DVD won't open in MakeMKV, VLC or Windows

[pxd01]

I bought a copy of Archer Season 9 and tried to rip it using MakeMKV 1.15.1 and 1.14.5. The DVD could not be opened. I checked to see if it played in my BluRay/DVD player - it opened and played normally. I tried to play the DVD in VLC 3.0.11 - it would not open. I cannot navigate to the DVD in Windows (WIN7 Pro SP1 64 bit), so cannot copy the contents. If I try to inspect the DVD contents in Windows, the DVD ejects. I tried to rip the DVD using AnyDVD HD 8.4.9.0 - the process started but aborted. I attach a copy of the MakeMKV log and a photo of the DVD cover, with details of the DVD. Any comments or suggestions welcomed. Thanks very much. pxd01

[Woodstock]

Most likely answer is that the drive in your computer can't see some part of the disk that it needs to see. Cleaning the disk may help.

If Windows is ejecting the disk, it doesn't think there is a viable file system to read. VLC, MakeMKV, AnyDVD, DVDFab, and all the rest depend on the operating system NOT spitting out their prey.

[pxd01]

Thanks, Woodstock. I will try cleaning the disk, although it appears to the naked eye to be pretty clean already. The next step must be to return the disk for a replacement, I suppose. Is there a thread here, or on another website, that would help me understand why the cheap BluRay/DVD player connected to my TV will read the disk, while the drive in my PC cannot? Are the devices likely to be very different in the way they work or the way they are built? Cheers, pxd

[Woodstock]

"Clean" is a relative term, and our vision can make something look clean, while a laser focused on a microscopic dot sees a smear instead of a dot. Any disk that has spent a while in its packaging can be coated with a thin layer of chemicals, which does affect the readability. It can also be affected by whether or not the drive has separate blue and red lasers for reading the disk; not all do.

DVD and BD stand-alone players are programmed to ignore minor read issues. Most operating systems aren't so forgiving.

[pxd01]

Woodstock - my basic cleaning made no difference. As a last resort before returning the disk for replacement, I turned to my Linux Mint PC, which is older and slower, but has two different drives mounted: a DVD and a BD/DVD. The latter seemed to be inclined to read the disk, so I downloaded and installed the Linux versions of MakeMKV and Handbrake, and am now ripping the disk as I type. Seems my Windows PC drive is too picky.

Thanks very much for your help - it looks like I am working again. Cheers, pxd01

[Woodstock]

Yes, I've seen it before, which is why I have a couple of USB DVD drives, including an old Sony from around the turn of the century. I have to use them about once a year...