XP on my PC.

Any suggestions on what I can I do to resolve this issue?

Many thanks,
Aileen



komyt Posted: Jan 23 2005, 02:26 PM


Member - Buy DVDXCopy XPress


Group: Member
Posts: 2
Member No.: 9742
Joined: 23-January 05



Hi Aileen,

Too bad that nobody got back to you. It's a darn annoying problem, and I hope we get some help. Let me add my story in case some additional details help the experts. I bought an Averatec 3200 series laptop with CDburner/DVDplayer 6 months ago and Cyberlink/PowerDVD played a PURCHASED Terminator 3 just fine. Since then, I've added a lot of different media players to my machine, and I tried playing some RENTED DVDs just last week. Only the features discs worked, the actual movie disc itself didn't even show up in the DVD drive. Aileen - I'm curious, have you added any media players to your machine since you bought it? Everybody else - please try to help us out here.

Thanks,
Kareem

thejake420 Posted: Jan 31 2005, 03:14 AM


The video expert...


Group: Admin
Posts: 1258
Member No.: 1
Joined: 1-November 02



Unfortunately, this is a problem caused by a system error. It has nothing to do with the DVD-playing software (Power DVD, etc.), but rather a screwup with your hardware drivers.

I recommend that you visit your drive manufacturer's website, or possibly http://www.drivers.com (there are two sites, one for computer drivers, and one for car stuff... just click the computer one to get to the proper page...)

If all else fails, you might need to repair (not replace) your current Windows installation, as it should automatically recognize nearly all modern drives. This is, of course, a last resort.


Jake


--------------------

Webmaster
DVDHelp.us
TackyTeeShirts.com

Want funny shirts?

Then head over to TackyTeeShirts.com for funny shirts, girlie t's, rude t shirts, racial shirts, political tees, slutty shirts, original shirts, and humorous shirts.



komyt Posted: Jan 31 2005, 03:16 PM


Member - Buy DVDXCopy XPress


Group: Member
Posts: 2
Member No.: 9742
Joined: 23-January 05



Thanks, Jake.

I'm embarrassed to say that I'm a bit of a tech newbie, and I don't know how to figure out who makes the drives in my Averatec. (For the record, Averatec said the first thing they would do is to do a system recovery) Any tips would be much appreciated.

Also, I wouldn't know which drivers to get on drivers.com so any help there would be great.

Lastly: how would I repair, but not replace, my Windows installations?

Thanks for getting back to us, and thanks in advance for answers to the above.

Best Regards,
Kareem

[WBCS-Neo]

Hi peeps,

New to the forum on hte search the answer to my similar problem, yet still haven't found what I need...

I have a Liteon LDW-851S, with latest firmware etc.

Now, for some reason, whenever I try to load *any* DVD into PowerDVD (any version) it seems that the drive simply doesn't want to play the DVD, Now I thought it was a hardware problem but Windows Mediaplayer doesn't have a problem playing from DVD Drive, however, ripping the DVD to an ISO and mounting it as a virtual DVD, PowerDVD plays it no problem! All other features of the DVD drive are normal.

Here's some system spec to throw any possible light...

Athlon64 3500+
2GB 3200 TwinMOS RAM
MSI Neo 2 Plat (939 board)
Win XP Pro + SP2
Adaptec ASPI drivers:
ASPICHK0438: OS = Windows NT (5.01.2600)
UPGRADE1004: c:\windows\system32\wnaspi32.dll dated 09/10/1999 12:06:00, 45056 bytes.
UPGRADE1062: c:\windows\system32\wnaspi32.dll version 4.6.0.1021
UPGRADE1004: c:\windows\system\winaspi.dll dated 09/10/1999 12:06:00, 5600 bytes.
UPGRADE1062: c:\windows\system\winaspi.dll version 4.6.0.1021
UPGRADE1004: c:\windows\system32\drivers\aspi32.sys dated 09/10/1999 12:06:00, 25244 bytes.
UPGRADE1062: c:\windows\system32\drivers\aspi32.sys version 4.6.0.1021
UPGRADE1004: c:\windows\system\wowpost.exe dated 09/10/1999 12:06:00, 4672 bytes.
UPGRADE1062: c:\windows\system\wowpost.exe version 4.6.0.1021
ASPICHK0582: ASPI is properly installed and is fully operational. A total of 2 host adapters have been detected.

PowerDVD 5 and 6 have been tried, both did the same lockup.

Thanks for any help

[komyt]

Hi WBCS,

Sorry to hear about your problem, but it doesn't sound like the same thing that is affecting us in this thread. May I ask why you posted your issue in this thread?

Thanks.