How to of the Day: How to Play DVDs on Your Windows PC for Free

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How to Play DVDs on Your Windows PC for Free Oct 6th 2012, 02:00 DVDs are expensive enough as it is without paying for software to run them. Whether you want to use built-in Windows software or an alternative media player, use this guide to learn how to play DVDs on your Windows PC for free. Edit Steps Check your computer. It may seem obvious, but make sure you have a DVD drive, not just a CD drive. A CD drive will not play DVD media. Look for the DVD symbol on the front of the drive. If you don't have a DVD drive, don't despair. Your CD drive can usually be replaced with a DVD drive. Check your software. Sometimes, the best things in life are free—–and right in front of you! See if you have Windows Media Player. Go to Start > Search and type Windows Media Player. If you have it, you can play your DVD on Windows Media player. If you don't have Windows Media Player, or yours is out of date, upgrade to the latest version. Go to the help menu to find a link to the latest upgrade, which is currently version 12. Install a free media player. If Windows Media Player is unable to read the DVD, you can download other media players, or you may simply need to install an MPEG 2 codec. You can download the latest codec installation package from Microsoft here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=507. You can check for all the codecs you could ever need at: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/ffdshow.htm codecs.com. You can also download and install RealPlayer, GOM Player (which will hunt down codecs for you whenever it can't play something), BSPlayer, UMPlayer, and VLC. See "Tips" below for more information on these and other media players. Connect an external DVD drive. If all else fails, you can always add an external USB DVD drive to your system. An external drive has many advantages, including: Plug into any computer Can be "retired" when the technology becomes obsolete Is easier to connect than a built-in drive Reduces the weight of your laptop if you remove the old drive and replace it with a cap to cover the hole. Skip the DVD altogether. For whatever reason, your computer or your budget is just not ready for a DVD player. Don't despair, there is always online! Sign up for Netflix. For a few dollars a month, you have access to hundreds of movies and TV shows. Download from iTunes. You can download or rent movies from iTunes, as well as the usual songs and CDs. Download torrents. Using a torrent client, you can download movies and shows that aren't even available in your area. Best of all, it's free! Edit Video Edit Tips Another alternate method to enable DVD playback is to download a package like "K-Lite Codec Pack" which not only adds support for DVDs but also adds support for playing just about any format of media, or A/V file out there. Users of Windows Vista will be able to play DVDs using Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center without installing any software. See The Top 5 Best Free DVD Player Software for Windows[1] or The 10 Best Alternatives for Windows Media Player[2] for an overview of both free and paid media players. Edit Things You'll Need Windows PC Edit Related wikiHows How to Destroy a CD or DVD How to Burn ISO Files to DVD How to Be a Professional Mu Online S3, 4, 5 Player Edit Sources and Citations Article Tools Read on wikiHow Email this Article Edit Discuss Media files: 200px-Play-DVDs-on-Your-Windows-PC-for-Free-Step-1.jpg (image/jpeg) 200px-Play-DVDs-on-Your-Windows-PC-for-Free-Step-2.jpg (image/jpeg)

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