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

ctitanic

Well-Known Member
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.
 
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megatronium

Active Member
Totally agree. A Very old tool that I'm not using any more since Microsoft added native support to handle ISO file to windows.

Awesome! I didn't know. Does the native support allow for multiple ISO's to be loaded at once? Does it also support other disc formats? Maybe I won't have to load it when I get my SP3!!
 
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ctitanic

ctitanic

Well-Known Member
Awesome! I didn't know. Does the native support allow for multiple ISO's to be loaded at once? Does it also support other disc formats? Maybe I won't have to load it when I get my SP3!!
:cool: I don't recall if you can mount multiple ISO at once. I think that I have two mounted by mistake at one point. I don't see the use of it beside wasting resources. When you say disc formats, do you mean music CDs or movies DVDs? For these two the answer is yes.
 
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ctitanic

ctitanic

Well-Known Member

ipaq_101

Active Member
Like another user already pointed. You may be able to read but not to burn. Before recommending anyone to spend money in an accessory I always try to confirm that it works. ;)

Besides, this thread is about how to live without buying one of those.

Actually the one I pointed out, is the one I own and it reads and writes. Only problem is that it doesn't work with the usb cable alone, but I have a y usb cable from an older drive and when you plug one cable into the usb charger port and the other into the sp3, it works fine, I found that solution from the thread pointed out above. I just tested it and have burned a disk full of music and photos and it worked fine.
 
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ctitanic

ctitanic

Well-Known Member
Actually the one I pointed out, is the one I own and it reads and writes. Only problem is that it doesn't work with the usb cable alone, but I have a y usb cable from an older drive and when you plug one cable into the usb charger port and the other into the sp3, it works fine, I found that solution from the thread pointed out above. I just tested it and have burned a disk full of music and photos and it worked fine.
That's an interesting workaround. But... this thread is about how to live without buying one of those.
 

ipaq_101

Active Member
That's an interesting workaround. But... this thread is about how to live without buying one of those.

Ok, couldn't you also copy all the files from a cd or a dvd into a new folder in a flash drive and then execute the .exe file? Without the need for an iso? I know there are certain things where an iso is better, for games and maybe movies as an example. But for most simple programs wouldn't copying and pasting work just as well? I have done this numerous times without any problems. Maybe I haven't looked into newer software for creating isos, in the past I always found it cumbersome and time consuming, maybe it has improved.
 
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