Lower screen resolution

You probably need to find and install DVD decoder software. There are also free players available online with built-in decoders.

Maybe your screen resolution needs to be higher? What type of error message are you getting? Are these dvd's that you were able to play before?

Most computers will have problems playing dvd's that someone made for you on their computer. Try a store purchased dvd and see if it plays.

You can always reinstall windows media player at Microsoft's site below.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/windows-media-player

You can also try the VLC Player. It comes with drivers and codec. I've seen it solve a lot of issues that Media Player could not fix.

Try using VLC as your player. Go to www.google.com and in the search box type "download vlc" (without the quotes). Look for the Video Lan download from site www.videolan.org/vlc Download and install it. It downloads and installs in 3 minutes or so. It's a very fast player, smooth and it can play just about any type of dvd formats and media. It's totally FREE.

You can get a lot of help from www.bleepincomputers.com

have you tryed upgrading your media player to 10

Read this article, maybe it might help you at: http://www.motherboardpoint.com/solution-windvd-create-overlay-failed-t152844.html

web site with solution.http://www.smartcomputing.com/TECHSUPPORT/detail.aspx?guid=&ErrorID=22049

trying to play dvd movies on my lap top is a problem, if i insert the disk it tell me to lower my strem resolution, even if I do it still won't play.

You will need to pay a visit to the HP website to download the drivers for your video card.
They can be located HERE
.
While you are there, udate any other drivers like audio etc. As is stands you will be running very outdated Microsft WDM drivers. Nowhere near as good as the genuine thing.

Have you tried using different players?  One of my favorite players is VLC.  You can google it and download it for free.  It is a bit difficult to figure out at first but it will handle just about any type of video even fragmented. 

What version of DirectX are you using? Have you installed any programs recently that may have installed a lower version of DirectX? http://support.novell.com/docs/Tids/Solutions/10082471.html Do you have Novell Networking? the above site states the same problem. Have you tried a firmware update for the dvd player? Let me know what happens. Good Luck, Tim