Problem with DVD drive

[lilly_the_kid]

Hi everybody,

I hope someone here can help me.

I'm so furious! A while ago I bought a new computer, a HP Probook 470. So far so good. Today I wanted to watch a Region 1 DVD (I live in Europe) and I couldn't do it. I wasn't even asked if I wanted to switch region codes, it used to be the case that you could do that a number of times. (But even if I could do that, I wanna watch more than 3 DVDs in the future...) Anyway, I decided to rip the DVD like I had done before and that didn't work either, according to the error message because of the DVD drive and the region code. My brother can watch and rip the DVD fine on his computer even though he too is Region 2, of course.

Now I figure I'll have to get an external DVD drive if I ever wanna watch my Region 1 DVDs (for which I paid!) again. Any suggestions? I really don't wanna spend the money only to face the same problem. Would a Blueray drive make sense? Or could I buy a region 1 drive? Would that be compatitable with my notebook?

Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can give me!!!

Comments

[rhivolution]

Have you tried playing it in VLC at all? You might have luck there, provided you're not looking to rip it. I'd try that before resorting to a purchase. (Blu-ray players are, unfortunately, also region-based, incidentally.)

[lilly_the_kid]

Thank you for your reply! VLC player automatically plays all DVDs that are Region 2. The first time I put in a Region 1 DVD the vlc player just made some sounds and then nothing happened. This was the case with several Region 1 DVDs. Unfortunatelly it's really the drive itself.

[rhivolution]

Oh no! Can't help but wonder if there's some additional protections then on new drives, I agree. Strange. Sorry I couldn't be more help!

[lilly_the_kid]

Yeah, I really think it is. My brothers way older DVD drive allows for watching and ripping Region 1 and my old laptop at least allowed for ripping. This new one just doesn't wanna do anything with Region 1 things. Stupid "progress"...

And no worries, thanks all the same :) I shall conquer this and be it due to pure stubbornness!

[zeborah]

I'm not familiar with Windows, but *most* times the region protection is enforced by the computer software rather than the device/hardware. So I'd look for software that can rip all regions. Doing a google search eg {windows software rip dvd all regions} will bring back a dizzying number of results; I'd suggest first looking for software that has good independent reviews (if nothing else, then you know it's not a front for a virus) and then something that gives you a trial period, so you can check that it does actually work on your computer before you have to pay.

[lilly_the_kid]

Thank you for your reply! I use DVD shrink and in this case I took a Region 1 DVD that I could rip without problems on my old laptop and I got this error message saying the DVD had the "wrong" region code. It really must be the drive. I suspect this is a new method to prevent people from buying DVDs overseas.

[mithborien]

The region locking, as far as I know, is done on the actual dvd drive itself, is more common on laptops than desktops, and whether you have a bluray player or dvd player, it makes no difference.

Sometimes you can find software (offical software, I think) for your specific dvd drive that will remove the region lock. But I don't know how common the software is these days.

Unfortunately with my last laptop, I didn't check before buying and I had one of apparently 3 brands of bluray player where there was no software offered to unlock it. So I then went out and bought a portable dvd drive that I made sure was region free and that played dvds of all regions just fine.

I have never tried ripping dvds to remove the region lock because I could never be bothered. Although I know my dad has successfully done it but every now and then would run in to issues because I assume of different methods used to add the region lock.

[lilly_the_kid]

Thank you for your reply! I'm thinking of buying a portable drive as soon as I figure out which brand wouldn't cause me any problems. Which brand is the region free drive you bought?

As for the unlocking software, I'm afraid that would mess with my laptop's warranty, so I'll try the other thing first.

[mithborien]

The brand is Shintaro although it may be an Australian only brand. I just went to a cheap electronics store and asked whether it was region free as it doesn't actually say on the box.

Specifically this one that I just found on their website: http://www.shintaro.com.au/products/04_optical_drives/SHDVDUSBV2/index.php

Good luck!

[lilly_the_kid]

Thank you!! I'll check that out :)

[littleheaven]

If you're willing to shell out a few $$ then SlySoft AnyDVD would do the trick. It removes the region coding on any DVD you play (it does other cool stuff too). I stumbled across it some years back when my husband inadvertently locked his drive on Region 1 (he changed it too many times) when we live in a Region 4 country. You can try it for free for 21 days, and it's 49 Euros to buy. It's 20% off at the moment (until July 6). It's a must-have on my vidding laptop.

[lilly_the_kid]

That sounds promising! Thank you!! I'll check it out :)

[beccatoria]

I know some people have suggested this already and you said that it wasn't working, but you can often rip DVDs of the wrong region - Handbrake often works for me?

[lilly_the_kid]

Thanks for the advice. I tried handbrake and it seemed to work, but when I had to pick the chapter/title from the dropdown menue it was empty, all dropdown menues were empty. I usually use DVD shrink and I know that it worked with that particular DVD on my old laptop, but this time the error message said it didn't work due the wrong region code.

I admit I never used handbrake for ripping before, so I might have missed something.