Why wont my dvd drive play dvds? Yesterday, I was watching a movie and I was really tired so I simply closed the computer. The next day I was going to finish watching my movie but the computer wouldnt work. I restarted it and put in the DVD but the driver wouldnt detect it at all. I tried windows media player and even to open it manually through my computer but it wouldn't work. I don't know what to do and the same thing happened to my last computer. I have an HP laptop. Does anyone know how to fix it?? Thanks

One of the advantages of owning an HP Pavilion includes playing your favorite DVDs conveniently at home or anywhere with your HP Pavilion laptop or notebook.
Whether you have Windows 7 or Windows Vista, your HP Pavilion may experience problems playing your DVDs.
For example, sometimes you may have a DVD movie skip while playing, which can happen frequently with a lot of DVD handling, such as with rental DVDs.
Perhaps your DVD player does not recognize the DVD and rejects it.
When you troubleshoot your HP Pavilion DVD player, you become more acquainted with your HP Pavilion, plus you can get back to movie-watching sooner.
Clean the DVD if you notice any skipping while playing or if the DVD stops.
You can clean the DVD by wiping it from the center to the edge using a lint-free cloth and filtered water.
Avoid watching DVD movies while you have a virus system scan operating on your computer system.
Reschedule the virus scan to another time or disconnect the scan temporarily and then reconnect the scan when you have finished watching your movie.

Disconnect from the Internet while watching movies.
Other programs on your HP computer can access the Internet and disrupt the movie as you watch.
Turn off your printer, scanners and other external devices connected to your HP Pavilion while you watch movies.
This allows your computer to concentrate its resources on your DVD player.
Install the latest DVD player updates from the HP Support and Drivers website for the best DVD performance.
Test the DVD Drive
Insert the DVD into the HP Pavilion DVD drive. Close any window that opens automatically.
Click "Start" and then "Computer."
Right-click on the DVD player icon and then choose "Explore."
Check to make certain you placed the DVD into a DVD drive.
If the HP Pavilion DVD drive ejects the disc or prompts you to insert a disc, it does not recognize the DVD.
You can also try inserting another DVD disc. If you do not see folders appear, such as VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TX, you may have a defective disc, or the DVD may not be compatible with your DVD drive, such as a Blu-ray disc.
Try a different DVD movie.
Insert a regular CD into the DVD drive to see whether HP can read it, after you have tried playing several DVDs.
If the drive can read the CD, it may not be the DVD drive.
Have the internal ribbon cable replaced if the drive cannot read the CD, or have the DVD drive replaced if a new cable does not help.
Reinstall DVD Software Windows 7
Click "Start," "All Programs," "Recovery Manager," and then "Recovery Manager." Click "Continue" if prompted by Windows 7. This will bring up the HP Recovery Manager window.
Click "Software Program Reinstallation" and then "Next."
This will bring up the HP Software Program Reinstallation window, which allows you to reinstall the programs that originally came with your HP Pavilion.
Click "Next" and then follow the instructions provided.
Restart your computer after the driver installation.
Select "Next" and follow the directions provided to recover and reinstall the DVD player software that came with your HP Pavilion.
Reinstall DVD Software Windows Vista
Click "Start," "All Programs," "PC Help and Tools" and then "Recovery Manager." This will bring up an HP window called Recovery Manager to help you recover HP Pavilion drivers and programs.
Click "Next" and then select "Yes" or "No" when prompted to perform a program recovery.
Select "Next" and follow the directions provided to recover and reinstall the DVD player software that came with your HP Pavilion.
HP Pavilion PC Laptop Blue Ray not working
Blu-ray disc technology continues to improve and advance, so simply having a Blu-ray player in your computer doesn't guarantee that all discs will play immediately.
The Hewlett Packard DV7 Entertainment Notebook has a Blu-ray player, but as the technology advances you have to keep the software and firmware on the system up-to-date to ensure compatibility.

Reboot your Pavilion notebook.
A minor miscommunication between the disc drive and Windows Vista or 7 may lead to a disc read error.
Rebooting clears your system's memory and forces Windows to reload all of your device drivers, which may resolve a minor kink.
Play your Blu-ray disc to see if the problem is solved.
Open QuickPlay and update it.
Double-click the "Update" button to open "Updates and Enhancements."
Double-click "Get the latest QuickPlay updates."
Select "Download now!" on the next screen and wait while the file downloads and installs.
Close and reopen QuickPlay and insert the Blu-ray disc again.

Update MediaStart regularly.
This program tracks updates for your Blu-ray player's firmware, the software coded onto the device to tell it what kinds of discs it can read.
Open MediaStart and select "Update your MediaStart." Updates are only listed when available, so if you don't see an update, check back in a few weeks.
Each update for the Blu-ray player enables you to play more recent discs, since some interactive features may not be compatible with older software.
Restart after each update.

Update your software on a disc-by-disc basis.
According to HP, some Blu-ray discs have special content protection and require new codes for you to play the movie.
These codes or disc-specific updates are stored on the disc.
If you are prompted to download a free update after inserting a disc, follow the prompts to do so. The updates will be different for each disc.

Check to make sure your player will play regular content if you continue to have issues with Blu-ray discs. It may be that the error is related to the drive, not the type of media.
Try a CD-ROM or a standard DVD to see if the disc responds.
If not, contact HP for a replacement or for drive-related troubleshooting.


HP blueray problems
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=110&prodSeriesId=3744231&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=3744231&objectID=c01361837

Hi sabi1609,

If you cant watch a DVD movie you need to install a codec pack on your computer so that you can view the movie on your system. Click here to download. Enjoy watching.

Rate me if this helps. Thanks for using Fixya.

The standard version has Windows Vista® Home Basic Edition SP1. This version do not have native support for decoder to watch DVD movies. Install a good DVD player like WinDVD or any other DVD player software. This will install the necessary decoder. Once this is done even if the installed trial version expire, your windows media player will still play the movies. However, if you like the software, make it fully licensed version on-line. Hope this helps.

Insert the DVD into the Xbox DVD tray then close the tray.

There's really nothing special you need to do.

If your computer recognizes a disc in the drive and operates normally, Id assume you would need a DVD player or codec to be able to actually watch the DVD. PowerDVD rings a bell.
Have you tired that? I know Windows Media Player by default wont let you watch a movie without first downloading a codec.

Here's what's happening... software companies like CyberLink subscribe to the Macrovision requirements for playing DVDs and protecting copyrighted materials.

Macrovision has approved numerous video cards for what they call "TV Out" which allows the movie to be displayed on your TV.

Unfortunately, your Dell Inspiron does not have a Macrovision approved and supported video card in it, so it gives instructions to the computer to disable TV Out and not allow it to play anywhere besides the computer.

Do you mean DVD movies wont play? If so you need to install DVD software. Use Google to search for some or buy some e.g. PowerDVD.

Try to take it for remend, or you can get a dvd copy software to copy dvd to your computer so you can share or watch movie on pc when your dvd player is damaged.

ok " get a CD/ DVD cleaning disk , you pop that in and it will clean the lens inside, and they don't cost much, but do so much
good. happy movie watching