How to overcome the lack of DVD reader in your Surface Pro 3

[Pepper]

internet speeds are more than adequate for downloading software/streaming films.

Speak for yourself... lots of rural areas still can't get decent speed.

 

[Jhn Jeffrey]

Once you have the ISO you can copy it to your Surface using a microSD or USB memory stick. Once your have access to the ISO file in Your Surface, just double click on it and Windows 8.1 will recognize it as a DVD or CD. The rest... Well, I think that you know what to do next. If not that probably is a topic for another thread.

I found this extremely useful - up to a point! I wanted to install a CD-based application on my Surface Pro 3. The explanations and links were all fine and I created an ISO file with no difficulty, and transferred it to the Surface Pro 3 desktop using a USB stick. I ran the setup program from there and all was well until the final stage, where the installer asked me for the CD key. I entered the key that goes with the original CD and received a CD Cops message "This CD could not be recognised as original CD. Please contact the distributor or the producer for support. Machine code: HVZC-673C".
I had hoped that the helpful advice here about ISO files was going to be my salvation, and I am now feeling quite crushed! Is there anything I can do to get round this problem?

 

[ctitanic]

I found this extremely useful - up to a point! I wanted to install a CD-based application on my Surface Pro 3. The explanations and links were all fine and I created an ISO file with no difficulty, and transferred it to the Surface Pro 3 desktop using a USB stick. I ran the setup program from there and all was well until the final stage, where the installer asked me for the CD key. I entered the key that goes with the original CD and received a CD Cops message "This CD could not be recognised as original CD. Please contact the distributor or the producer for support. Machine code: HVZC-673C".
I had hoped that the helpful advice here about ISO files was going to be my salvation, and I am now feeling quite crushed! Is there anything I can do to get round this problem?

That means that the iso that you created is not an identical copy from the original or uses a copy protection feature. You will have to look for information in Games forums about how to bypass the protection. That information violates the rules of this forum.

 

[Jhn Jeffrey]

Thanks. I would like to emphasise that I'm not trying to do anything illegal, since I do own the software; but it is clearly copy-protected, as you say, and I fully understand that is a topic this forum wants nothing to do with - quite right, too.

I see 2 possible ways forward now. One is to ask the software provider for advice - I've done that, by email, and wait with fingers crossed. The other is to accept that I will probably have to use the original CD, and so I have ordered a USB 'Y' cable which others have found helpful in boosting the current available. It's an advantage that the Surface Pro 3 has a USB output at the power block, which I only spotted today as part of this debate!

 

[ctitanic]

Thanks. I would like to emphasise that I'm not trying to do anything illegal, since I do own the software; but it is clearly copy-protected, as you say, and I fully understand that is a topic this forum wants nothing to do with - quite right, too.

I see 2 possible ways forward now. One is to ask the software provider for advice - I've done that, by email, and wait with fingers crossed. The other is to accept that I will probably have to use the original CD, and so I have ordered a USB 'Y' cable which others have found helpful in boosting the current available. It's an advantage that the Surface Pro 3 has a USB output at the power block, which I only spotted today as part of this debate!

I understand that you are not doing anything illegal in "theory" but The software maker may tell you that to copy the CD in anyway is illegal. I honestly do not believe that they will cooperate with you in anyway.

To create the ISO are you using ISO Ripper or IsoBuster? If not Google them.

 

[Jhn Jeffrey]

To create the ISO are you using ISO Ripper or IsoBuster? If not Google them.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I am using BurnAware Free, which seems to be fine for (eg) a DVD movie, but I will have a look at the others you suggest.

 

[grumpy]

You may need to use virtual drive software such as Daemon Tools or Alcohol 120%.

 

[Arizona Willie]

It can be much simpler than that.

If you have a wireless network with a regular computer on it that has a DVD you can simply start your Surface and using File Explorer go to the wireless network and find your DVD and run the setup.exe file and point the installation routine to your Surface.

You can easily install programs over your wireless network.
Piece of cake.

I realize that we have many new readers here that never have used a Tabletpc or UMPC before and the lack of having a DVD reader seems to them an overwhelming issue. So here is what needs to be done.

The first thing is to forget about attaching any DVD Reader/Writer to your Surface. Your Surface is a mobile device born to be free of cables and heavy or not so heavy accessories to be carried.

The second part is to learn about ISO files and how to create them. ISO files are, without entering in too many technical details, virtual copies of any CD or DVD. There are many tools online that allows you to create them. You can read a very good a very good tutorial of how to create an ISO here.

Of course, to create an ISO you will need a PC with a DVD reader. If you don't have one at home use a friend's.

Once you have the ISO you can copy it to your Surface using a microSD or USB memory stick. Once your have access to the ISO file in Your Surface, just double click on it and Windows 8.1 will recognize it as a DVD or CD. The rest... Well, I think that you know what to do next. If not that probably is a topic for another thread.

One more thing, You can take an ISO and create a bootable USB memory stick if you like. You can find a wonderful tutorial about it here.

 

[ptrkhh]

In my own experience the best way to create a movie collection is to convert (rip) the movies into mkv files. MKV format allows you to store multiple tracks and subtitles.

Agree, especially since MS has been adding native MKV support to all their platforms.

I have been building my collection on an external ssd. I had a collection but since sp3 changed the form factor I decided to rebuilt it with "full screen 1080p" resolution to use sp3 screen better.

I don't think there is a need to upscale it, since the SP3 would do that automatically when you play the movie

Speak for yourself... lots of rural areas still can't get decent speed.

You can always preload the movie in advance, for example. I lived in such area, I know how painful it is to wait practically every time, but living with slow internet speed doesn't mean you have to be dependent on such deprecated technology anyway

 

[r0b123]

It can be much simpler than that.

If you have a wireless network with a regular computer on it that has a DVD you can simply start your Surface and using File Explorer go to the wireless network and find your DVD and run the setup.exe file and point the installation routine to your Surface.

You can easily install programs over your wireless network.
Piece of cake.

+1 for using an computer with a DVD drive over the network. You can also add that drive to the network for future use.