NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, January 2005
Who Says Computers Don't Have A Mind Of Their Own
From the Editor of 11/2004 SEMCO Data Bus


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I have a Compaq Presario 1700 Laptop with a CD/DVD drive, and XP Home operating system. The XP system includes Windows Media Player; OK? But when I slipped in a DVD disc, the Media Player screen came on, but there was a message that I needed to install a Decoder. I Googled for awhil and found an article that sai Microsoft didn't provide a Decoder with XP's Media Player. (Why not? I say.) I went to the MS site, and they recommended 4 or 5 vendors with Decoders. I picked Cyberlink and downloaded and installed a Decoder for $14.95. Now I'm all set, right? No.

Now when I slip in a DVD disc, I get a message that said "Media Player currently cannot play DVDs." That's real progress! I took the computer to a SEMCO meeting and got Bob and Franz to play around with it. After awhile they got it to play a DVD, but they didn't know what they did to make it work. When I got home, same problem: "Media Player currently cannot play DVDs." For two months I play around clicking everything I cabn find in every order, still no luck. Why couldn't I reproduce what Bob and Franz did?

I take it back to a SEMCO meting, figuring it's the air in the meeting room, or Bob's magic touch, or the color of the lighting that makes it work there but not at home. Sitting in the back of the room beefore the meeting, and without Bob, I try it , and it works! What's going on here?

Back homne again I stumbled on the answer. Boot up on AC power, and it won't work. Boot up on battery, slip in a disc, and starts playing automatically.

Further experimentation showed: Boot up on battery, switch to AC power, and it won't work. boot up on battery, start the DVD playing, then switch to AC power, and it continues to work.

Go Figger that! Bill

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