My Laptop DVD Player Won't Work since W10 Install!

OrcaLady91 · 20 Mar 2018

Hello. I bought a used Dell Inspiron 1318 (from circa 2008) & am using it as a temporary backup laptop. It came w/ an older version of Windows 10 Home, & I had to upgrade to Windows version 10.0.16299 (Build 16299). I can't get my DVD player to work, nor could I on the previous W10 version that it came with, even though VLC (installed & uninstalled a few x) can easily play video files directly on the hard drive, imported from an external hard drive. When I put a DVD into the laptop, VLC and the "Movies & TV" app both play some sound from the DVD, but only show a kelly green screen. This laptop comes w/ Intel (R) 965 Express Chipset Family. I tried to find drivers, but I'm very sick & disabled neurologically, so don't have time to learn the ins & outs W10 or how to download & install drivers to make them compatible. If you have a response, PLEASE EXPLAIN IT AS YOU WOULD TO A 10 y.o. b/c I don't understand how to find which SPECIFIC drivers I need, & how to decompress / unzip the correct files, once the driver installer is downloaded.

It would be helpful if people could refer me to links to the exact drivers I'd need, & how to run the installers. The links below sort of pointed me in the right direction, but even then, Idk which drivers to download, & how to open & run the driver install stuff once it's downloaded. The Windows Defender firewall also seems to be blocking VLC, even though I created an allow / exclusion rule for the file C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN. I'm not sure if this is contributing to the DVD playing problem. Unfortunately, I do NOT have time to do a whole fresh install of Windows 10. I DID try running VLC in compatibility mode through earlier versions of Windows, to no avail. Would appreciate some very clear instructions on this. Can't wait to get my W7 laptop back, lol. It will be a while.

Windows 10, Intel Mobile 965 chipset? - Dell Community

Microsoft Update Catalog

Bree · 20 Mar 2018

Is this a normal video DVD, the sort you buy to watch your favorite films, or is a DVD someone has made and given to you to watch?

In Windows 7 it was the Windows Media Player that could play standard video DVDs. Apparently the licences required for the decoding became too expensive, so the ability to play DVDs was removed in Windows 10 to keep costs down.

Your VLC should be able to play DVDs (including the menus) without any extra decoders, it includes all the ones it needs. I'm not sure why you are having problems. Movies & TV cannot play DVDs, but it can play video files. If you are trying to play the DVD by opening the .vob files you find in its VIDEO_TS folder that may explain your problems.

I don't think it's the drivers that are your problem, otherwise you wouldn't be able to "play video files directly on the hard drive". Perhaps it's the way you are trying to play DVDs, this is how it I play mine...

Does VLC start automatically when you put a DVD in the drive? If not, put a DVD in the drive then open File Explorer and look at 'This PC'. There you should see the DVD drive. Right-click on it and there should be an option to 'Play with VLC media player'. Click this to play the DVD.

If you'd like VLC to automatically play a DVD as soon as you put it in the drive, then you can. Put a DVD in the drive and right-click on it in 'This PC'. Click on the option called 'Open AutoPlay...'. This will ask 'Choose what to do with DVD films'. VLC should be in the list it offers, click on VLC. This will play the DVD and, next time you insert one, play that automatically too.