Changing DVD Region

Hi Gez. Bruno,

The region of DVD drives can only be changed five times, then they become locked. If your drive is locked to the wrong region, but you would like to play DVDs from another region, the best thing to do is buy another DVD drive for the other region.

but i havent changed my dvd region even once, could it be something else?

how much would another dvd drive cost in case that i really have to buy another one .?

In drive properties, you should find a region tab. It will list the current region and how many region changes you have left. Tell me what you find.

by the by xps15, windows 7, dvdrwbr

Hey,

can you help me with this....I am a soldier and will soon be deploying to far off places, I bought this labtop with the intent of using it down range.  The dvds in country have regions of...well who knows...not the usa thats for certain.  Also, when stationed in korea, some of the dvds I purchased from the px have a differant region as well.  I tried playing benchwarmers last night on staff duty and had to change the region code, and then at midnight I tried playing a movie I rented from blockbuster, and had to change the region code again.  This can't be right...and no the dvds are not pirated, bought on the cob and at the base exchange...I mean if my dvd player locks up while down range and then I redeploy to conus, it doesnt seem right that I have to buy another disc player...can you help, is there special dispensation for the military??

sgt mccall

Hi Sgt McCall,

It's possible you've got discs from the US (region 1) and the far east (region 3). The best way to handle this going forward would be to unlock your DVD drive. I'm not going to link to the procedure so as not to fall afoul of the forum rules, but technically it's perfectly legal to unlock a drive. The key word to search is DVD unlock. You'll need the model number of your drive, which is listed in device manager.

Remember, this is a firmware fix, not a device driver modification. Fiddling with device drivers does not remedy the issue.

You can buy a USB DVD drive like my Samsung for a modest price and set its region appropriately.

An alternative is to buy a subscription to Slysoft AnyDVD, and you won't need a second drive.

You may purchase Slysoft AnyDVD to enable your laptop to read DVDs from multiple regions. You get a 21 day free trial. I would recommend this over physically swapping the disc drive everytime you want to see a DVD.