The drive is a cd/dvd drive nominally. After a Win2k SP4 installation, only cd can be read. So I installed the newest driver from http://panasonic.co.jp/psec/en/index.html for the device and rebooted the system. But nothing happend, it is still not recognizing dvds. When I look to the drivers, then I still see the normal Microsoft publisher driver... the downloaded driver package is a .exe (no separate inf-files), so I am not able to update the driver manually in the device manager. I already tried to disable the device deinstalled/reinstalled it - with the same result. Any hints?

Support Information:
Device Type: CD / DVD
Manufacturer: Matsushita (Matshita Panasonic)
Model: DVD-ROM SR8175
Interface: PCI / ISA
Operating System: Windows 2000 Workstation
Age of Device: Not specified
FCCID:

Type of drive: dvd (dvd reader and cd-rom combo)
Location: internal
What recording software are you using?: Other (Other: None (only r))

Find it on DriverGuide (http://members.driverguide.com/index.php?action=srch&sm=b&aax=&qa6=630&qa5=3&qa7=1700&dp=3&qm0=DVD-ROM+SR8175&jmd=and&fzz=d) | Find it with Google (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Matsushita+%28Matshita+Panasonic%29+CD+%2F+DVD++ DVD-ROM+SR8175+Windows+2000+Workstation+) | Research manufacturer Matsushita (Matshita Panasonic) (http://members.driverguide.com/index.php?action=getinfo&companyid=630)

Well, you didn't say what you upgraded from (assuming it was an older operating system) or what dvd decoding software/version your currently using, you need dvd decoding software thats compatible with Windows 2000. The actual operating system does not provide any support for playing or reading dvd disks. That task is handled solely by the dvd decoding software.

upgrade your dvd decoding software, reinstall it, or get compatible software.

and fyi, remove any drivers you downloaded, they are not needed in Windows os's. Those are DOS drivers that you downloaded. Remove any command lines in autoexec.bat and config.sys pertaining to the following:

mscdex.exe (autoexec.bat)
xxxx.sys (config.sys)

Thanks, but from where can I download a dvd decoding software for free?

Free: VLC media player

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

supported video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols


Higher quality dvd players are here:

http://www.intervideo.com/jsp/Home.jsp

http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/index.asp

Both of the above websites offer trial versions however trial versions are limited in play time per title and total time before expiring. Full working versions can be purchased online for a fee.