How to connect my external dvd player

Question

Hello, my Dell DVD player use to read my laptop and Desktop. It's wireless, so it just plugs in. I don't have HDMI or USB connections. However, the DVD isn't reading either one. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to enlarge a photo for a funeral - Thank you in advance. - Susan

Answer 1

Hi Susan Lunsford,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for reaching out. I understand how important it is to access your DVD content, especially when preparing photos for a meaningful occasion. Here are some possible checking steps from Q&A Assist that you can try to resolve DVD drive issues:

1, Check if Windows detects the DVD drive

• Press Windows key + X > select Device Manager
• Expand DVD/CD-ROM drives
• If the drive appears, continue to the next step

2, Reinstall the DVD drive

• In Device Manager, right‑click the DVD drive > Uninstall device
• Restart the computer
• Windows will automatically reinstall the driver after restart

3, Look for warning symbols

• If the drive shows a yellow warning icon, open Properties and note the device status

If the drive does not appear at all, here are some options that you can try:

• Test the DVD drive on another computer
• If it is not detected on multiple devices, the drive itself may no longer be functioning

If you need the photo immediately:

• Use another computer with a built‑in DVD drive
• Visit a photo/print shop and ask them to copy the photo to a USB drive or cloud link

If you’d like, you can share what you see in Device Manager, and I’ll help guide the next best step. Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

---

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

Work through these steps on each Windows PC (laptop and desktop):

1. Check that Windows still sees the DVD drive
   • Press the Windows logo key, type Device Manager, and press Enter.
   • Expand DVD/CD-ROM drives.
   • If the drive shows with a yellow exclamation mark, or does not appear at all, continue with the steps below.
2. Update or reinstall the DVD drive driver
   • In Device Manager, under DVD/CD-ROM drives, right‑click the DVD device and select Uninstall device.
   • Confirm Uninstall.
   • Restart the PC. Windows will automatically reinstall the driver after restart.
   • Test the DVD drive again.
3. If the DVD drive still is not recognized
   • In Device Manager, open the View menu and select Show hidden devices.
   • Expand IDE/ATAPI controllers.
   • Right‑click each of the following (if present) and select Uninstall:
     • ATA Channel 0
     • ATA Channel 1
     • Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
     • Any additional similar entries
   • Restart the PC so Windows can reinstall these controllers.
   • Test the DVD drive again.
4. If the DVD drive appears but still does not work This can be caused by corrupted registry entries for CD/DVD devices.
   • Press Windows logo key + R, type regedit, press Enter, and approve the prompt.
   • In the left pane, browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
   • In the right pane, if UpperFilters exists, select it and press Delete, then confirm.
   • If LowerFilters exists, select it and press Delete, then confirm.
   • Close Registry Editor and restart the PC.
   • Test the DVD drive again.
   Note: Editing the registry is sensitive. If not comfortable doing this, ask someone experienced to help, and ensure important data is backed up first.
5. If none of the above works
   • Check the DVD drive with another computer if possible.
   • If it fails on multiple PCs even after these steps, the drive hardware or its wireless/connection method may have failed and may need repair or replacement.

For enlarging a photo quickly for the funeral, if the DVD drive still will not work, consider:

• Using another PC that can read the DVD.
• Asking a local print shop or IT support to read the DVD and copy the photo to a USB drive.

---

References:

• Your CD or DVD drive is not recognized by Windows or other programs