Make sure your DVD rips can be played in Vista Media Center when using External Drive.
Apparently, VMC has issues playing ripped DVD movies (VOBs) stored on external hard drives.
The movie shows up in the DVD Gallery but playing them only generates an error like:
‘DVD Error: Windows Media Center Cannot Play this DVD. Please restart Windows Media Center and insert the DVD again’
Here is how this problem is resolved…[worked around]:
-Create an empty folder in an easy to locate place on your C drive or any other internal drive. Give it an easy name to remember [like 'DVDs' or something like that] as you will navigate there shortly.
-Once you’ve created the empty folder, right click on your ‘Computer’ icon (on the Desktop or Start Menu) and click ‘Manage’.
-Then click on ‘Disk Management’ (left side, towards the bottom, under ‘Storage’) and you will see all of your drives (Internal & External).
-Right click the external drive with the ripped DVD’s and follow these instructions…
*Click on ‘Change Drive Letter and paths…’
*Click on ‘Add’
*Make sure ‘Mount in the following empty NTFS Folder’ is flagged
*Click on ‘Browse’ and navigate to the empty folder you created on your internal drive. Once found, highlight it and click ‘OK’
*Done
Now launch VMC, go to your DVD gallery, right click and click ‘Add Movies’.
Add the folder you created on your internal drive and the DVD’s on your external should show up.
Repeat this for each external drive with ripped vobs on them.
Found the answer here:
Thanks to jollster101 for an easy solution to an issue that shouldn’t be.
So this will let you view movies in VMC in the movie section but not in My Movies. To get the movies in My Movies to work open the CM and select one movie. Once it is opened locate the Disc button. Then select the location of the dir that you made above (ie: c:\DVD’s\DVD Movies\007 Casino Royale) then CM will ask you if you want to change all the locations and this will change them all for you. Save the file and start My Movies in VMC and enjoy your movies form a external HD.
This will also work if you want to re-route your “My Pictures” and “My Music” to external drives.