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  • #2196607

    DVD/CD Rom drive plays music OK but no CD/DVD vids

    Locked

    by pentrex ·

    My Pioneer DVD-RW DVR K17LF drive on Toshiba Satelite A215 is OK when playing Audio CDs but does not read DVDs. Diagnostics shows no errors and Harware Manager shows the drive is OK. Reinstalling(deleting the drive and rebooting) the drive did not help either. This problem happened when I changed DVD region several times. Could it be a reason for the failure? What might be a cure for the problem?

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    • #3040361

      Clarifications

      by pentrex ·

      In reply to DVD/CD Rom drive plays music OK but no CD/DVD vids

      Clarifications

    • #3040340

      limit to number of region changes

      by oldbaritone ·

      In reply to DVD/CD Rom drive plays music OK but no CD/DVD vids

      I believe there is a limited number of times you can change the region of the DVD drive, then it bricks.

      That’s why you’re supposed to set the region and leave it.

      • #3040329

        What can be done ?

        by pentrex ·

        In reply to limit to number of region changes

        So, you’re saying it caused the problem?

        If so, is there a way to fix it?

        • #3040319

          replacement is the only option . . .

          by who am i really ·

          In reply to What can be done ?

          as oldbaritone said the region can only be changed a few times

          the usual number is 5 region changes
          (you can thank the DRM crowd for that)

          when the region is changed the last time allowed then the Drive is set on that region forever and no DVDs from other regions can be used in that drive again

          the drive is basically scrap from the point of using it for DVDs if it’s set to the wrong region for the DVDs you have

          I prefer not to set the region at all, and I haven’t had any problems with DVD playback on Drives where the region is not set

        • #3040305

          I have ‘heard’

          by nexs ·

          In reply to replacement is the only option . . .

          Of an application which nullifies regions…

          Not that I’ve used dodgy applications like that *cough*.

          But I think SlySoft have an application for sale called AnyDvd.
          Might help?

        • #3040302

          NEXUS!

          by santeewelding ·

          In reply to I have ‘heard’

          You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

          (thank you)

        • #3041563

          replacement is the only option

          by pentrex ·

          In reply to replacement is the only option . . .

          Thanks for the reply.

          Sad if replacement is the only option.

          But I don’t get it – what the “DVD region” is about ? Does it mean that if my DVD drive is set for the US region then I cannot use CD/DVD vids ,say , from India? Why a DVD drive needs to be set for a certain country region?

        • #3041514

          DVD Regions . . . that info is in my post . . .

          by who am i really ·

          In reply to replacement is the only option

          (you can thank the DRM crowd for that)

          “But I don’t get it – what the “DVD region” is about ? Does it mean that if my DVD drive is set for the US region then I cannot use CD/DVD vids ,say , from India? Why a DVD drive needs to be set for a certain country region?”

          it’s a crap method to attempt to prevent piracy and force you to buy DVD movies from your area rather than say buy them from another region and have them shipped to your region for a fraction of the cost.

          if the region is set you can’t play any DVDs from another region without changing the region setting again;

          here’s a page that may be of some interest:
          http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/WindowsXP/dvd/regions/regions.php

    • #3041512

      You need to re-format your hdd…

      by peconet tietokoneet ·

      In reply to DVD/CD Rom drive plays music OK but no CD/DVD vids

      And then install All of your programs etc, etc.
      Though you would have to give your drive a LOW level format to remove any traces of the software that is blocking your DVD region(s).
      Go here for more info:
      http://www.dvdregionmaster.com/

      Or go here:
      http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/dvd-unlock

      • #3041495

        the DVD region is changed in the firmware . . .

        by who am i really ·

        In reply to You need to re-format your hdd…

        on the optical drive itself
        and has nothing to do with the OS

        if the regions have been changed the maximum number of changes allowed the last region set is the only region available

        formatting the HDD will not fix the region problem

        there are tools that may or may not be able to reset the region count and which also may or may not completely brick the drive making it useless for anything CDs included

        here’s a quote from the site I posted in my last post:
        http://www.mvps.org/marksxp/WindowsXP/dvd/regions/regions.php
        __________________________________________

        RPC 2 drives come normally with 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.

        [B]
        Even if you reformat or move the drive to another system it will still be locked to the last region.
        [/B]

        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. Using either of these will invalidate your drives warranty and particularly the later can turn your drive into a paperweight, though if your prepaired to take that risk these can normally be located by searching on google for your dvd drive model and the word firmware.
        __________________________________________

    • #3041475

      help desk questions tisk tisk….

      by cg it ·

      In reply to DVD/CD Rom drive plays music OK but no CD/DVD vids

      so this is a twofer post 2 fer questions.

      first question answer: yes

      second question answer: buy a new drive.

      third and fourth questions: what’s the odds the dude will do it again? and who’s betting?

      • #3041423

        help desk . . .

        by who am i really ·

        In reply to help desk questions tisk tisk….

        is it illegal to answer this type?

        if the dude does it again,
        he’ll have to buy another,
        and possibly another
        . . .

        and because it’s a laptop
        not just any drive will fit,
        unlike a desktop where just about any type / brand of optical drive can be connected and replaced as most are SATA or E-IDE

        craptops use weird connections for which you must pay more money
        and they change with every newer model so a fried optical in an older laptop / notebook etc.
        usually means tossing the whole thing

        and no I’m not betting

        • #3041690

          tried to fix

          by pentrex ·

          In reply to help desk . . .

          Thanks for the info.

          No, if I will face the drive changing , I surely won’t play with these region settings anymore but just leave no regions at all, as you recommended.

          Meanwhile since I have nothing to lose, I played with that Region Free Software from the site you had mentioned. I downloaded the Master-DVD-Region-Free software (trial version)and it changed the region setting for 1. However, my drive still does not read inserted DVDs. I think either my drive is totally screwed up (except audio CDs) or this software does not make “wonders” as promised in the ad.

        • #2859564

          did it ever . . .

          by who am i really ·

          In reply to tried to fix

          was it ever able to play DVDs?

          and what OS?
          XP Home & Pro
          have no capability to play DVDs
          you need extra Software for that
          specifically a DVD Decoder

          you can see if the drive can read the contents of a DVD simply by browsing the DVD drive with Windows Explorer
          Bare XP will read the contents but can’t actually play the Movie contained in the VOB files.

        • #2859501

          Yes, it sure was

          by pentrex ·

          In reply to did it ever . . .

          OS is Vista. The drive lost its capability playing DVDs when region settings stuck on the region 4. When I tried to switch back to the original region 1, I couldn’t in spite of a message saying that I still have 1 last change to make.

          Yes, I tried browsing the drive with Windows Explorer but to no avail. Usually on healthy drives when you insert a DVD disk the icon in the Computer changes its image – meaning that the drive reads the CD, but mine stays unchangeable.

          Tricking the region setting through the Region Free software , did not solve the problem either. The region was changed but the drive wouldn’t read DVDs no matter what. More, when I reboot my notebook , the region setting would switch back to 4 and then I needed manually tochange it again.

          Question. Are there some techniques allowing you to test DVD drives functionality?

        • #2859478

          Firmware

          by boomio ·

          In reply to Yes, it sure was

          Just as a thought, could you try flashing the firmware on the CD/DVD drive?
          May or may not help, but you could try!

        • #2859396

          I sure could but don’t know how to do that………

          by pentrex ·

          In reply to Firmware

          Another thing. I just checked my drive with data CDs. No problems found. The drive is functional, at least for data reading and audio.

          I think all this boils down to just one thing – region settings. Likewise, when the drive was tricked by the Region Free software , it perhaps reset the region counter in Windows , not in the drive itself and that’s why it is locked for all DVDs.

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