For playing DVDs. Paid and free programs for watching DVDs

One of the most popular software DVD players. Corel WinDVD (formerly WinDVD Platinum) is a powerful tool for watching DVDs. The player is equipped with an intelligent Dolby Virtual Speaker function, which allows you to simulate Dolby 5.1 mode on 2 regular stereo speakers. An interesting detail of Win DVD is the presence of a video encyclopedia, in which you can glean many interesting facts from the lives of actors, directors, and producers. In general, the program's capabilities are very extensive; this fact allows you to use Corel WinDVD as the main tool when watching DVDs on your computer.

Modern users have become very demanding of players that provide the ability to view video files, and, in particular, DVD format files. Now they want not only to get acquainted with the contents of the file, but to enjoy the clear picture and high-quality sound that the latest technologies provide. Unfortunately, high-quality playback of HD files is not always possible using conventional players. In this case, it is best to use the powerful WinDVD player, which allows you to turn even watching a regular DVD into a pleasure, let alone Blu-ray discs.

Image clarity when watching movies using WinDVD is achieved through the use of technologies that compensate for excessively fast movements. As a result, even objects that move at high speed do not appear blurry on the screen. The application itself determines how many frames are shown in one second and implements them right on the fly, eliminating all inaccuracies that arise during display.

Using the player you can achieve high quality home video display. Its creators also took care of those who have to watch low-quality video: special filters remove all unnecessary noise and also allow you to get rid of many image defects that arise during video compression. And in order to ensure that the laptop has enough charge to watch the longest movie, the program has a built-in function that disables all processes in the system that are not currently necessary. All that remains is to recommend downloading WinDVD and getting real pleasure from watching it.

Today there are quite a lot of players that allow you to play DVDs, but not all of them provide the opportunity to achieve such image quality as this one. Many users compare the sensations of films they watch with its help with the sensations that can be obtained in a cinema. And even more, if you take into account that the WinDVD player also gives you the ability to control image and sound. The formats it supports include DivX, MPEG, RealPlayer, AVCHD, Windows Media and many others.

The player is also capable of playing a large number of popular audio formats. And those who want to fully enjoy watching high-quality HD DVD and Blu-ray discs can be sure that the picture will be of excellent quality. However, even the quality of regular DVD discs will seem comparable to the quality of video of the latest formats if these discs are viewed using this player. A similar effect is achieved thanks to the implementation of All2HD technology, which converts regular video into high-resolution video.

The access that the player provides to its various options is called interactive. They can be controlled directly in viewing mode.

In conclusion, this is a decent software DVD player. The program is distributed in several versions: Standard, Plus and Plus Blu-ray (to change the version you must activate the corresponding key). The Plus version allows you to convert standard DVDs to high definition (HD) videos, supports DTS NEO 6 and DTS 96K/24bit decoding. The Plus Blu-ray version allows you to enjoy the new quality of video and sound that is inherent in programs recorded on Blu-ray discs.

WinDVD has an interesting Dolby Virtual Speaker function, which allows you to simulate Dolby 5.1 mode on 2 regular stereo speakers. In general, the program's capabilities are very extensive.

Although CD or DVD drives are becoming less and less common today, you may still need to download programs to work with CD/DVD drives for Windows 10 64 bit. That is why we created such a category, and in it we collect free versions of programs for working with disks.


You may find CD/DVD programs useful even if you don't have a drive. Sometimes on the Internet you can find images recorded in ISO format. But you cannot open this format with a regular one; for this you will need to download a program for working with CD/DVD. Such programs allow you to:


  • Write information to disks;

  • Work with disk images;

  • Create disk images;

  • Burn discs;

Please note that Windows 10 64 bit, and 32 bit too, also has standard functions for working with disks. But these functions are often not enough. And if you have a physical disk drive, then you will definitely need a program such as or its analogues.

Disk emulation on Windows 10

But you don’t always need to work with real disks; sometimes you need to emulate a regular disk. This means that you need to create a record in the system that your computer, laptop or tablet has a disk drive, and there is a certain disk in it. This is often practiced specifically for hacking games, but sometimes this procedure is also needed for completely peaceful tasks.


Discs, such as CDs and DVDs, are being replaced by new formats. For example Blue Ray, or HD. But flash drives beat any disk, as they are convenient with their compact physical size and large memory capacity. Some free software for working with disks also supports advanced work with flash drives.

PowerDVD is the latest version of the most popular DVD player, it was released not long ago, and during this time it has already been able to attract a huge number of users who appreciate this product for all its positive qualities. The love of users came to it thanks to its user-friendly interface, high picture quality due to CyberLink Eagle Vision, as well as a large number of additional settings. PowerDVD is one of the most convenient DVD players; it allows you to get high-quality image and sound. For PowerDVD you can find not only localizers, but also various skins, which will undoubtedly please users with different tastes.

This player has an intuitive interface; a variety of skins allows you to customize the visual design of the player in the most pleasant way. PowerDVD player is compatible with all audio and video formats, and also has the ability to create playlists. It is possible to take still pictures during playback. In addition to the above, there is a unique opportunity to display subtitles in two languages. The zoom is powerful enough at any aspect ratio. The function of accessing the DVDonet portal is also implemented in the new version. You have the opportunity to download PowerDVD for free - the Russian version is on our website.

The undoubted advantages of PowerDVD:

  • Natural display of color, contrast;
  • Excellent sound reproduction;
  • Supports all audio and video formats;
  • Easy controls;
  • Possibility of online access to additional functions

This player makes it very easy to change screen sizes and customize the appearance. PowerDVD allows you to not only play existing DVD discs, but also DVD files. PowerDVD is lightweight and absolutely easy to use.
On our website you can download PowerDVD for free. Having received the program, you acquire the opportunity to watch high-quality DVDs, as well as video recordings in MPEG and VCD formats. Using PowerDVD, you can view the contents of the disc and easily control the navigator while watching a movie.
According to the latest user reviews about the use of PowerDVD, it is clear that the playback quality is high, the easy controls left people satisfied, and the ability to play different audio and video formats provided additional opportunities.

Today you can download a free program for watching videos and DVD movies based on taste and color. Here is the best selection.

Download, experiment and choose the best one for yourself (to download, copy the link and paste it into or, if available.

Each program will have a brief description of its main functions, capabilities, pros and cons. Personally, I like VLC media player the most.

It has a good sound amplifier integrated into it, which is very useful for many computers (especially laptops).

If the program for viewing the video is not in Russian, this will be indicated in the description. Also, they are all free and do not require registration. Now it's more similar.

Free program for watching videos “VLC media player”

The first one on the list is my favorite program. This is a multimedia player with a simple interface and at the same time many functions.

Its capabilities (basic): editing playback (lists), viewing broken and under-downloaded videos (very good), viewing all major formats including AVI.

Free iTunes Movie Viewer

iTunes can sync files from iPod, Apple TV and iPhone. It is also in Russian, has a cool interface and good sound.

The main advantages include: searching for videos by letter, burning CDs, equalizer, synchronization with iPhone, Apple, iPod and purchasing files on the Internet.

Among the disadvantages, one can note the large size of about eighty megabytes. You can download it from the link below:

Http://appldnld.apple.com/iTunes11/091-6059.20130605.205Rf/iTunesSetup.exe

Program for free viewing of DVD videos “KMPlayer”

This program (KMPlayer) is used by most computer users to watch videos. It supports all popular video formats, including DVD, AVI, MKV, 3GP, MPEG and WMV.

The program also boasts built-in codecs and flexible settings, support for subtitles, panning and playback of streaming video captured by a camera or TV tuner.


You can also easily monitor the signal volume and change it to normal.

This player is also in Russian, free and can play incompletely downloaded files or even broken (damaged) ones. In a word, it will never be superfluous. Download link below.

Free program for watching videos on your computer “Winamp”

This program is one of the most popular and has the widest capabilities. This is the oldest player, one might say a veteran of viewing video files, with a wide range of capabilities.

This program allows you to view and burn all formats (popular) to DVD, has many parameters, settings and the most beautiful interface (view).


Characteristics: lightweight, free, in Russian, simple, equipped with an equalizer and skins. Easily changes screen formats and sizes, has many screensavers, and a balance control.

The program is constantly updated, so if you decide to switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8, you don’t have to worry, a version of this program will definitely appear for this Windows.

Instructions

The easiest way to watch a DVD is to use the standard Windows Media Player. Insert the disc into the drive of your personal computer. Press the button to close the drive. Go to Start - All Programs and open the Windows Media Player application. In the dialog box that appears, in the upper left part, click on the “File” link, then “”. Specify the exact path to where the DVD is located. But this program cannot always read digital signatures and disk encodings.

More reliable and complete software is CyberLink PowerDVD v 11.0.1620.51. Purchase this version of the licensed program from a specialized store. PowerDVD can read all formats, such as MPEG (AVI, MPG, MPEG, MP2, MP3, M1V and M2V), QuickTime (MOV and QT), MIDI (MID and RMI), audio (Dolby AC3, WAV, ASF, WM, WMA, WMV).

Insert the disc into the drive of your personal computer. Close the drive. The program installation dialog box will open. Specify the location where the program will be installed. Click Next. When the process is complete, reboot your operating system for all changes and updates to take effect.

You can also watch the DVD using Media Player Classic Home Cinema. Download the free K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 7.7.0. Install this software on your personal computer. Go to “Start” - “All Programs” and launch this application. Click on the “File” drop-down list and specify the exact path to the DVD. Start watching.

When a user purchases a new optical drive to replace the old one, he inevitably faces the problem of installing it inside the system unit (unless, of course, the drive is external). Fortunately, today this operation is simple and quick.

Instructions

Video on the topic

When working on your computer every day, your hard drive can be filled with information. In order to free up free disk space, you need to clean up the old hard drive or purchase a new hard drive. As a rule, cleaning the hard drive does not help for long. The ideal solution is to buy a new drive. But what should you do if you haven’t installed hard drives?

You will need

  • IDE hard drive, system unit, “+” screwdriver.

Instructions

After you purchase a new hard drive, it must be kept at room temperature for 20 minutes. Connecting a storage device means it heats up quickly. And a sharp jump in temperature can have a bad effect on its operation. At high temperatures, the hard heads move slowly. Therefore, in summer, just like in winter, it is necessary to let the device sit.

First, you should turn off the power to your computer. Disconnect all power wires and remove them from the “pilot”. After this, turn the back of the system unit towards you.

Arm yourself with a screwdriver. Unscrew all connecting screws. Remove the side walls.

Get your hands on a new hard drive. Please note that the back side of the information storage device includes three connectors: power cable, jumper connector, data cable. At this point, you should be interested in the jumper connector. You already have the main disk. Accordingly, you will have an additional disk. Since you have 2 hard drives, you need to know which of these 2 drives is the main one (Master) and which one is the additional one (Slave).

Face the hard drive so that the front side is facing you. There will be a sticker on the disk with an illustration that will tell you how to connect the jumper correctly. After installing the jumper, you can proceed to connecting the disk.

Insert the drive into an empty slot. Most often, the free slot is located above your main drive. Connect all connecting cables, focusing on your old one. You won't be able to insert it incorrectly. Connectors and cables are made in such a way that they are connected only in position.

Sources:

  • Why do you need to know how to properly connect a hard drive?

If you need to read the information on a flash card, you can do it on any computer. Please note that when working with a flash drive, there are a number of features that will help you secure your computer, as well as the information stored on the flash card.

You will need

  • a computer equipped with a USB port,
  • flash card

Instructions

Getting started with a flash card. Today there are two types: with a USB 2.0 interface, and also with a USB 3.0 interface. To read each type, the computer must be equipped with the appropriate ports. To get started with a flash card, you just need to insert it into one of your computers. After inserting the device into the connector, do not rush to view the information stored on it. The flash drive may be infected with a virus.

To check the flash card for viruses on it, you must ignore the autorun window by clicking the “Cancel” button. Next, you need to open the “My Computer” folder. In this section you will see an icon that will look like a removable disk. Click on this icon with the right mouse button. If you have an antivirus installed on yours, you will see the “ Scan” option in the menu that opens. Click on this command with the left mouse button, and then wait for the media check to finish. If the flash drive is infected, it is not advisable to continue working with it on your personal computer. If it does not pose a threat to your PC, you can start working with it. To do this, you need to double-click on the removable disk icon that appears in the “My Computer” folder.

If you do not want to damage the information recorded, after finishing working with the flash drive you need to properly complete the process. To do this, right-click on the device shortcut displayed in the tray. In the context menu, select the “Safely Remove Hardware” command. As soon as the system notifies you that the work has been completed successfully, remove the flash card from the slot. This way, you will not damage files and documents stored on the card.

Floppy disks have long been forgotten, CDs are almost never used. The most convenient modern electronic storage medium is a flash card. These include both USB drives and memory cards of phones and cameras.

Instructions

To connect to a computer or netbook USB, release the USB input of the card from the protective cover. In some cases, the flash drive “folds”, and the USB port is protected by the memory card case. Release him. Consider your USB: it has a flat plate on the bottom and a hollow space on the top. The same goes for the USB input. Insert the flash card into USB computer.

Check the flash drive for viruses. By default, antiviruses themselves recognize the connected device and scan it. If this does not happen, open the “My Computer” folder and right-click on the shortcut of the connected USB device. In the taskbar you will see the “Scan for viruses” function, click on this line. The scan time depends on the number and size of files recorded on the .

If the antivirus approves working with the connected device, your computer prompts you to automatically open the flash card. Confirm this action by clicking the "OK" button.

If you have disabled the system for automatically opening external drives, you can do the following. Go to the "My Computer" folder. Hover over the New Disk shortcut (depending on your computer, the shortcut may be named USB Device, External Drive, or the name of a flash drive). Double-click on this shortcut with the left mouse button. Alternatively, right-click and select the “Open” option in the context menu that appears. Start working with the memory card.

You can open a specific file from a memory card through Explorer. To do this, go to the Start menu, select All Programs, and then the Accessories tab. Click on the "Explorer" line. The program will show access to the “My Documents” folder. Select a different folder address. To open the flash drive, set the explorer to the path to “My Computer” and in the opened folder, find the shortcut for the connected USB device. Click "Open" in the Explorer menu.

What interface does the old drive use: IDE or SATA;

Should it be able to write DVDs or only read them?

Should it be internal or external.

Connecting an external drive is the easiest way. Just plug it into any free USB port. If it will work in conjunction with a laptop or netbook, be sure to use a USB hub with its own power supply. Such a drive will not work in DOS.

To install the built-in drive into your computer, first turn off the power to it. Disconnect both cables from the old drive, remembering how they were connected. Remove the screws and pull in the old drive. On the new drive, if it is an IDE drive, move the Master-Slave-Cable select jumper to the same position as on the old one. Insert the new drive, secure it, and then connect both connectors in the same way as they were connected to the old one.

Before installing the drive, the laptop requires not only de-energizing, but also removing the battery. Using a special latch (or two such latches, depending on the design of the machine), disconnect the special cassette with the drive. Remove the four screws and then pull the drive out of the cassette. Insert the new drive and secure it with the same screws. Place the cassette with the new drive in place. Make sure it is secured with the latch (or two latch) again. It is impossible to install an optical drive in this way.

If it has been upgraded, reinstall the battery. Turn on the machine and check if the new drive works. Try and burn two or three media of each supported format to make sure that the drive is fully functional.

To connect to computer as a second hard disk of an external device designed to operate via a USB port, you just need to insert the connecting wire into the corresponding connectors on the bodies of both devices. The process of installing a stationary hard disk as the second main drive in the system unit of your computer. The sequence of actions for this option is described below.

Instructions

Shut down the operating system, turn off the computer, and disconnect the network cable. Position the system unit in such a way that you have free access to both of its side surfaces.

Remove both side panels. As a rule, to do this, it is enough to unscrew two screws connecting them to the rear panel, and then move them back 5 centimeters and put them somewhere not very far.

Install the new hard drive into one of the free slots in the case. Do this carefully so as not to accidentally disconnect the wires, which are abundant inside the case. The connectors for connecting power should be on the motherboard side, and the hard drive is secured with four screws - two on each side of the system unit case. Use an already installed hard drive as a sample for placement and fastening.

Connect the power cable and data cable (“cable”) between the new hard drive and the motherboard. These wires differ depending on the type of hard drive being installed (IDE or SATA), but in any case, their connectors are asymmetrical in shape and the connectors can only be inserted in one way, so you cannot make a mistake. An already installed hard drive will help you find the necessary slots on the motherboard - the connectors you are looking for should be located next to those used to connect it. On hard drive cases that use the IDE bus, there are jumpers that are used to establish a hierarchy of disks installed in the computer - one of them must be designated as primary, and all the rest as secondary. However, in most cases there is no need to use them, since the BIOS is able to figure out the device configuration itself with the jumpers set by default.

Make sure that you have not damaged anything inside the system case during the installation process or forgotten any tools in it. Do not rush to close the case - you should first check the result of the operation performed. Connect all the necessary wires, the last of which should be the network cable. Then turn on your computer and go into the BIOS settings to make sure it can recognize the new device. After this, turn off the computer and replace the side surfaces of the system unit.

Sources:

  • how to connect a disk to a computer

Having learned to install yourself with disk programs for computer, you will stop wasting money on calling the system administrator and will be able to handle any program yourself. In addition, program developers make their products so that even a beginner can install them.

You will need

  • - computer;
  • - a program recorded on disk.

Instructions

First of all, insert the disk with the program into the drive computer the mirror side down and the matte side up. You may be prompted to enter or confirm your administrator password in a window that opens. If you know the password, enter it and confirm.

If you want to install program on computer manually, then open and run the installation wizard file Install.exe or Setup.exe. In the first two windows you will see information about the program itself and the license agreement. After reading the material, click on the “Next” button. Often, in order to continue with the installation, you will need to check the “I agree to the terms of the agreement” box. Depending on the type of program, you will see a special form in which you fill in the required fields.

Next, find drive C and make sure there is free space for the downloaded program. Install program default is C:Program Files. If drive C is busy, then click on the “Browse” button and select another drive.

If you want to create a quick launch shortcut or a desktop shortcut, select this line in the new window that opens and click on the “Next” button. A window will open in front of you where you can see the installation of the program, with a performance scale in percentage. Once it is installed, click on the “Finish” button. After this, your program will be completely installed.

Check on your desktop for a shortcut to the program you just installed. If you don’t find it there, then go to the Start menu. The installed program will definitely be displayed in this menu.

note

Be careful when purchasing discs with programs from unverified resources, as they can be used to introduce a virus into the system.

Helpful advice

If you do not want to manually install the program, then use the Installation Wizard installation package, which allows you to install programs of additional complexity.

Modern users require more and more hard drive space to store information. Many solve the problem by connecting additional hard drives to the computer.

You will need

  • - Internet access.

Instructions

Determine the type of hard drive that is suitable for your . Study a paper copy of the instructions for the motherboard or look at the necessary information on the official website of the manufacturer of this device. Modern computers are equipped with a SATA slot, through which the motherboard and hard drive are connected.

It is worth noting that some motherboard models connect DVD drives via the IDE port. This makes it possible to use this channel to connect the motherboard to the hard drive. Open the cover of the system unit and find out the presence of certain ports. The IDE slot is a thin wide cable, and the SATA slot is a small wire with a small rectangular connector.

Buy a new hard drive. You should not choose a hard drive with a capacity of more than 500 GB unless you are sure that your motherboard supports relatively new hard drives. Information about this can be obtained on the website of the manufacturer of this motherboard model.

Turn off your computer and unplug the AC power cord. Connect the new hard drive to the selected connector. Turn on your PC and hold down the Delete key. After opening the BIOS menu, go to Boot Device. Find the Boot Priority section and open it. Install your old hard drive next to First Boot Device. This is necessary for the operating system to boot successfully.

Press F10 to restart your computer while keeping your settings. After the operating system has finished loading, wait until the new hard drive is detected. Completely format it. This will ensure stable operation of the device, saving you from possible troubles associated with data loss. Partition your hard drive if necessary.

Video on the topic

Tip 10: How to install a program without an installation disk

Modern software products are most often distributed on optical discs (CD or DVD) and the program installation script is designed to work with a reading device from these media. But the computer on which you want to install the application does not always have a CD/DVD drive installed. There are several installation methods that allow you to do without an installation disk.

Instructions

If the computer where you want to install the program is part of a local network, then you can use the disk reader of another computer on this network. To do this, you first need to open access to the CD/DVD drive for network users on the computer where it is installed. Then, if you are using Windows, right-click the “My Computer” icon on the desktop of a computer without an optical drive and select “Map network drive” from the pop-up menu. The connection wizard will launch, in which you need to specify the desired device on the network using the dialog opened by clicking on the “Browse” button. If the installation disk has already been placed in the device, then after the wizard is completed, the menu program recorded on it will immediately launch with a set of options for further actions, including installing the program.

Use the file containing the “image” of the installation disk if you do not have access to the disk reader over the network. It is similar to a regular archive, but it contains not only copies of files, but also an exact copy of the structure of their placement on the source disk. This allows you to use special emulator programs to use the file in the same way as a regular optical disc. If you do not have a ready-made disk image file containing the desired program, you will have to create it yourself.

Install an application on your computer that can create images and restore them from files (“mount”). For example, this could be Daemon Tools Lite - a free version of the program that can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website (http://daemon-tools.cc/rus/products/dtLite). You need to install it both on the computer on which the disk image will be created, and on the one where you need to install the program without using a disk. After installing the application, select the “DAEMON Tools panel” item in its menu, open the control panel and click on the “Create image” button. Following the instructions of the program, create an image of an optical disk and in any convenient way (via a flash drive, mobile phone, mp3 player, Internet, etc.) copy it to the computer in which you should do without the installation disk.

Right-click the Daemon Tools icon in the notification area of ​​the taskbar of the second computer, go to the Virtual CD/DVD-ROM section of the menu that opens, and in the “Drive 0” subsection, select the “Mount image” line. The emulator will open a window in which you need to specify the disk image file and click the “Open” button. After this, you can use the program's virtual installation disk in the same way as a regular optical disk.

For installing hard disk You will have to pay a certain amount of money at the service center. In addition, dragging a system unit with you is also not a very pleasant experience. It is much easier to install a hard drive at home. Even if you have no idea about computer architecture, you can still handle this task. Moreover, having completed such a procedure once, you will gain the necessary experience and be able to help others if necessary.

You will need

  • - Computer;
  • - SATA cable;
  • - SATA hard drive.

Instructions

The following steps will describe the procedure for installing a hard drive. disk with a SATA interface, since these are the hard drives that are most common now. First, you need to disconnect your computer from power. Also disconnect other components from it. Then unscrew the mounting screws and remove the system unit cover. For convenience, place the system unit on its side.

Now carefully examine the motherboard. You need to find SATA interfaces. There may be several of them. It says SATA next to them. Very often these connectors are located on the lower right side of the motherboard. If you have a schematic for your board, you can use it to find them first. When you find them, insert the SATA cable into this interface.

After this, install the hard drive in a free bay of the system unit. Screw the hard drive to the computer case. To do this, use the mounting screws that should come with the hard drive. If you don't have them, they can be purchased separately.

After the hard drive is installed in the bay, connect the other end of the SATA cable to it. Now you should connect power to the hard drive. Among the wires that come from the power supply, there should be a wire with SATA written on the end of the connector. This is what you need to connect to your hard drive.

Do not close the system unit cover yet. Connect a monitor and mouse to it. Turn on your computer. Wait for the operating system to load. After that, go to “My Computer”. Another hard drive should now appear there.

If everything went well and the system recognized the device, then you can close the cover of the system unit and connect other devices. But if the new hard disk does not appear, then most likely you did not fully insert one of the cords. It is recommended to double-check the contacts.

Video on the topic

Sources:

  • how to install sata

Reducing the cost and increasing the capacity of commercially produced rigid disks has led to the fact that today almost any user of a personal computer can afford to increase the amount of space for data storage when necessary. Installing a hard drive into the system unit takes a few minutes. However, before use, you need to define a new hard drive in the operating system.

You will need

  • - administrator rights.

Instructions

Open the Control Panel folder window. To do this, select the corresponding item in the “Settings” section of the menu that opens when you click the “Start” button in the taskbar.

Launch the Computer Management Console. In the control panel, double-click on the “Administration” shortcut. Then open the Computer Management shortcut.

Find the drive that needs to be identified. Expand the Storage Devices group in the left pane of the Computer Management window. Click on the "Disk Management" item. Wait for the snap-in to load and display its interface in the right pane. View the list of drives. Find the one that shows a status of "Not Initialized".

Initialize the hard drive. Right-click on its button in the bottom panel of the current snap-in. In the context menu, select “Initialize disk”. In the “Disks” list of the dialog that appears, if necessary, uncheck devices other than the selected one. Click OK.

Sources:

Press the Windows key or Start button and open Control Panel. Under the Performance and Maintenance category, select the System icon. Another option: while on your desktop, click on the “My computer» right mouse button. Select "Properties" from the context menu. You can also immediately select the “Device Manager” item in the drop-down menu (the same can be done by accessing the component through the “My computer" in the Start menu).

If you called the “System” component, go to the “Hardware” tab in the window that opens and click the “Device Manager” button in the group of the same name, an additional window will open. If you initially selected the “Device Manager” item in the context menu, the desired window will be available immediately.

Find the DVD and CD-ROM drives branch in the list and expand it by clicking on the “+” icon. Right-click on the name of your disc reader and select “Properties” from the drop-down menu. In the properties window, open the “General” tab and use the drop-down list in the “Device Usage” group to set the value to “This device is in use (enabled).” Confirm your choice with OK and close the windows.

When buying a DVD with a game, you need to be prepared for the fact that problems may arise with the computer drive reading it. In each specific case you will have to figure out why this happened.

Physical damage to the DVD

Often, even a new disk can be damaged. Sometimes they are visible (cracks, scratches, grease stains and even chips), sometimes not. In order to check the integrity of the game disc, you need to try to run it on several DVD drives. If the disk is nowhere to be seen by the computer, then the problem is in this storage medium. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, a consumer can return a purchased defective disc to the seller.

DVD drive malfunction

Sometimes a DVD disc cannot be seen by the computer due to damage or contamination of the DVD drive. If the drive is , then this means contamination of the so-called reading head, which has a crystalline structure. Cleaning it is quite easy, armed with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol. Under no circumstances should you use water. If possible, it is advisable to buy a special disk for cleaning all types of drives. At the bottom of such a disk there is a special area with a brush, which during operation removes dust from the reading head.

Damage to the DVD drive may result in noisy operation, lack of signs of the disc being read, or errors in the computer detecting the drive. If you have enough skills, you can disassemble the system unit, check the connection of the cables and wires from the drive to the motherboard and power supply. Sometimes the drive does not always have enough power from the power supply.

If all else fails, you will have to take either the DVD drive (if it was purchased separately from the computer) or the computer itself to a service center, where the device will be examined. It can last up to two weeks. If the case is under warranty, then repairs will be made. Otherwise, you will have to purchase a new drive yourself, or repair it. At the same time, the cost of repairing the drive can be more expensive than buying a new one.

Errors when burning a disc

Sometimes the game DVD may have been recorded with errors by the manufacturer itself. In this case, the disc will either not be readable at all and will not be seen by the computer, the game will not be installed, or the game will launch with errors. To make sure that it was written to the disk with errors, you should try to repeat the installation on several computers. If the disc is still not visible or readable with errors, you will have to take it to the seller, who will be obliged to replace it.

Tip 15: Why the disk won’t start if it was started from another computer

Sometimes users may encounter one rather unpleasant problem, which is that the computer does not read a disk that was functional on another PC.

The drive won't read the disc

If you encounter a similar problem, then most likely the problem is a malfunction of the optical drive you are using. For example, you put a CD in the drive, and it just spins it, but nothing appears on the screen. There are several most common reasons why this can happen. Most likely, the drive has simply become unusable and it is time to replace it. Fortunately, such a replacement will not hurt your pocket too much, and finding a suitable device will not be difficult. Of course, there is no need to write off your disk drive ahead of time. First you need to understand the problem.

Troubleshooting

For example, if the user is using virtual disk managers, then most likely the problem lies with them. Quite often it happens that such programs conflict with the optical disc drive and as a result it refuses to work. Sometimes users create too many virtual drives, but do not know how to delete them correctly, and by mistake they can delete the drive itself from the system.

In addition, you can check the drivers for the drive. In order to find them, you should open the “Start” menu and go to “Control Panel”, where select “System”. A fairly extensive list of parameters will appear here, among which you need to find and select “Hardware”, and then “Device Manager” in the menu on the left. In the window that appears, you need to find the item “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers”. Here, using the right mouse button and the “Delete” button, eliminate absolutely everything. After that, restart your computer and everything will be fine.

Sometimes the problem may be in the cable that connects to the motherboard and drive. In order to check its serviceability, you should buy a new one at a computer store (fortunately, it costs about 200-400 rubles) and install it in place of the old one. It is worth noting that when installing a new cable, you need to carefully inspect the connection connectors and make sure that it will stand where you need it. Otherwise, you can throw not only the purchased cable into the garbage disposal, but also the drive itself, as it will simply burn out.

If none of these methods work, and the drive still does not read a working CD, then this means that its service life has expired, and you will need to buy a new one. In most cases, the drive's board breaks or it simply burns out on its own.