Laptop DVD drive not working

Gozoman · 01 Nov 2012

I have a pioneer blueray writer drive installed in my Sony Vaio laptop. I'm on holiday and brought some DVD's with me to watch in the evenings. I have watched several since arriving but tonight when I tried to play one nothing happened. I checked in device manager and it reports that the drive is working properly but when I checked device region I found that it was set to region 1 instead of region 2. When I try to switch to region 2 I get the following error message;

"Unable to update region setting. The drive reports that it requires media of the destination region (region 2) so please insert appropriate media and try again."

When I insert a region 2 DVD into the drive and click okay it asks if I'm sure I want to change to region 2, I click OK and I get the same error message as above. I have tried uninstalling the drive and then rebooting the computer to force Windows 7 to reinstall it but it just comes up the same as it was. Any idea how to get this working again?

jumanji · 02 Nov 2012

It would appear that you have exhausted the five region code changes allowed for the optical drive. ( Your region code is now fixed to 1 and you may not be able to change it any further.)

In the circumstances, you may download DVDFab Passkey Lite, run it in the background and watch any region DVD. Passkey Lite -- Free and Lite version of Passkey for DVD & Blu-ray

Gozoman · 02 Nov 2012

Thats not the case. I have three region changes left according to what it says.

jumanji · 03 Nov 2012

OK, your first post did not mention that you are still left with three changes to go.:)

Not to worry. We shall get deeper into the mystery!

1. To be able to change the region code, one should do it as an administrator or an user with administrator privileges.

2. Assuming that you have met the above criterion, one should use a single region DVD of that region code. For example, if you want to change it to Region 2, you should insert an exclusive Region 2 DVD and not a DVD with region code like 2,3,5. ( Yes, some DVDs can play on multiple regions and the region codes are marked so.) So check your DVD region code and use an exclusive Region 2 DVD to change it to Region 2.

Many users have reported this problem of region lock and not being able to change the region code even when number of changes are left with, but to the best of my knowledge, no definite solution has come out.

In case the above two tips do not apply in your case, I would say " Go with the solution offered in my previous post" :) until a positive solution otherwise comes through !!!!!!!

EDIT: Before someone comes up and tells "Use a player like VLC which can play all region DVDs without fuss", I hasten to add it here. That is an oft repeated suggesstion in cases like this. ( I do not use VLC but have licensed versions of AnyDVDHD on two of my PCs. So no botheration about region codes and protection algorithms. But AnyDVD will cost you pounds of flesh, Passkey Lite is freeware.)

Gozoman · 03 Nov 2012

Thanks again for the reply. I've just downloaded and installed Passkey Lite version 8 and, well nothing! I put a DVD which I know is working as I watched it last weekend into the drive and nothing happens. Device manager states that it is working properly and it is set to auto start but nothing. When I open my computer and click on my DVD drive it opens and asks me to insert a disc. As there is already a disc in it I close the tray again but nothing. If I click again on my DVD drive it opens the tray again and asks me to insert a disc! It just doesn't seem to see that there is a disc in the tray and I have tried both region 1 and region 2 discs.

jumanji · 03 Nov 2012

The problem is now getting more serious and pointing towards a hardware failure - which can happen anytime.

Never mind if Device manager says the device is working properly. It only means that the right driver has been loaded and your device is recognised as read from its firmware. Does not do a hardware check to tell you of any problem and to that extent it is dumb.

Did you try to play a Region 1 DVD to which it is set and does it play?

If even a Region 1 DVD does not play, I would proceed to check with a known-good External optical drive. If it plays true, then definitely your internal ODD has given up.

Without this definitive input, we will only be shooting in the dark trying out various software solutions to undo any changes that could have taken place with the installation of any ODD-related software like iTunes, Virtual drive software, burning/ripping software etc. At the moment I am inclined to think that you have not installed any new software of that sort recently.

Gozoman · 03 Nov 2012

As you say I have not installed any software other than Passkey Lite version 8. Since the problem occurred after trying to copy a DVD with Nero I uninstalled Nero. Otherwise no changes made.

I have tried a Region 1 DVD in it but it doesn't recognise that either.

Is it possible the lens in the DVD reader could be dirty? I'm in Malta at the moment and was with a German friend today who's computer started playing up and all she was getting for two days were a few beeps. It turned out that all it needed was a clean out as dust had got in. Dust and humidity are the main problems here.

Other than the Microsoft Fix-it tool are there any other trusted tools which can run a hardware check and maybe give a definitive answer to what is causing a problem? I know there are many things on the web which promise to do all sorts of things but actually infect your computer so just wondering if you knew anything that could be trusted.

jumanji · 04 Nov 2012

Yep, since the drive is unable to recognise a Region 1 DVD too, cleaning the lense would be a good idea. You may buy a lense cleaner CD which I think should be available wherever you are.( If not very very gently wipe the lense with a microfiber cloth.)

Running the Microsoft Fix-it is also recommended.(This should remove any upper/lower filters installed by Nero but which may remain after its uninstall.)

Except saying yes to these two as envisaged by you, I have no further ideas.

Gozoman · 04 Nov 2012

The problem there is since the DVD drive doesn't recognise when there is a DVD in it a lense cleaner would be no good as it wouldn't rotate!

As for the Fix-it, tried that and it didn't work.

I checked the registry last night and there is a lower filter installed for another program I have called DVD Fab. I don't know if that would be causing such a problem after all this time.

I head home at the end of the week so I might just leave it until then and take the drive out completly for a proper clean. If that doesn't work I have another Sony Vaio at home so I'll sway the drives over and see what happens.

jumanji · 04 Nov 2012

No, Neither DVDFab nor Nero will cause this problem. ( I have both on my Desktop with Samsung DVD writer and Liteon BD writer.)

How did you decide that your drive does not spin at all when a media is inserted? ( My case has flaps and so I really cannot see the the LED indicators on the drives.)

It will be a good idea to swap the ODDs and check if those are identical and can fit in rightly.

Let us know what transpired finally.:)