I have tried two different copies of the new Harry Potter DVD (one regular and one widescreen) on two different machines (one running Win XP, one with Win 98, both have DVD drives that work fine) and I cannot get the DVD-ROM special features to work. The movie and the other special features work fine, but when I go to the “Extra Credit” section and try to get the DVD-ROM extras to work, it stops and instructs me to insert the DVD into the DVD-ROM drive of my computer - and the disc is already in the drive. Is there a special trick?
Yes: rent a better movie. 
Go into Windows Explorer and look for the specials manually in the dvd’s drive letter.
Among other things there’s a demo of the Harry Potter game.
I got it to work. I needed to install that Interactual Player thing first. I usually cancel that out when I play DVDs on my computer, but I was trying to get the extras for my niece.
As long as someone started the asking, where are they hiding the new scenes on this thing?
Thanks.
The new scenes?
Insert disc two. Get money at Gringott’s. Buy a wand. On the main screen, highlight the “H” crest in the middle. You’ll have to go three three trials to get to the Philosopher’s Stone. All I remember is that the right key is the bent one right over the doorway, and the correct potion is the round yellow bottle. Get to the erised mirror, and select the stone in the middle. Seven deleted/extended scenes will follow.
Okay, I’m still a little confused. I don’t see an “H” crest on the main screen. Is the main screen the one with the options to go to Gringotts, classrooms, sorting hat, etc.?
Is there more than one way to get to the deleted scenes? I bought the wand, went to the classrooms, answered three questions right in potions, and then I found the key, the mirror, the stone and the extra scenes. I don’t remember seeing an H.
Oh, man, the Straight Dope is a great place. Thanks for your help.
I was going by memory, and my kids did the actual work to get to the deleted scenes, so I may have been a little bit off about the “H”. Also, there are at least two ways to get to the deleted scenes, but that was the only way I remembered.
Yeah, the main screen is the one with all the options. There is some sort of crest or something in the middle. That’s what you highlight.