
Does my PC have a DVD player?My computer will not play dvd and I dont know if said computer has a dvd player or not. I'm not sure whether you have a PC or a Mac, so let me show you how to check both systems to identify exactly what hardware you have installed. Surprisingly, it can be a bit tricky to do this, even though you'd think it would be easy... On a Microsoft Windows XP system, the best way to identify your hardware configuration is to go to START --> Accessories --> System Tools --> System Information. Within the System Information program you want to choose Components then CD-ROM (which is confusing: if you are wondering if you have a DVD player, don't give up; even DVD-ROM devices show up in this program as CD-ROMs). Here's what I see on my system that does have a DVD player: ![]() Even here the program really seems to want to show "CDROM" but when you look at the device itself you can see that it's a Matshita DVD-R device, which means that, yes, it can play DVDs on my particular system. On Windows Vista, we can try a different approach: select "Computer" from the Start menu (it's on the right side), and right off the bat you'll see our DVD device listed: ![]() Even here, though, with the latest and greatest version of Windows, there's confusion. Right click to get to properties... ![]() and you'll find that it can't decide whether it's a CD drive or a DVD drive: ![]() Ah well, at least you know how to identify the kind of drive you have. On Mac OS X it's similarly easy once you know where to look. Go to the Apple menu in the top left corner and choose "About This Mac": ![]() Now choose "More Info..." from the summary page shown: ![]() and when you're running the System Profiler application (that's what it launches) just click on "Disc Burning" and you'll see lots of info: ![]() Okay, so that should show you how you can identify if you have a DVD capable drive on any of the three main operating systems. Hope that helps you out! and, in this window you can opt for
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Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader. Ther's always the "easy way" of looking at the drive's drawer cover for a "DVD" logo. :-) Posted by: Ken at July 27, 2007 11:31 AMWorks on some systems, not all, Ken. Just like those ubiquitous stickers on the front of tower PCs that are supposed to tell you everything that's inside but are in fact so jammed with geek PC jargon that they're incomprehensible to just about everyone who sees them. :-) Posted by: Dave Taylor at July 27, 2007 2:06 PMDave, I have to say, you can also use the method described for Windows Vista in Windows XP also, i.e: 1.Start -> My Computer Mine currently shows DVD-RW Drive (D:) :) Posted by: Nick Tompson at October 4, 2007 9:56 PMI have a lot to say, but ...
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!
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