Loss of DVD Functionality.

I have always had the option to watch DVD movies on my custom built PC in the past.  Recently I reinstalled my o/s (Windows XP Home) and now when I insert a DVD disc it just spits it back out.  Can anyone help with this as I have lots of DVD's that I like to watch from time to time on my pc.

Thanks, Alan.

Wrong driver installed and Windows thinks the drive is a CD drive only?

The only other thing I can think of is that the drive itself has failed.

The other common issues with DVD playback are codec problems, but then it simply won't play, it doesn't spit the disk back out at you.

Tried updating driver it says it's fine, it plays games ok, and i tried  downloading codecs , nothing works.  I think its definately a windows thing but cannot nail it. thanks.

 Using Windows Media Player? Have you tried using another player? I like VLC media player

I used to be able to use WMP. I also had another free DVD player,  but the ones I  have tried recently don't work either.