Laptop unable to play DVD-9

[LadyMiir]

I have an Advent 5313 (bought in the UK), it's approximately 3 years old, I've made a habit of constantly updating my drivers and I'm told my DVD player software is up to date. I recently bought a stack of DVD-9s in China, and when I put one in the DVD drive my computer started making a lot of noise (more noise than usual), and displayed the DVD menu screen on Windows Media Player after a long while. I checked the menu and it seemed to be working so I closed it and ejected the disc, then later realized I'd forgotten to check the video itself and tried again. The second time, the laptop started making even more noise (an extremely loud hum) and refused to play the DVD (Windows Media Center said there was no disc inserted)-- when I tried to eject the disc, the drive wouldn't open, so I had to shut down the entire computer and forcibly pop open the DVD drive with a straightened paper clip.

Can someone please help me? I don't understand what's wrong. I'd really like to watch my DVDs on my laptop...

Thanks so much,
Miir

[hech54]

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlla/china-pirated-dvds-social-network-inception-blac...beijing_b25093

[mrswla]

I recently bought a stack of DVD-9s in China,...

That's your problem!!!

[classfour]

The OP can't help but to buy DVDs from China - that's their homeland.

They may have to import their DVDs if they want them to play at all.

The two or three DVDs that I've had my hands on from China were dubious at best, with playback issues, you name it.

I really do not seek those out.

[mrswla]

The OP can't help but to buy DVDs from China - that's their homeland.

99.9% of the stuff that comes out of China is crap! No offense to the people of China, they only make it to the specifications supplied from the main corporation.

[LadyMiir]

I can't exactly help but buy Chinese DVDs, since I -live- in China. Buying DVDs off Amazon etc would cost exorbitant prices and take forever to arrive, so not worth it.

Update: I bought an external DVD reader that plugs in by USB (IBM). Hopefully that will help... I dunno. Does anyone recommend any DVD-playing software other than Windows Media Player?

[loster]

VLC media player is a good player it is slightly more complex but works good.

[LadyMiir]

Thank you for the recommendation! I tested my external DVD reader today and am happy to report that it works perfectly. Now just have to figure out how to un-region lock my computer.

[fritzi93]

Thank you for the recommendation! I tested my external DVD reader today and am happy to report that it works perfectly. Now just have to figure out how to un-region lock my computer.

Driver-level decrypters like DVD43 (free), AnyDVD, and DVDFabPasskey can remove Region restrictions and allow you to play DVDs from all regions. Just let it run in the background.

I suggest the lite (free) version of DVDFabPasskey, it's updated often and should be adequate for your needs.

Good luck.