Unlock DVD region settings

Helpline Q&A Directory

I have a Sony laptop. Can you tell me how to read DVDs with other region codes after it has been set to region one (USA)? The software said that the region has been fixed as region one after being changed five times. How can I reset this? I have reformatted the hard disk, but still can't read my region two DVD.

This is an example of how protection mechanisms can be implemented without any thought for the customer. Our explanation relates to the DVD Player in Windows 98 and Me and it gives an overview of the problem. Note that some software DVD players, such as Power DVD, are region-free.

The initial default DVD region for Microsoft DVD Player is chosen during Windows Setup when you select a country in the 'Establishing your location' dialog box. If you choose None for a country location, the default region selection is based on the country code and time zone.

The first time a DVD movie is inserted in the drive, Windows compares the region on the disc with the region selected during Setup. If the DVD movie has a different region from the one selected, the default is changed to match the disc. If the first DVD movie inserted in the drive has only one region, Windows Me uses that region as the default - regardless of everything else.

Once the selected region has been used to watch a movie, you can change it four times, for a total of five possible regions. When you insert a DVD movie, if the disc is from a region other than the default, a dialog box is displayed to inform you that you have inserted a disc from a different region.

This dialog box displays the region for the inserted movie disc and the currently selected region, along with a choice of new regions and countries. When you select a new region, a warning is displayed stating the number of changes remaining before the change is written.

The DVD-ROM drive enforces the number of changes. Each time the region is changed, the new region is written to the DVD-ROM drive firmware. Once the limit for region changes is reached the DVD-ROM firmware locks out further attempts until the drive unit is replaced or reset by the manufacturer.

Since the effect of this protection mechanism is to prevent people from viewing the DVDs they have paid for, many people feel there is nothing wrong in trying to circumvent these measures. And it is not illegal to defeat these restrictions, at least not in Europe. The website www.fourmilab.ch/documents/dvdregion contains an article explaining how to play DVDs with any region code using the Microsoft DVD Player. The technique involves making changes to the Registry, so use it at your own risk. See tip Back up the Registry

If DVD-ROM drives can be locked to a particular region they can also be unlocked. The site http://regionhacks.datatestlab.com/ contains information on how to do this for a long list of popular drives, and has links to the software that can be used. Once again, follow this information at your own risk - PC Advisor hasn't tested any of these programs, so we cannot vouch for their success.