How to Play DVD in Windows 10

by Christine Smith • 2021-03-11 15:14:03 • Proven solutions

How do I play a DVD on Windows 10?

Lately, Microsoft announced that there would be No DVD Playback Support for Windows Media Player on Windows 10. The main reason for this change in strategy is licensing fees that Microsoft has to pay to support features such as DVD playback in the operating system. This may let you down if you have some DVD collections and want to watch them in Windows 10. Don’t worry, there are some shortcuts you can resort to. Read on to get more details on how to play DVDs in Windows 10 without any trouble.

Part 1. How to convert and play DVD in Windows 10 easily.

You may get used to playing back your media files with the embedded Windows Media Player, and it’ll be troublesome to switch to other players. But you don’t have many options now since the DVD playback is not available in Windows 10. Luckily, there is an alternative to Windows Media Player which lets you preview and play DVD movies directly, or convert DVD to any formats supported by Windows Media Player like WMV. That is Wondershare UniConverter (originally Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate) , an all-in-one video converter, which supports 1000+ video and audio formats for conversion, editing, compression, downloading, and others. You can also burn videos to DVD/Blu-ray disc with free menu templates easily.

Wondershare UniConverter — Best DVD Player and Converter for Windows 10

• Convert DVD to MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, and other 1000 formats.
• Convert multiple files to other formats in batch without any quality loss.
• Convert DVD videos to optimized preset for almost all of the devices, like iPhone, iPad, Huawei phone, etc.
• Burn and customize videos to DVD folder, ISO files, DVD, or Blu-ray disc.
• 30X faster conversion speed than common converters with unique APEXTRANS technology.
• Powerful editing tools to customize videos with trimming, cropping, editing subtitles, applying effects, etc.
• Download or record videos from YouTube and other 10,000+ video sharing sites.
• Transfer videos from computer to iPhone, iPad, and other devices directly and vice versa.
• Versatile toolbox: Add video metadata, GIF maker, cast video to TV, image converter, screen recorder, and more.
• Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, macOS 11 Big Sur, 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6.

2 Solutions on How to Play DVD on Windows 10 Easily with Wondershare UniConverter

Step 1 Load DVD files to Wondershare DVD Player.

Download, install and launch Wondershare DVD player on Windows 10. Connect your DVD to PC and click the button to add your DVD files. Alternatively, you can drag the Video_TS folder directly onto the interface. DVD disc, ISO files, DVD folder, and IFO files are all supported.

Step 2 Play and convert DVD videos Windows 10.

Method 1: Play DVD on Windows 10 directly.

After uploading your DVD, move your mouse to the DVD you want to play and click the Play icon on the video thumbnail, you can play the DVD videos without any trouble.

Method 2: Convert DVD to Windows Media Player compatible formats.

If you want to play your DVD on any device without trouble, you can convert it to MP4 or WMV easily. Click the drop-down menu beside Output Format: option, you’ll find a variety of formats and devices presets. In the Video tab, choose WMV and the related resolution.

Note: Besides converting DVD to a WMV file for playing with Windows Media Player, you can also convert to an AVI file for the PSP, Xbox, and Blackberry; to a MOV file for QuickTime or iTunes; to an FLV file for YouTube; MP4 for iPod, iPhone, iPad; and much more.

Tips: This video converter also provides a hands-on editing feature. You can easily crop the black edges, trim out unwanted part, apply special video effects, add subtitles, etc. Please refer to the How to Trim/Crop/Cut Videos Easily >> for more details.

Step 3 Convert DVD to Windows 10 supported formats.

Hit the Start All button to kick off the DVD conversion for Windows 10 instantly. All the tasks will be done at fast speed and high quality. At the same time, the progress bar will display the percentage and remaining time of the conversion. Bingo! You’ve made it! Now you can playback the converted DVDs in Windows 10 Media Player with no restriction.

Besides a powerful video converter program, Wondershare UniConverter is also a helpful DVD maker for Windows 10. It enables you to burn videos to DVD with easy steps.

Part 2. Other DVD players for Windows 10 as alternatives to Windows Media Player.

You can also try some universal players below (totally free) in order to watch your DVDs in Windows 10.

1. VLC

It’s an open-source, highly-portable free media player, and the most popular among both Windows and Mac users. The subtitle’s presentation is much smoother compared to other players and you can easily seek out favorite scenes with its versatile action buttons. The VLC player is able to playback smoothly a DVD disc, DVD folder, or ISO image files. The only downside is that the changeable skin features do not work on a Mac OS X.

2. MPlayer

MPlayer is also a powerful media player that supports tons of video formats and runs in Mac, Windows, and Linux systems. Compared with VLC, MPlayer features its playback on Blu-Ray DVD, though not all steps are handled by MPlayer itself. It’s also worth mentioning that the installation takes up less space on your hard drive.

In conclusion, if you don’t know how to play DVD movies on Windows 10, you can try the alternatives list above for DVD playback for Windows 10. Or using the better method to convert DVD to other Windows compatible formats with Wondershare UniConverter.

How to Fix a DVD or CD Drive Not Working or Missing in Windows 10

This might make you feel old, but CD/DVD drives are now considered legacy hardware. As Windows 10 continues to modernize the operating system, support for such older hardware technology as optical drives is becoming increasingly spotty. This is unfortunate since many users still depend on CDs and DVDs. In fact, you might even need to use a DVD drive to install Windows 10 on your computer. One of the common complaints I have encountered among users is the loss of their DVD or CD drive after upgrading. This can be a result of a combination of factors: corrupt driver, out of date firmware, or a factory defect. Before you throw out your DVD drive and get a new one, here is a look at some troubleshooting steps you can try to get it working again.

Use Windows Update to Fix Windows 10 DVD Drive Issues

It’s not unusual for your optical drive to be working just fine in a previous version of Windows or Windows 10, then the minute you upgrade to a new version, it stops working. The first thing you can do is check Windows Update then install the latest drivers if there are any. For example, Microsoft released updates for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update and version 1511 that resolved problems with optical drives. In this case, the cause of the problem was also the solution.

Click Start > Settings > Update & security. Make sure that your system is up to date and there are no hardware driver updates to install.

If you get a CD/DVD driver that works for you, you might want to consider stopping Windows 10 from automatically updating drivers in the future.

Reinstall or Update Driver in Device Manager

Boot to the Windows 10 desktop, then launch Device Manager by pressing Windows key + X and clicking Device Manager. Expand DVD/CD-ROM drives, right-click the optical drive listed, then click Uninstall. Exit Device Manager then restart your computer. Windows 10 will detect the drive then reinstall it. You can also use the option to Update Driver Software from within Device Manager.

Another option you can try – I notice this works for many users – involves removing and reinstalling the IDE/ATAPI drivers. Launch Device Manager again, click the View menu then click Show hidden devices. Expand IDE/ATAPI Controllers then uninstall each of the following:

• ATA Channel 0
• ATA Channel 1
• Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller

There might be multiple entries listed for ATA Channel 0, 1 and PCI IDE Controller; uninstall all of them then restart your computer. Windows 10 will detect the drive then reinstall it.

Remove Virtual Drive Software

Virtual drive software, which is used to mount disc images (ISOs) can sometimes cause conflict with physical optical drives. If you have utilities such as Daemon Tools, PowerISO, ISO Recorder or similar software installed, remove them. Press Windows key + x and choose Programs and Features. Highlight the program and click Uninstall.

Check Your BIOS/UEFI Settings and Update Chipset Firmware

If your CD/DVD drive isn’t detected by Windows, make sure the drive is working and recognized in your computer’s firmware. Check out our article for instructions on how to load your BIOS or UEFI firmware interface. If you see your optical drive listed in the BIOS, that’s a good sign.

If you don’t see your CD/DVD drive in the BIOS/UEFI, then something is definitely awry.

Depending on the age of your system, there is a possibility your chipset drivers for your motherboard might be out of date. Check the manufacturer’s website for your computer and browse the downloads section for your particular model. Installing the latest chipset driver may resolve the issue with your optical drive not working properly or not being recognized in Windows.

You should also check if there are any BIOS or firmware updates for your system since these can improve Windows 10 compatibility with older hardware.

Edit Windows Registry to Fix CD Drive Issues in Windows 10

If the problem persists after exhausting these troubleshooting steps, then you can move on to making changes to the Windows 10 registry, which might restore functionality. Before carrying out any of these steps, make sure you back up your registry and create a system restore point just in case.

Press Windows key + x then click Command Prompt (Admin).

Enter the following command at the prompt, hit Enter, exit the command prompt then restart your computer.

reg.exe add “HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Controller0” /f /v EnumDevice1 /t REG_DWORD /d 0x00000001

Corrupt registry entries have also been known to cause problems with hardware such as optical drives. Removing these corrupt entries just might fix the problem.

Click Start, and type: regedit
Right-click regedit then click Run as administrator
Navigate to the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\

In the right pane, click UpperFilters

From the Edit menu, click Delete then click Yes to confirm changes.

Repeat the same steps for LowerFilters.

If you don’t see an entry for LowerFilters, exit the registry then restart your computer.

Playing DVD Movies in Windows 10

Windows 10 does not include native DVD Playback, neither does it support Blu-ray media. If you want to do this inWindows 10, you need to install compatible software that supports your optical drive. Microsoft provides a universal DVD playback app for purchase from the Windows Store. If you don’t want to purchase software, you can check the manufacturer’s website to find out if they have supported software you can use to view your media. Third party software such as VLC Player might work with your media, and it’s free too.

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Conclusion

Hopefully, these tips can resurrect your optical drive. If you still cannot get the drive to work or show up in Windows 10, you can consider rolling back to your previous Windows version to see if it makes a difference; or consider purchasing a new drive. A convenient option is a USB external optical drive. This is not the answer many of you were hoping to hear, but its an option to consider (and will only set you back about $25).

29 Comments

My Win 10 doesn’t have the channel 0,1, or dual channel listings in the first step.

I finally solved my windows media player while using windows 10 problem. Windows media player is NOT compatible with Windows 10.
The media update listed in this article does apply to Windows 10 users.
The app you recommend purchasing from the app store, “Windows DVD Player” is not available for Windows 10. A windows tech forwarded that app to me, I purchased it, we downloaded it only to find that it is not compatible with Windows 10.
Finally the only app that worked was the VLC media player, and it’s free. A Microsoft tech downloaded it onto my Windows 10 laptop and it works perfectly. I hate that I wasted so much time trying to figure this out, when Microsoft knew along Windows Media Player isn’t compatible with Windows 10.

I have the VLC player and I have tried to get it to read my dvd drive, but I keep getting an error. Can you say how you got it to work?

I have done all the tips above in order written. My DVD driver is not available still. It is in BIOS, it is in device manager with it’s most new driver installed, and it can be seen in filemanager also, but does not work. Although it was after some time after finishing above procedures last restart that for my surprise it was working again, but the next restart had brougth it away again.
I suspect, but I cannot confirm, that the cause was the latest windows update last week, but the drive does not went wrong immedaitely after update, but only some days later.
I have to try yet to turn back to last savepoint before last update.

As with many MANY others after recent windows 10 update dose not recognize sata drive cd dvd rw. drive shows in device manager and other places BUT not as E I have read and tried everything possible – device manager – Command prompt. Last thing I wanted do was edit reg. Found 2-3 on YouTube NO NOTHING from Microsoft I have contact manufacture and about updating Mother board and Bois also spoke with Microsoft Tech. WHY is there not Microsoft Quick fix now? Not able post here screen shots of My system or DVD drive showing in couple places. My ? question is How many thousands of people are having this same problem ? Must wait & hope for next Windows 10 update will fix problem. I have Beautiful $1,500 windows 10 Computer which rune Excellent EXCEPT can not get DVD drive work because of Windows update and that is a dam shame. I have extra SSD Clone of my system which to use and will probably get this fixed Editing Reg from video on YouTube. I am 80 years of age and try stay on even keel BUT need i say MORE

your suggestion to just buy a external usb dvd drive is hilarious. i haven’t even gotten one to work with windows 10 the operating system just won’t work with it. but if i plug the same usb burner into another computer running windows 7 or 8 there isn’t any issue. what the hell is wrong with the tech community? dvd players are deprecated? as you point out you need to install windows with a dvd sometimes. why does windows need to charge you for a dvd player program? if dvds are deprecated why sell dvd players? if they are considered useless why sell them