Oblivion DVD Ignored on Windows 7

I decided to join 2006 and buy Oblivion. Unfortunately, in true Bethesda style, I can't even install the thing. When I plop in the DVD it doesn't appear (i.e. it isn't being recognized as a disc).

The Facts:

Other DVDs work fine (I installed Portal 2 a few days ago)
Other drives work fine (The disc was read with no issues on my friend's computer)

In other words it isn't the drive, it isn't the disc. It's some sort of combination. I'm honestly stumped.

The Details:

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Drive is: NEC DVD_RW ND-3550A ATA
Driver is 6.1.7600.16385

Does anyone have any ideas?

slifty

Posted 2011-05-13T00:18:41.553

Reputation: 1 569

1This won't answer the question, but just so you can play the game, can you use your friend's computer to make an ISO and install it using that? – fideli – 2011-05-13T00:27:46.210

Good call fideli -- I'll do that in the mean time. Still, it's quite a mystery. – slifty – 2011-05-13T00:30:15.877

It won't let you explore the disc by right clicking it either? – Blomkvist – 2011-05-13T00:41:20.137

Correct Blomkvist -- it is as if no disc was inserted at all. Any attempt to view the information causes the drive to be ejected and Windows to say "Please insert a disc" – slifty – 2011-05-13T00:42:19.670

Not sure if this could be a cause, but when creating the iso (using ImgBurn) I got an error warning me that one of the files on the disc exceeded the ISO standard. Stupid Bethesda making discs with files that are bigger than the 4GB limit. Probably not the cause but who knows. – slifty – 2011-05-13T00:48:54.200

The game initially had a lot of issues because of weird features like preventing the dvd from autoplaying if it detected certain disk copying software, but as AFAIK all this stuff was quickly disabled in subsequent releases. – Blomkvist – 2011-05-13T01:18:01.477

Can you detect the disk in another operating system? – a sandwhich – 2011-05-13T03:33:47.847

Answers

Even if all DVD media are supposed to be the same, this is not always the case, especially for DVD-+RW. For this specific device (NECT ND-3550A), there is an extensive list of supported media on NEC support website. Such compatibility problems can be overcomed sometimes with a firmware update.

yms

Posted 2011-05-13T00:18:41.553

Reputation: 708

Great suggestion and thanks for the list link. I checked the firmware upgrade and my version was indeed old (1.0.5 vs 1.0.7) but unfortunately the upgrade did not solve the problem. snaps fingers – slifty – 2011-05-31T02:18:59.813

This is most likely becuase your DVD drive does not support a DVD standard e.g. DVD+, DVD- etc.

I have had similar problems in the past with some of the older laptop DVD drives.

Peter Manton

Posted 2011-05-13T00:18:41.553

Reputation: 121

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827152058 <-- the product itself (I bought it in 2006). I'm not seeing the list of standards supported, however. I'll try with another OS, but if that doesn't work I bet you're right. – slifty – 2011-05-13T18:59:32.337

@slifty Have you tried the drive in any other machines? – Peter Manton – 2011-05-13T19:02:08.323

1DVD "types" typically apply only to recordable media. My understanding is that all DVD-ROMs are created equal. I'm standing by to be corrected by someone with more knowledge in this area :) – Kyle Smith – 2011-05-18T14:45:24.740

Is this available for digital distribution? Maybe Steam or Direct2Drive? You'd have to buy the game again, but you wouldn't have to find a way to get the DVD to work. Maybe you can sell your copy to your friend?

Doltknuckle

Posted 2011-05-13T00:18:41.553

Reputation: 5 813

I appreciate the suggestion, but I'd like to avoid it. I got a great deal on this ($6) and would like to avoid the $20 it costs on Steam and D2D. – slifty – 2011-05-31T02:03:35.827

I figured as much. The suggestion was intended to be a "last resort" in the event you couldn't get the game to work. – Doltknuckle – 2011-05-31T15:01:26.977