PC DVD-Rom region question...

[neoglow]

Ive got a Sony CD-RW and DVD combo drive model CRX300E and admit I only sometimes play DVD movies on my PC, when I put a DVD in of any region other than 2 (pal) I have a limit of 5 times that I can put non region 2 disc's in, whats the point in that???, Ive never seen the point in region coding anyway, so is there a patch to make PC dvd rom drives multi region?

Many Thanks,
M.

[csuzw]

The reason for a limit is that they don't want people to pbe able to play any region but you may move or something like that and it allows you to change - its not there so that you can play different region DVDs all the time.

Sometimes it is possible to change the region properly via software but usually it will require you to flash your BIOS. This is risky so be sure you can afford to wreck your drive before trying this.

Another option would be to use a product by SlySoft (can't remember what its called now - just google for them). It sits between the DVD drive and apps that try to access them, decrypting on the fly meaning that everything should appear as being region free. I've had the odd problem with this conflicting with other apps though (Far Cry doesn't like it at all).

Hope this helps

[Dache]

You don't need to flash your BIOS. You just need to flash your drive's firmware. Find your drive here, and hopefully the firmware'll come with the app to do it. It's usually just a case of selecting the drive and hitting the button. Make 100% sure you're downloading the right firmware for the right drive, though.

Edit: Oh, you know it already. The one at the top. Actually, it says the drive is a rebadged Lite-On, so you can download this to do it for you. Used it for my Lite-On DVD-ROM and it worked fine. Play around with the virtual one on the front page to check what's what.

[csuzw]

Sorry, I meant firmware not BIOS (I just flashed my mobo BIOS today so was getting confused). Its the same difference though - any mistake/glitch during the process and you are down one drive - only do this if you are 100% certain that you need to do it.

[neoglow]

How do I find out my Firmware version? For my model of drive there are to versions - KYS1 and KYS2, wanna make sure I get the right one...

M.

[wod]

i've just done my dvdrom after seeing this thread. i used a program called discinfo this will tell you the firmware and what drive it is and any other details about the drive. you can get it from here

http://discinfo.rpc1.org/

[Dache]

You don't even need to do that. Your Sony drive is just a rebadged Lite-On drive, so you can just use the utility I linked to in my last link.

csuzw: Sure, if something goes wrong, your drive is buggered, but to be honest, once you've got around the task of figuring out which specific drive you actually have, which is the most difficult part, there's little you can do that'll **** the drive up, short of Windows locking up during the process or the power going out.

[csuzw]

I'm probably being paranoid - my mate wrecked his drive flashing the firmware so I'm just cautious.

I'm currently using DVD Region+CSS Free which does it all in software. Its only a trial version though

[Pacman555]

Dont bother flashing the firmware, just get AnyDVD by Slysoft, thatll lift Region locks, operation locks, and the CSS encryption. Cracking program. Oh, and a bit off topic, but for copying DVDs, use DVD X Copy Platinum.

Regards,
The Real Pill Popper

[csuzw]

I mentioned SlySoft at the top of the thread, but couldn't remember what the name of their software was. I had serious problems with it though in that it would crash my PC depending on what DVD I was using - in particular Far Cry. Also it didn't like shutting down either. Have you had any problems with it?