laptop not reading dvd's

it normally reads DVD's but it wont read the Stephen king's "kingdom hospital" series. sometimes when i try the Simpsons seasons on DVD it takes me opening and closing my DVD drive a few times for it to read the DVD. i have a Gateway model #W350A. hope somebody can help me out.

 

Welcome to MajorGeeks! Have you tried one of those cd/dvd cleaning disks? Might fix it, won't hurt anything.

E

 

What happens with regular data CDs? or music CDs? Have you tried any other DVDs like maybe a game DVD or a data DVD? If the problem is only with movie DVDs, then I'm inclined to think it may be a software issue. If all DVDs have problems, then the drive may need a firmware update or it may be failing altogether. Is this a recent problem? Was the drive OK and then this problem just started?

 

yes i tried all of those, its just that Kingdom Hopsital DVD's it is having problems with and sometimes when i put other dvd's in it has me to open and close the hard drive a few times for it to read, but it sometimes has me to do that.

 

yes i tried them all and they are read but sometimes dvd's dont read and i have to open and close the hardrive a few times for it to read, but thats just sometimes.

 

So the problem is primarily with DVDs. Have you tried data DVDs (like a game on DVD, or some documents or programs on a DVD)? If the problem occurs with ALL DVD discs, and not only movies, then I'd say the drive is malfunctioning and either needs a firmware update, or the entire drive needs to be replaced. If the problem is just with certain movies, then I'd say something is wrong with those particular discs, or something in the encoding isn't totally compatible with your drive. If the PC is less than a year old, the drive should be under warranty. If not, a repacement should be under $100 from any number of online sources. You can probably find a refurb/used unit on eBay. Just be sure that it has a non-DOA guarantee or some type of warranty/return policy....

 

no i did try all dvd types and they all work, its really weird, i never had this problem before with this dvd.

 

:confused That is weird! You'd think that if one movie works, they should all work. Very strange indeed. Have you tried the same movie on a different PC? Like take it to a friends house or something, or even run down to the local PC shop and ask 'em to drop it in a PC real quick.... It could be that maybe your DVD playback software isn't reading it correctly. This movie isn't HD or BluRay is it? If so, that would explain everything.

 

i took it to my buddies house, and it played on his perfectly, but no its not blue ray or hd
im probably more confused than you are lol.