www.makemkv.com

I just started using the product and I have zero experience in this area.

I had MakeMKV open a DVD movie.
Attachment (MakeMKV-display) is what I saw (after I unchecked what appeared to be superfluous choices.
Attachment (MakeMKV-hard-drive-files) shows the resulting hard drive files after MakeMKV finished copying.

I could not get any of the hard drive files to "play" (I double-clicked each one).
A couple were rejected due to requiring MPEG-2.
The other files only displayed a single small scene - no motion, no sound (though the "timer" appeared to show the file being read, as the "time" increased).

I'm using Windows 10 Pro, which I believe is current on updates.
What do I need to do to create a "playable" hard drive file?

You need a program that can play MKV files. Windows does not come with one. There are MANY programs that do play MKV files, however. Including add-ons for the Windows media player that add the MKV file type to it.

I use VLC.

"You need a program that can play MKV files.
....
I use VLC."

Perfect. Thank you.