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Windows Media Player 11 won't play DVD's. Windows XP.


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#1 spotify95

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Posted 03 April 2015 - 01:13 PM

Hi,

 

I have a small issue on my Packard Bell laptop (running windows XP).

 

The laptop in question has a 1.6 GHZ "Core 2 Duo", 1GB RAM, and about 80GB HDD. 

 

My problem is this: When I open Windows Media Player, it will play local files (MP3 tracks) fine, without any stuttering or issues.

If I try and play a DVD, it stutters all of the time, isn't smooth at all. I have to use PowerDVD and even then it isn't perfect.

If I play a CD, it will play, to an extent. It's not 100% perfect but is a lot better than playing a stuttery DVD.

 

Is there any way of trying to solve the issue, so that my windows media player works ok on this laptop, for DVD's and CD's? Please don't offer suggestions such as "bin the laptop" or "install a newer windows", the laptop is required for older games (that won't run on windows 7) and hasn't got the guts to run windows Vista or 7 (only 1GB RAM). However it should play DVD's fine on XP, surely?

 

P.S. This laptop has had an overheating issue in the past, which was recently fixed, however the windows media player issue has been around before the overheating started (i.e. the overheating hasn't damaged any components).

 

Any help would be appreciated.



#2 Swar

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Posted 03 April 2015 - 01:16 PM

Have you tried using another program? VLC Media Player is a really good option.

#3 spotify95

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Posted 03 April 2015 - 01:28 PM

Hi, thanks for the reply :)

 

I have used PowerDVD before on the laptop in question, for both CD's and DVD's. CD's play quite nicely and DVD's are reasonable, but not perfect, as stated in the OP. 

 

I was just wondering if there was any way of improving the WMP 11 so it could work reliably.

 

Would VLC Media player work okay on a 2007 spec laptop with 1GB RAM and a 1.6GHZ processor? 

 

Here are the specs of my laptop in question (certainly the closest I could find): http://mandmcomputer...-008-mains-only



#4 Adam

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Posted 03 April 2015 - 02:07 PM

Yes. VLC is a much more lightweight program than WMP, so it should have no problem running on your laptop. If you're unsure, you could always look for yourself at the minimum system requirements for the program.



#5 Turnip

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Posted 03 April 2015 - 04:44 PM

Your laptop can definitely run VLC and MPC-HC, so give those a go and see if anything's better. If not then I'm thinking your disk drive might be the problem :x Just look up the disk drive's model on ebay and some should pop up, and they should be really cheap too (like $30 cheap). They're really easy to replace as well but if you aren't sure then just look up some guides online ^^

#6 Waser Lave

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Posted 04 April 2015 - 10:55 AM

You could also try reinstalling the drivers for your DVD drive, if you uninstall it and restart it should automatically get reinstalled by Windows.



#7 redlion

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Posted 04 April 2015 - 11:34 AM

You could also try reinstalling the drivers for your DVD drive, if you uninstall it and restart it should automatically get reinstalled by Windows.

One of the few benefits of trying to create a user-friendly OS - Windows assumes no one can do anything for themselves ever. Which is nice when you actually can't or don't know how.

Another thing to consider is that you're using a regularly updated program on a currently unsupported (by Microsoft) operating system. I have an XP machine as well for legacy gaming, but drivers are constantly being updated for graphics cards (among other things) and it's hard to keep an old machine working properly if you use it for everyday tasks. It may be an unrealistic response to not being able to watch DVDs, but updating your OS might not be a bad idea, minus the three or four hundred dollar price tag :p

#8 spotify95

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Posted 04 April 2015 - 12:12 PM

One of the few benefits of trying to create a user-friendly OS - Windows assumes no one can do anything for themselves ever. Which is nice when you actually can't or don't know how.

Another thing to consider is that you're using a regularly updated program on a currently unsupported (by Microsoft) operating system. I have an XP machine as well for legacy gaming, but drivers are constantly being updated for graphics cards (among other things) and it's hard to keep an old machine working properly if you use it for everyday tasks. It may be an unrealistic response to not being able to watch DVDs, but updating your OS might not be a bad idea, minus the three or four hundred dollar price tag :p

 

Updating my O\S will NOT work, due to the following:

 

a) It will then cause compatibility problems with my legacy games - most will run on windows 7/8.1 - some can't so I need to keep XP

 

b) the laptop only has 1GB RAM in it and Vista/7/8/8.1/10 etc need at least 1GB RAM for the O\S... hence nothing will work

 

c) the 1.6GHZ processor probably wouldn't run Vista/7 very well either. My parents' Windows 8.1 laptop has an AMD-E2 processor at 1.7GHZ... it doesn't feel much faster than the XP machine I am referring to in this thread.

 

As for the DVD drive thingy... PowerDVD runs reasonably well on CD's (not so good on DVD's) so I doubt it is the DVD drive that is the issue. I might try that when I next boot up the XP laptop.

 

Also would uninstalling WMP11 (to a previous release), then trying a previous release work? I think the issue may be down to power management rather than anything else?



#9 Turnip

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Posted 04 April 2015 - 02:16 PM



As for the DVD drive thingy... PowerDVD runs reasonably well on CD's (not so good on DVD's) so I doubt it is the DVD drive that is the issue. I might try that when I next boot up the XP laptop.

 

Also would uninstalling WMP11 (to a previous release), then trying a previous release work? I think the issue may be down to power management rather than anything else?

 

Just wondering, why do you wanna use WMP11/PowerDVD? They are way better media players out there :0 I guess you could try installing an older WMP but I don't think it'd fix anything. But it might not be so you should try playing a DVD using VLC and MPC-HC and tell us how that goes. If that doesn't work out then try what Waser said and reinstall the drivers, restart your computer and try again.

 

(Also, I know you're not gonna upgrade your OS but your laptop could definitely run Windows 7. I've used an old laptop with specs that were similar to yours and it ran 7 without too much trouble :p )



#10 spotify95

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Posted 05 April 2015 - 07:29 AM

 

Just wondering, why do you wanna use WMP11/PowerDVD? They are way better media players out there :0 I guess you could try installing an older WMP but I don't think it'd fix anything. But it might not be so you should try playing a DVD using VLC and MPC-HC and tell us how that goes. If that doesn't work out then try what Waser said and reinstall the drivers, restart your computer and try again.

 

(Also, I know you're not gonna upgrade your OS but your laptop could definitely run Windows 7. I've used an old laptop with specs that were similar to yours and it ran 7 without too much trouble :p )

 

Okay so I have got the mentioned XP laptop out and am going to attempt to do a fix of it.

 

I don't really want to add any more software on it, it has Windows XP Media Center edition, hence it has Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player, PowerDVD and goodness knows what else. I have got a CD and DVD to test.

 

First test: as current setup: 

WMP 11: CD playback juddery/stuttery (as described previously, so generally poor), DVD playback hopeless

PowerDVD 6: CD playback nearly perfect, DVD playback poor (very stuttery).

 

I'll try using an older WMP, then re-installing.

 

Updates:
1) Rolled back to WMP 10, improvement was very marginal (still not usable). Reinstalled WMP 11. No improvement.

2) Tried VLC media player. Worse than WMP 11 - heavy stuttering with pauses. Restored PC back to before WMP11 was rolled back to WMP 10.

3) Reinstalled DVD drivers (uninstalled, then windows reinstalled for me after a couple of reboots) - result: No improvement! WMP 11 still stuttery, PowerDVD ok when playing CD's but still no good for DVDs.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Edit: Tested a Youtube video and that plays fine, likewise with media stored on the hard drive. For some reason it doesn't like playing CDs or DVDs. Any solutions?


Edited by spotify95, 05 April 2015 - 08:56 AM.


#11 Strategist

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Posted 05 April 2015 - 02:56 PM

Your CD/DVD drive is probably buggered. Have you tried a laser cleaner? Might have some crap on the laser affecting playback.

#12 spotify95

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Posted 07 April 2015 - 06:00 AM

Your CD/DVD drive is probably buggered. Have you tried a laser cleaner? Might have some crap on the laser affecting playback.

By laser cleaner, do you mean one of those cleaning DVD's that can be used to brush dust off the laser?

 

If not then I haven't got one of those.

 

Btw, I don't think the CD/DVD drive is totally buggered because games will install nicely via the CD/DVD drive, and although playback is poor, I can rip CD's onto the WMP library. Once stored on the library, the media plays fine. It's just playing off the CD or DVD that's the issue; more so with DVD's and Windows Media Player (CD's on PowerDVD are acceptable)

 

So should I try one of those cleaning discs? If so I'll run it and see if it improves. (Btw, the CD/DVD issue has been around for a few years now, even before our overheating issue, WMP had problems, though I cannot remember how PowerDVD acted.)




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