Problems with DVD Player / Reinstalling My OS

Hi all.

I'm an utter novice when it comes to computers - so please bare this in mind if you're kind enough to reply to my question!

I've just rendered my MacBookPro's DVD player useless. I've played a mixture of region 1 and region 2 discs, and the player is now permanently set to region 1. As a UK resident, this makes 99% of my DVD collection unwatchable.

I was thinking of reinstalling my OS using the disc I got with my computer. Would doing this take my Mac back to its original 'factory settings'? Back to a clean slate, if you see what I mean? I wouldn't mind losing documents etc if I were to get my DVD player back.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Ta.

Not sure if that would work. You can always use VLC as a dvd player.
VideoLAN - Download official VLC media player for Mac OS X

I was thinking of reinstalling my OS using the disc I got with my computer. Would doing this take my Mac back to its original 'factory settings'? Back to a clean slate, if you see what I mean? I wouldn't mind losing documents etc if I were to get my DVD player back.

Click to expand...

That will not work since the region settings are controlled and embedded in the drive firmware and are not changeable. I doubt that VLC will work as it has to access the drive the same as any other program.

The only solutions I know of is to either purchase an external drive to play your UK DVDs or swap out the drive in your machine for a new one.

Thanks for the replies!

(Um... Firmware means...? I'm not too hip with the tech-lingo...)

My first instinct was to buy an external drive, too... But the lady from Apple (I rang their helpline) says that this would be useless as my Mac's 'DVD Player' application would still scupper my being able to watch my region 2 discs.

Do external drives come with their own software? Software which would bypass my computer's 'region 1 only' player?

The problem is with my computer's software now - according to Apple. The actual disc drive (the hardware) isn't what's stopping me playing region 2 discs, it's the Player application that's the obstacle. That's why I thought doing something like reinstalling the OS might work...

I've had a go at downloading the VLC media player - I can only get so far with it before I hit a dead end...

Man!