How to Play a DVD on My Computer With an External Hard Drive

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DVD programs can run on external hard drives.

To play a DVD on a computer, you need appropriate software on a hard drive, or the DVD player won't function. You can install the program onto an external hard drive, giving you the ability to play a DVD movie on your computer through the help of a removable drive.

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Step 1

Connect the external hard drive to your computer through the provided USB data cable. Power the drive on. The computer should indicate that it has detected a new removable device.

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Step 2

Obtain a new DVD movie player program. You can download free players from numerous sites, including CNET.com. Simply select "Downloads," then type "DVD Player." A list of several hundred programs, mostly free, appears on the screen. The most popular are at the top. Click the "Download Now" link beside the program you want.

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Step 3

Double-click the downloaded file. Read through and accept the license agreement, then choose "Browse" when the installation location appears. From the browse window, select your external hard drive as the installation location. Click "OK," then "Install" to install the program to the external drive.

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Step 4

Insert the DVD movie into your computer. Close out all autoprompt windows that may appear.

Step 5

Click "Start," the "Computer" or "My Computer," and double-click the removable device icon. A window opens displaying all the files currently saved to the drive. Double-click the DVD movie player you just installed to open it. The program will detect your DVD movie and play it from the external hard drive.

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