My N ightmare

Hello----do you like to use your dvd drive --i do
I cant believe windows 8 failed so badly--even before reading that no dvd support will be offered in full retail version i had nothing but trouble with the pre release build
No dvd no dvd drivers no chance of repairing the damage
i tried every solution on offer and as i build computers often i am confident in my ability to follow instructions
windows 8 is a joke
no dvd will ensure this system is am epic fail making even vista look good
what a putrid pile of lukewarm leper vomit
reformatting laptop as we speak
cheers
brian

what a putrid pile of lukewarm leper vomit

Click to expand...

Nice alliteration there.

Hope your reinstall goes well.

Can't say I am huge fan of win8 so far.

Hoping the RTM will be better.

Wait, I'm confused. So you installed the N Enterprise version, the one that is destined for use in Europe as to meet EU regulations and you're saying that DVD playback doesn't work natively as Media Player HAD to be taken out of that version to meet EU anti-trust regulations?

@brianleon

Aside from the launch special offer Pro version, you would need to buy media centre separately.

Or get a 3rd party program.

I far as I understand it the EU did not have anything to do with this decision.
It is just Cokie's favorite OS vendor saving costs by not paying upfront dvd royalty/licence fees.
They will not leave you in the lurch however you will be able to purchase the capability from the app store.
Welcome to the new look revenue oriented OS buy a licence then keep buying apps to get the functionality of Windows 7.

Even the solution of dual booting W8 & W7 seems under threat, as I have spotted a couple of rumours that they are not going to allow both to be co-resident on one system. (Anybody confirm they have already stated that it is against the licensing terms).
If the above is true then there is only one decision for the "informed" and a lot of very angry punters who upgrade in situ and find they cant get back to W7 without a complete reinstall. (Needless to say the bulk of them will not have system images or similar)
I had previous tried two copies of W8 together and it refused to load the second - "drive signature equal"
My immediate solution should it be true:- insure both OS's are on esata and hot-plug the one you want.
We only have to wait a couple of weeks now for the RTM, which will give us the definitive state of play

Yes, there is a change in business model.

Sell parts of it separately.

I have a hunch they might be releasing a new o/s Apple style. Much more often than 3yrs - $40 or so a time.

We shall see.

Unless win8 is a big hit ( unlikely ) , they will probably have to get something out quite quickly to try and make corrections.

brianleon said:

Hello----do you like to use your dvd drive --i do
I cant believe windows 8 failed so badly--even before reading that no dvd support will be offered in full retail version i had nothing but trouble with the pre release build
No dvd no dvd drivers no chance of repairing the damage
i tried every solution on offer and as i build computers often i am confident in my ability to follow instructions
windows 8 is a joke
no dvd will ensure this system is am epic fail making even vista look good
what a putrid pile of lukewarm leper vomit
reformatting laptop as we speak
cheers
brian

Click to expand...

Just to be clear on this:

Some of the responders seem to think that you're complaining that Win8 doesn't paly video DVDs by default. (An extra Media Center purchase would be required.)

I read things differently, that your DVD drive has become completely inaccessible.

Which way is it?

Yeah, I'm confused on this too.

Are you talking about Media Center being removed, because I mean regular Windows Media Player would play DVDs, right?
Or about the functionality to use DVDs in general being removed completely?

Windows 8 is the basic edition of Windows for the x86 and x86-64 architectures. This edition contains features aimed at the home market segment and provides all of the basic new, Windows 8 features including the Start screen with semantic zoom, live tiles, Windows Store, Internet Explorer 10, connected standby, Microsoft account integration, the Windows desktop, and more.

Windows 8 Pro succeeds Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate and is targeted towards enthusiasts and business users; it includes all the features of Windows 8. Additional features include operating as a Remote Desktop server, the ability to participate in a Windows Server domain, Encrypting File System, Hyper-V, and Virtual Hard Disk Booting, Group Policy as well as BitLocker and BitLocker To Go. Windows Media Center functionality will be available only for Windows 8 Pro, as a paid "Media Pack."[SUP]

[/SUP]
Windows 8 Enterprise provides all the features in Windows 8 Pro, with additional features to assist with IT organization (see table below). This edition will only be available to Software Assurance customers.

Windows RT will only be available pre-installed on ARM-based devices such as tablet PCs and was named for the Windows Runtime (WinRT) development platform that Microsoft is introducing in Windows 8. It will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the basic set of Office 2013 applications to users—Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, and support device encryption capabilities. Several business-focused features such as Group Policy and domain support are not included.

Final copy of Windows 8 leaks online | The Verge

"The version leaked is an "N" edition of Windows 8 which does not include a bundled copy of Windows Media Player. Microsoft was forced to create the special N editions of Windows after the European Commission ruled in 2004 that it needed to provide a copy of Windows without Windows Media Player tied in. We reached out to Microsoft to comment and the company says it's not discussing the leak."

hello to all
to be clear
i installed windows8-consumerpreview-64bit-english.iso with the intentions of evaluating it with a view of purchasing it when it is available--this would also give me the opportunity to get familiar with the newer op system
the new install left me with no dvd player although windows media still worked--in device manager the dvd was not installed correctly.after trying all win 8 methods of repair for example cmd prompt and type in as per windows 8 forum advice etc etc i had to give up and remove windows 8
i did want to keep it and get used to it and although i am aware it wa only foe evaluation i thought is sad that no dvd drive and no workaround was possible--and it seems i am not alone with this problem
cheers to all

brianleon said:

hello to all
to be clear
i installed windows8-consumerpreview-64bit-english.iso with the intentions of evaluating it with a view of purchasing it when it is available--this would also give me the opportunity to get familiar with the newer op system
the new install left me with no dvd player although windows media still worked--in device manager the dvd was not installed correctly.after trying all win 8 methods of repair for example cmd prompt and type in as per windows 8 forum advice etc etc i had to give up and remove windows 8
i did want to keep it and get used to it and although i am aware it wa only foe evaluation i thought is sad that no dvd drive and no workaround was possible--and it seems i am not alone with this problem
cheers to all

Click to expand...

So - your DVD drive didn't work under the Win8 CP. I wonder whether it would have been better under the Release Preview, which is the latest pre-RTM public release.

Did you install it as an upgrade over another version of Windows, or as a clean install? The former is likelier to give trouble (like wacked-out DVD drivers).

W8 behaviour is capricious

As I've mentioned several times before, I experienced something similar with my sound driver.

It installs and works correctly in:

• XP
• W7
• W8DP

It installs and doesn't work properly in:

• W8CP
• W8RP

W8 reports that it is installed and working correctly!
Even Ubuntu 10.04 has no problems with my sound hardware.

The only reason I can think of for that, is that MS changed something between W8DP and the later versions.

Other people have similar stories about other components (e.g. NIC).

Odd, in all the previews of 8, my DVD drive worked fine. I used VLC player for DVD playback, never tried to see if Media Player did as VLC is my default for those things.

Coke Robot said:

Wait, I'm confused. So you installed the N Enterprise version, the one that is destined for use in Europe as to meet EU regulations and you're saying that DVD playback doesn't work natively as Media Player HAD to be taken out of that version to meet EU anti-trust regulations?

Click to expand...

I haven't heard that load of Bow Larks emanating from the EU although plenty of other junk emanates from the EU Commission.

You can hear loads of their B/S any day of the week in the various "drinking establishments" around the Schuman area of Brussels where the commission is situated

-- anyway if you want to play DVD's just use VLC player -- Windows media player was always a pile of dog poo anyway as was the Windows Media center too. For TV viewing etc plenty of decent stuff like SKY GO etc.

Don't forget that W8 also has native virtual ISO mounting so you can convert the DVD's to iso's with a program like AnyDvd and save to HDD and play by mounting the iso's.

cheers
jimbo

I didn't even know what that was until a month ago, and you can still use Windows Media Player or VLC

I still agree that current Windows 8 sucks mainly because of metro.

Who needs a DVD player anyway?

Jeff

jeffrys said:

Who needs a DVD player anyway?

Jeff

Click to expand...

I for one use it from time to time. My DVD drive is in heavy use burning ISO's sometimes. I have still a few DVD's on disks worth watching.

I know you seem to be supportive of Windows 8 but I don't know why you seem to detest the fact that there are still people using this DVD playback feature that was taken away.

Sure, it does save MS some money by cutting off some license fees but why would they took it off now when it has always been there native on previous MS operating systems?

I would be willing to pay just a bit more extra if Windows 8 would come natively with the features it was stripped off.

I think the removal of those stuff like DVD playback and WMC was rather stupid because instead of building up a reputation, improving those systems to compete with 3rd parties (except on the N editions for EU), they stripped them away to sell as a separate pack when 99% of users would resort to third parties to replace those rather than buy a separate bundle.

I use Windows Media Center to watch live TV like I did a few minutes ago and Windows Media Player to play DVDs sometimes. This stripping down tactic of M$ is nothing but pure frustration on the Desktop side.

Vertex said:

jeffrys said:

Who needs a DVD player anyway?

Jeff

Click to expand...

I for one use it from time to time. My DVD drive is in heavy use burning ISO's sometimes. I have still a few DVD's on disks worth watching.

I know you seem to be supportive of Windows 8 but I don't know why you seem to detest the fact that there are still people using this DVD playback feature that was taken away.

Sure, it does save MS some money by cutting off some license fees but why would they took it off now when it has always been there native on previous MS operating systems?

I would be willing to pay just a bit more extra if Windows 8 would come natively with the features it was stripped off.

I think the removal of those stuff like DVD playback and WMC was rather stupid because instead of building up a reputation, improving those systems to compete with 3rd parties (except on the N editions for EU), they stripped them away to sell as a separate pack when 99% of users would resort to third parties to replace those rather than buy a separate bundle.

I use Windows Media Center to watch live TV like I did a few minutes ago and Windows Media Player to play DVDs sometimes. This stripping down tactic of M$ is nothing but pure frustration on the Desktop side.

Click to expand...

Native DVD playback was needed back in the day when people did use DVDs a lot more often than now. Netflix beats DVDs almost everyday. An 8 or 16 gig flash drive DEFINTELY beats using disks. Then again, PCs were different back then. Nowadays with ultrabooks and tablets, a DVD drive is wasted space as chances are that most people won't need to be using them often, or at least use an external drive. I for one don't see a lot of value to have media center as it's not improved in the slightest and VLC player does the trick for me.