DVD problem

Maybe somebody else will give you a better answer, but here goes nothing.

It is possible that all you need is a program to decode the DVD for you. Some computers actually have hardware for decoding but as old as your computer sounds I doubt that yours does. You will need a piece of software. A lot of DVDs come with a piece of software call interActual to play DVDs. I have one DVD sitting on my desk ("Insomnia") and if you go to File Explorer and look at the DVD contents (just lik you would a floppy or your hard drive) there is a file in the root directory (my DVD drive is d so for me this is D:\) called install.exe and it has a triangle shaped icon with a little "i" in it. You may try popping a few recent DVDs in the drive and seeing if they have this. You can also get it off this http://player.interactual.com/ website.

All this is is a player. You may still not have a decoder. A different option for a player is to go to Microsoft http://windowsmedia.com/9series/download/download.asp and get the latest version of Windows Media Player.

If you cannot play the DVDs with one of the players you will need a decoder. The interActual website has a page listing http://player.interactual.com/default.asp?code=PU a bunch of different places for players and decoders. One place I found to get a free decoder is http://www.maximusdvd.com/ . Click on the free codec link on the left and follow the instructions. I have never done it so I cannot vouch.

I did not have to go decoder hunting. But I am hoping the either Media Player will simply find and download a codec from Microsoft if you ask it to play a DVD or that if you get the player off a DVD that somewhere on there is a codec since the maker obviously wants you to be able to see the videos.

These are just things to try and I cannot guarantee that anything will work. Maybe someone will chime in with better. You may need a driver of some kind and that could get a little complicated for you.

 

Try this:

http://www.intervideo.com/jsp/Product_Profile.jsp?p=WinDVD4

There's a link for the trial version (it probably lasts 30 days) which you can use for now but if you want a long term solution you should either invest in the full version or a new video card (new video cards often come with DVD software).

 

Gwyneth

I have DivX Pro 5.0.3

I downloaded it for free. Click on:

DivX.com

Sherrie