If that were the case, would I be able to view still pictures?  (I 
can...  It reads still photos on CD and DVD just fine!)  How would I 
test that?  Just replace the CD/DVD drive?  (Easy enough to do, even for 
a non-tech ol' gal like me!)

The error message I keep getting is "Windows Media Player cannot play 
the DVD because a compatible DVD decoder is not installed on your 
computer" -- which of course lead me to believe that it was a software 
problem but Russ asked me to post the problem here.  I've asked in 
various forums and I've asked Microshaft, uh, _-soft_ <ducking and 
grinning>; I've haven't even come close to a solution as yet, besides 
replacing the drive.  I'm not exactly holding my breath to hear back 
from Microshaft either...

Yes, there used to be a partition, behind which was all the backup 
Windoze stuff... 

Joyce in SE Ohio

Hugh Vandervoort wrote:
> Your DVD laser has probably died.. This is pretty common. These drives
> are cheap and easy to replace.
> The drive letter change suggests there was a partition on your C drive
> that is no longer there. These partitions are common on many PCs.
> If you have a Phillips screwdriver and a little patience we can help
> you with this.
> There is an excellent guide here:
> http://freepctech.com/pc/001/installing_ide_devices.shtml
>
> On Sun, Jun 7, 2009 at 4:03 PM, Joyce E <j3e@...> wrote:
>   
>> I used to be able to view a movie or other video DVD on my PC, running
>> Windows XP SP 2.  
>>  

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