I've tried to play a DVD using Windows Media Player on Windows XP, but I get the error message "Windows Media Player cannot play this DVD because a compatible DVD decoder is not installed on your computer."
I bought Windows XP separately from the computer, and installed it onto a blank hard drive.
How can I get a compatible DVD decoder? Did Windows XP really ship without the ability to play DVDs?
Best Answer
This is due to a lack of Codecs on your machine.
The easiest and quickest thing you can do is install VLC media player - also available from Ninite
As for did Windows ship without the ability to play DVDs - Yes it did, but remember it was designed over 12 years ago - Well before I got my first DVD!
They made several releases of Media Center edition which did ship with codecs required to play DVDs, but the codecs were never released for stock XP.
If you want to use Windows Media Player, look at installing the K-Lite codec pack - again also available on Ninite