Region codes and windows vista??

You only can change this setting 5 times, then it is locked. You can not change the Region code after this even if you reinstall Windows, or move the drive to another computer. You can try upgrading the Firmware for the drive from the Compaq / HP Support page for your product. If that does not work, you will need to replace the drive, or download and install a Region Free software like AnyDVD or DVD Region Killer.

Changing the DVD Region will allow you to watch or listen to CDs and DVDs made in other countries. To do this, follow these steps:

Note: Users can only change the DVD region code 5 times. After the 5th time, the region code is locked and cannot be changed anymore.

1. Takeout any CD/DVD from the driver
2. Select Start
3. Click Control Panel
4. Select System and Maintenance
5. Open the Device Manager
6. Click DVD/CD-ROM drives
7. Find the DVD or CD drive you want to modify and double-click it
8. Click the DVD Region Tab
9. Find the country the DVD was made and select it
10. Push Ok

You can only change this code 5 times before it locks out the CD ROM drive. If it's locked out, you will need a new CD ROM drive. Your best bet is to get two external CD ROM drives and set one to region 1 and the other to region 4. This way you don't have to keep buying CD ROM drives. :)

You cannot see region 1 movies unless you change the region code, its designed this way as an anti piracy measure.

You have to go to the device manager of the operating system. List the hardware. Right click on the actual dvd drive and select the area that you want to change the region to. It will display the region.

1) those DVDs are coded in Region 1(Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda)
you will have to change the region code on the dvd-rom to region 1

2) if you bought the stand alone DVD player in the U.S. it will play region 1 dvds and nothing else(some dvd players will play region code 1-6)

3) to change the code in windows vista you'll have to go under the drive property's in the device manager go to the dvd region tab and set it to what ever the number on the back of the dvd is WARNING you only get 4 changes before the drive locks you out permanently then your stuck with what ever number you put in on the 4th try you've been warned

windows xp/2000/98/me
you'll have to change the region code from your software player again your limited on how many times you can change the region code before you have to reinstall the dvd player software

Legally, the only way to resolve your issue is a new drive, the region code in the drive has been locked in the firmware and cannot be changed by normal means (You can search google for DVD region Code Cracks, but it is not recommended no legal)

Antipiracy laws mandated a limit to the number of times the Region code can be changed (5) and if you are going to be playing a lot of media from different regions, then get another drive and set it to one region (and mark the region on the drive) and use this for the other

since the changes remaining is set to 0, sorry to say that you cna no longer change this to a different regional setting, unless you reinstall the OS,

chances are you have selected the region previously, or somebody else.

The world is split up into 8 DVD regions:

Region 1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
Region 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
Region 3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
Region 4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
Region 5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
Region 6: China
Region 7: Reserved
Region 8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)


Old DVD-ROM drives came with a firmware level RPC-1. Software protection was used to control which region is played.

New DVD-ROM drives come with a firmware level RPC-2 with hardware protection. RPC 2 drives have a 5 change limit on regions, once the counter gets to 0 your drive is permanently locked to the last region it was set to. Even if you reformat or move the drive to another system it will still be locked to the last region. There are ways to get around it, some models have resetting tools made by 3rd parties to reset the change limit back to 5 and some also have firmware patches to remove the region lock.



How to bypass DVD region code protection ?

As we've said, a lot of newer drives are RPC-2 drives these days. Some of these drives don't allow raw access to the drive until the drive firmware has done a regioncheck. But some RPC-2 drives DO allow raw access, so in some cases it is quite possible to use a special software to bypass the protection:

The first solution is free VideoLAN player: click here to download VideoLAN. It might take a long time to initialize DVD. So just pop the disc in your drive and try it out, while you get a coffee.

The second solution is free Remote Selector tool: click here to download Remote Selector. Launch remselec22.exe file. Click Control tab. Choose Enabled, and check all options Region Free, Disable Macrovision, Disable User Prohibition as shown below:

or you can install one of this program:

The region can only be changed five times, before its set permanently.

In WinDVD: if a DVD from a region different than the default one is tried to be played, the dialog box for changing the DVD region code should appear. If that dialog box do not appear, check the region code set in the software:
Click Start, All Programs, Intervideo Win DVD, and Intervideo Win DVD.
Right-click the Win DVD window and select Setup or Properties.
Click the Region tab and check the region code selected.
If there is a 0 in the Changes Until Permanent field, the DVD region code will not be able to be changed again.
If a number from 1 to 4 appears in the Changes Until Permanent field, add a mark in the checkbox of the desired region and click OK. The new region will be set up.

In PowerDVD: the first time you insert a DVD title, to be played on PowerDVD, a small dialogue box will appear. It will set the region code to match that of the DVD title you wish to play. After this the program will be set. However, if you have a region free DVD-ROM drive, you have the option of playing DVD titles from different regions. PowerDVD will allow you to change the region code setting up to five times, and then it will be locked on the region you have listed on your fifth and last change. At that point you will only be allowed to watch DVD titles from that region. To change the region code, from the original setting, just insert the DVD title in your DVD-ROM drive and run PowerDVD. When the software recognizes that the disc is from a different region than what was previously set, a dialogue box will appear. For this example, the Current Region is Region 1. After changing from one region to another, I will have four changes left. The program detected the disc I inserted was from Region 2, so it selected this option. Once I click OK the Current Region will be changed to Region 2 and the DVD title will play.
hope this helps dont forget to mark my solution pls

You can always invest in the program called AnyDVD. It can be found at
http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvdhd.html

This should solve your region issues with the BlueRay disks. Run this program, then insert your movie into the dvd player, and watch the movie play. Take care and enjoy!

Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)