Ultimate Guide on How to Play and Watch DVD Movies on HP Laptop

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The Ultimate Guide on How to Play and Watch DVD Movies on HP Laptop

Updated on Feb 27, 2024

Have no idea how to enjoy DVDs on HP laptops or find your DVD won't play on HP laptops? Don't worry! In the following, I’ll provide a detailed guide on how to play DVDs on an HP laptop in the most digestible way. Before reading, you can download the recommended program to fix the HP laptop won't play DVD issue in the cleverest way.

Program download link:

https://www.videoconverterfactory.com/download/dvd-ripper.exe dvd-ripper.exe

Things You Should Know Before Learning How to Play DVD on HP Laptop

1. Windows 10/11 computers don't have a DVD-player app built-in, so you'll have to download a DVD player or rip the DVD content.

2. If your HP laptop doesn't have a DVD drive, you need to have an external one.

Part1. How to Play DVD on HP Laptop?

Part 2. Best External DVD Drives for HP Laptop

Part 3. HP Laptop Won’t Play DVD? Fixed!

Part 4. How to Watch DVD on Laptop without DVD Player?

Part 1. How to Play DVD on HP Laptop

How to eject DVD drive on HP laptop

Step 1. DVD drive is essential for playing DVD. Does your HP laptop have a built-in DVD drive?

If no, turn to Part 2 to find yourself a satisfying external DVD drive, hook it up with your HP laptop, and proceed.

If yes, let’s eject the DVD drive.

1) Locate and hit the physical eject button on the surface of your laptop alongside with DVD logo. If you can’t find any, try pressing the DVD drive tray and it might pop out.

2) Or right-click on “DVD-ROM”, “DVD-R/RW”, “BD-ROM” or a similar one under “Computer” and select “Eject”.

Step 2. Insert the DVD you intend to play into the DVD drive, and gently push them back into your laptop, then you should hear the DVD revs up.

How to load DVD into a DVD player program

Step 3. Now, you need a proper DVD player program to play DVD movie.

Download VLC Media Player (VLC) at: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html, install and launch. In VLC, click on “Media” tab > open disc, and the DVD movie is on.

Note: If your HP laptop has a DVD-ROM drive and is running Windows XP/Vista/7, then there is a default DVD movie player. You can just use the default DVD player to play DVD movies on your HP laptop. However, Windows Media Player Windows 10/11 doesn’t support DVD playback, and Windows will charge you $14.99 in Windows DVD player for watching DVD, whereas VLC is a free, clean and open-source program that helps to play virtually any media content without charging anything.

Sure, VLC is just one recommendation, you can adopt other media programs as well. Here, check out information for the best free DVD player program for HP laptop → Best Free DVD Players for Windows 10

Part 2. Best External DVD Drives for HP Laptop

Thin-and-light-wise, most of the HP laptops have removed the optical DVD drive already, thus users might have to draw support from a decent external DVD drive, for proper DVD or CD playing. And now I’d like to introduce you the best external DVD drives for HP laptop that you should totally get one.

Dell USB DVD Drive-DW316

1. Dell USB DVD Drive-DW316

See on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VWVZ0V0/?creativeASIN=B00VWVZ0V0&linkCode=w61&imprToken=W5owhkqpd8b8WIdlS0iyGg&slotNum=1&tag=gamels-20

Coming in first as the best budget, Dell USB DVD Drive-DW316 seems perfect in everything. It has a spotless design, sleek look, lightweight, tiny size, good durability, stable performance and features the ease of use with its pre-loaded CyberLink Media Suite, Plug and Play option and powered via USB cable – you don’t have to configure anything for it, plug-in and you’re ready to go.

ASUS ZenDrive Ultra Slim USB 2.0 External 8X DVD Optical Drive

2. ASUS ZenDrive Ultra Slim Ultra Slim USB 2.0 External 8X DVD Optical Drive

See on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenDrive-SDRW-08U7M-U-BLK-AS/dp/B01A27IUUM

Though not looking as cute compared with the other options, ASUS features an almost-unmatched 13mm thickness, meaning the best fitness to slim laptops.

ASUS ZenDrive focus on the reliability of personal data storage, providing support for M-DISC to protect your personal data and privacy for “up to 1,000 years”. Not only at an affordable price, ASUS ZenDrive is also attached with Cyberlink Power2go 8 software, CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5, Nero BackItUp (includes Android support), E-Green and 12-month subscription to ASUS Webstorage Cloud Service – which makes it surely a good deal for a backup solution.

LG Electronics 8X USB 2.0 Super Multi Ultra Slim Portable DVD Writer Drive

3. LG Electronics 8X USB 2.0 Super Multi Ultra Slim Portable DVD Writer Drive

See on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ODDE33U/?creativeASIN=B00ODDE33U&linkCode=w61&imprToken=W5owhkqpd8b8WIdlS0iyGg&slotNum=4&tag=gamels-20&th=1

If you are not a picky customer just looking for a simple, practical and economical product to read your DVD, then LG Electronics 8X USB 2.0 Super Multi Ultra Slim Portable can be a perfect choice. Without looking fancy, it’s just a solid partner that helps to conduct, and facilitate your DVD burning/watching. Moreover, it’s an exquisite and lightweight external DVD drive with 14mm height that you can carry around all the time.

Comparison	Pricing on Amazon (Subject to actual situation)	Dimensions	Write Speed	Weight	Operating System	Build quality	Noise
Dell USB DVD Drive-DW316	29.99 & FREE Shipping	5.41 x 5.67 x 0.55 inches	8X DVD write speed	7 ounces	Mac OS, Windows	Great	Acceptable
ASUS ZenDrive Ultra Slim Ultra Slim	32.29 & FREE Shipping	7.1 x 7 x 2.4 inches	8X DVD write speed	8 ounces	Mac OS, Windows	Mediocre	Low
LG Electronics 8X USB 2.0 Super Multi Ultra Slim	25.99 & FREE Shipping	5.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches	8X DVD write speed	5.6 ounces	Mac OS, Windows	Good	Acceptable

Tips: DVD players are backward-compatible with CD players, which means you can correctly play CDs on your HP laptop using the mentioned DVD drives as well.

Part 3. HP Laptop Won’t Play DVD? Fixed!

The root-cause varies that you can’t play DVDs on HP laptop, here are some possible ones and their corresponding troubleshooting.

1. Scratched/damaged DVD

Try cleaning your DVD with mild soap/baking soda toothpaste, warm water and lint free cloth to clean your DVD. Try using DVD data recovery software if cleaning doesn’t work.

2. Mucky DVD Drive

Lightly dampened a cotton swab with warm water or rubbing alcohol, use it to clean the DVD drive.

3. Discs burned on a different computer

Burn the disc again with a blank disc of another brand. Use a lower (4x) burning speed, and finalize your disc.

4. Communication problem between drive and system

Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter, follow the instructions to resolve any issues found

5. The error states of drive

Search and open Device Manager > Double-click DVD/CD-ROM drives > Right-click the drive name, select Uninstall device or Uninstall > Restart your computer

6. Laptop won’t automatically start disks when loaded

Search and open Control Panel > Click Hardware and Sound, select AutoPlay > Use AutoPlay for all media and devices setting > select Ask me every time > Next to each DVD, Blu-ray, and CD type > Save

7. Hardware issues

Turn off the computer > Press the power button and then immediately press the Esc key repeatedly until the Startup Menu opens > Press F2 to open the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics UEFI > Click Component Tests > Optical Drive > Run all the available tests > Have a working CD or DVD available to complete the tests > Follow any instructions to resolve any issues found

8. Haven’t updated video player software for a long time

Make sure that your DVD drive and player software have the latest updates.

9. Unnecessary system resource occupation

An easy to overlook fact that system resources might be occupied by unnecessary programs or connected devices which will also jeopardize your DVD playback on a laptop - shut them down/cut them off.

10. Due to the unauthorized DVD copy, DVD copy protection, DRM, region code, etc.

Remove copy protection, DRM, region code, etc. on your DVD with a good DVD decrypter program. Learn about the best DVD decrypters → 2024 Best Free DVD Ripper Review

Part 4. How to Watch DVD on Laptop without DVD Player?

I believe that most of us have been in some tight spots when trying to watch DVD movies, like finding your DVDs scratched or DVD drive not reading problems, which are quite a bummer.

If asked about the best solution to play DVDs on a laptop, I’d like to introduce the best go-to program to digitize DVD movies in that case: WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro, which is a dedicated and professional DVD ripping program that can decrypt/bypass copy protections including DVD CSS, Multi-angle, Region Code, RCE, Sony ARccOS, UOP, Disney X-Project DRM, Cinavia Protection, etc. to fast and losslessly rip your DVD movies to video formats and store them on your HDD in the smallest size, which could be the handiest way to watch DVD on your HP laptop without a DVD player. Moreover, this DVD ripper can help you with DVD video size shrinking and DVD video editing as well. Also, by doing so, you’ll be completely free from the inconvenience of fragile DVDs and high-maintenance DVD drives and able to enjoy the desired DVD movie without a DVD player anywhere, anytime, with ease.
Just get it here and follow the guide below to learn how to rip DVDs to HP laptop.

Disclaimer: Rip DVDs for personal fair use only. WonderFox does not advocate piracy, distribution or commercial purposes are not condoned. Learn if it’s legal to rip DVD in your country.

Recommended Laptop DVD Ripper – Make Your DVD Collection Portable

· Rip DVD to 300+ video formats and devices in original quality

· Takes only 20 minutes for ripping a standard 150min DVD movie

· Can decrypt/bypass DVD CSS, Multi-angle, Region Code, RCE, Sony ARccOS, UOP, Disney X-Project DRM and Cinavia Protection, etc.

· Merges VOB files and help to compress DVD movie with ease

· Automatic DVD copy protection decryption & main title recognition

How to Rip DVDs to HP Laptop with WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro for Further Watching

Before start, please free download free download the software.

Step 1. Load DVDs into the Program

Launch WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro, click on “DVD Disc” to load DVD from DVD drive into the program, the program will single out the main title and decrypt copy protections automatically. Then define the destination path at the “Output Folder” box underneath.

Step 2. Choose a Preferred Video Format for DVD Movie

At the main workplace, click on the output format section on the right side. Here you can:

1. Convert DVD to a popular video format like MP4, MOV by clicking on the corresponding icon from “Video” category.

2. Or click on the “1:1 Quick Copy” button on the upper left side to quick backup DVD video to: MPG (the best format to rip DVD) main movie video, ISO or VIDEO_TS folder.

Step 3. Rip DVD to a Directly Playable Video

Now we’re back to the main workplace. To fit your laptop playback, you may want to compress VOB files or customize video resolution for your output DVD videos. If so, click on the “Settings” button on the right side, where you can freely shift video encoder, resolution, bit rate, etc. When it’s all set, click “Run” to start the ripping process.

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At last...

The ripped video files will be perfectly accepted by your HP laptop video player. You can open them with the media player you have installed on your laptop any time you’re in the mood for a movie. Trying to rip DVD videos to digital video formats can also help you play DVDs on tablets, smartphones, and other portable devices. Just download this DVD ripping program here now and you won't be bothered by the DVD playback issues.

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