Sometimes with a vanilla install of Windows XP or Vista you may find that the codecs to play your DVD are not present. You may receive an error message that it cannot locate the proper codec and the DVD won’t play. This can be frustrating because you may not have a commercial DVD player application on hand.
There is a solution, though…
Download and install VLC media player http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html
This is a completely free and open source media player that supports DVD decoding. It allows you to play DVDs without having to purchase a commercial codec.
Remember that you can also check your DVD collection for a commercial player. Sometimes there is a complete application included with the disc that has the codecs available. Other times you may also want to check with your video card manufacturer (ATI or Nvidia usually) to see if they supply one with the card’s software.
Otherwise you’re stuck with buying one of these commercial codecs: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx
If you’re having other problems with your DVD or CD drive or just need a hand with your computer, you may always visit our main web site, http://arlingtonvacomputerrepair.com/ and receive local or remote assistance.
