DVD Rom will burn DVDs but won't read Region 1 DVDs

I have an HP DV6915NR with a Pioneer DVD R/W. My issue is that I recently installed software to help me author a few movies I copied with my VCR-DVD burner combo. As I was testing the software I downloaded, one of them asked me about the Region my DVD Rom had (in order to rip the DVD into a file) and as I didn't understand the question I responded that it was Region Free - which I know now it is incorrect. Some of the sofware I was testing I uninstalled so I cannot remember which softare this was. Well, now, all of the sudden my DVD Rom will burn DVD Movies (VOD), read and burn CDs, but it will not play Region 1 DVDs (although it plays Region Free DVDs). Odd, uh? My DVD is set to Region 1 both on the Device Drivers section and I checked for registry entries, which also read Region 1. I have no filters in my regystry either. I cannot find the solution to my problem. I know it is not a dying DVD Rom because it can accurately burn DVDs. Anyone could shed some light about this issue? Anyone with a similar or same issue?

Thanks.

Some DVD anti-piracy security programmes will force non-recognition of DVD's if you have certain software installed.

That's about all I know on this subject.

What version of Windows and what burning software?

Actually, the software I installed was to rip a DVD that was not commercial, it was a home video DVD that I created with my VCR-DVD burner combo (I transferred it from VHS to DVD and then in my computer I ripped it to WMV format). I tried several different softwares to achive this, so I cannot remember which was the software that asked me about my DVD Rom setting (I am guessing it needed to know that in order to read the DVD).

I have Windows Vista Home Premium (32bits).

I have no software installed other than the one that comes with the laptop, so there is no reason to believe that the DVD Rom is detecting irregular software (but who knows).

In any case, I rebuilt the entire computer, to discard software issues. Now that it is back to where it originally was, I still have the issue, which leads me to beleive that this is a firmware hardware related problem. I remember the software warning me about making the wrong selection and thereafter not being able to read DVDs, I should have know better. In any case, my DVD Rom says that it has 4 additional Region changes available, from a total of 5, which means that the software I used changed the Region and screwed things up, although the region that shows is the correct one (Region 1). I wonder if changing the region and then back to Region 1 will help.

Thanks for your comments so far. Anything anyone else might have to say about this issue will be appreciated.

Try this player - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

A similar issue posted here gets that as a workaround - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...6223930AAidCzD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ecemp

I wonder if changing the region and then back to Region 1 will help.

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Might help, but will kill 2 changes out of the 4 left. Better look for a firmware reset utility as well...