DVD drive won't recognize DVDs, but CDs are fine

I'm sure this is posted everywhere, but I tried various searches to no avail (can't seem to get the right search terms).

So... - have a Compaq Presario laptop, and the DVD player doesn't recognize, play, etc.. any DVDs, though it's ok with CDs. Can anyone point me in the right direction in terms of threads that have already been posted on this topic?

More details..
- no error message comes up - nothing.. - just a little spinning of the tray, again and again, as it tries to read the DVD - format is irrelevant
- have tried reinstalling the drivers, and removing the upper and lower limits in the registry - no change
- have cleaned up the hard drive using Defender and avast - don't know if there still might be a virus or malware that's causing the problem, so any other suggestions are welcome..

Thanks
Martin Lacoste

Welcome to CDF's,
I don't know what software you are using to play you dvd's but I would suggest downloading FLC media player (it's free!)and trying that first.
DVD burners have two lasers, one for DVD's and one for CD's. It is not uncommon to see one of the lasers go bad while the other still works.

Oops. I should have spelled it right. It's "VLC" media player.
You can get it here http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

WMP and Real also are very good for this job.

I have a couple of DVD playing software installed, including VLC. The drive won't recognize the DVD either way... - even in Windows Explorer, the DVD title won't come up.

Thanks for your suggestions... any other ideas...?
Martin

Try the DVD player in a different computer to be sure if it is working properly.

Sounds like your drive is bad. The only way to be sure is to try it in another laptop or try a known good drive in yours.