Enabling / disabling Windows AutoPlay.

Disabling AutoPlay

You can temporarily disable the AutoPlay feature by holding down the left Shift key as the CD begins to run. In addition if you wish to browse the contents of the CD open My Computer, right-click the CD-ROM drive and choose explore. 

If you wish to permanently disable the AutoPlay feature follow the below steps for your version of Microsoft Windows.

Disabling AutoPlay in Windows XP
Disabling AutoPlay in Windows 95, 98, and ME
Disabling AutoPlay in Windows NT and 2000

Disabling AutoPlay in Windows XP
Disable through Windows Explorer

1. Open My Computer or Explorer
2. Right-click the CD-ROM drive or other drive and click Properties.
3. Click the AutoPlay tab. Within this section you will be able to specify all Windows AutoPlay features.

Disable AutoPlay on CD drive and other drives

1. Download and install TweakUI.
2. From the TweakUI interface click the + next to My Computer
3. Click the + next to AutoPlay
4. Select Drives and uncheck each drive you want to disable AutoPlay on.

Disabling AutoPlay in Windows 95, 98, and ME

1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click the System icon
2. Open Device Manager
3. Click the + next to CD-ROM and double-click the currently installed CD-ROM drive.
4. In the CD-ROM properties click the Settings Tab and verify that there is not a check within the Auto Insert Notification section.

Disable AutoPlay on audio CDs

1. Click Start, Programs, Windows Explorer
2. Within Explorer click View and then Folder Options.
3. Click the File Types tab and locate " CD Audio Track" category within the list of available file types.
4. Highlight " CD Audio Track" and click Edit or Advanced.
5. In the Actions category change the default from Play to Open or none.

Through the Windows registry

If the My Autorun or AutoPlay feature still does not work after following the above recommendations and you are running Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98. It is possible that after attempting to follow the above recommendations that the computer will still not AutoPlay CDs. If this is the case you may want to try the below solution, providing you are aware how to navigate the computer registry and are familiar with the possible issues that can be caused when editing the registry.  

Within regedit, navigate into the below folders.

HKEY_USERS\
.DEFAULT\
SOFTWARE\
MICROSOFT\
Windows\
CURRENTVERSION\
POLICIES\
EXPLORER\

Once within the Explorer folder, double-click the entry: "NoDriveTypeAutoRun" if present and change the value to "95 00 00 00"

If NoDriveTypeAutoRun is not present, follow the below steps:

click Edit from the drop down menu
click new
click binary value
enter "NoDriveTypeAutoRun" as the name
enter "95 00 00 00" as the value

Once the above has been completed, exit regedit and reboot the computer; your issue should be resolved.

Disabling AutoPlay on a data CD (Windows NT and 2000)

Note: Performing the below steps will require that you edit the system registry. Make sure you are aware of the issues that could occur if the incorrect registry entry is made.

1. Click Start, Run, type regedit and press enter.
2. In the Registry Editor open the below registry key:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
   System\
   CurrentControlSet\
   Services\
   Cdrom\
   
3. When in the Cdrom folder change the Autorun from a '1' to a '0'
4. Close the Registry Editor.

Enabling Microsoft Windows AutoPlay

Note: Before attempting the below instructions ensure the CD that may not be AutoPlaying is capable of doing this. Not all CDs are capable of being auto played. CDs for Microsoft Windows that are AutoPlay data CD's will have a "autorun.inf" file in the root directory of the CD.

Enabling AutoPlay in Windows XP
Enabling AutoPlay in Windows 95, 98, and ME
Enabling AutoPlay in Windows NT and 2000

Enabling AutoPlay in Windows XP

Enable through Windows Explorer

1. Open My Computer or Explorer
2. Right-click the CD-ROM drive or other drive and click Properties.
3. Click the AutoPlay tab. Within this section you will be able to specify all Windows AutoPlay features.

Enable AutoPlay on CD drive and other drives

1. Download and install TweakUI.
2. From the TweakUI interface click the + next to My Computer
3. Click the + next to AutoPlay
4. Select Drives and check each drive you want to AutoPlay.

Enabling AutoPlay in Windows 95, 98, and ME

1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click the System icon
2. Open Device Manager
3. Click the + next to CD-ROM and double-click the currently installed CD-ROM drive.
4. In the CD-ROM properties click the Settings Tab and verify that there is a check within the Auto Insert Notification section. If there is no check in this box, place a check into the box, then click Ok and restart the computer.

Disabling on an Audio CD

1. Click Start, Programs, Windows Explorer
2. Within Explorer click View and then Folder Options.
3. Click the File Types tab and locate "CD Audio Track" category within the list of available file types.
4. Highlight "CD Audio Track" and click Edit or Advanced.
5. In the Actions category double-click the option listed Play; if this is not listed, see the next paragraph.
6. If you wish to use the default Windows CD player ensure that within the "Application used to perform the action" section is c:\windows\cdplayer.exe -play .
7. Once set make sure this action is the Default.

If Play was not an option listed when following the above steps, in the "Edit File Type" window click New, for the Action type Play, for the Application used to perform this action type c:\windows\cdplayer.exe -play .
Note: The above steps are for setting audio CDs to be played with the default Microsoft Windows CD player. If you have a different CD player you want to use you will need to edit the play to point to the program you wish to play your CDs.

Enabling AutoPlay in Windows NT and 2000

Note: Performing the below steps will require that you edit the system registry. Make sure you are aware of the issues that could occur if the incorrect registry entry is made.

1. Click Start, Run, type regedit and press enter.
2. In the Registry Editor open the below registry key:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
   System\
   CurrentControlSet\
   Services\
   Cdrom\
   
3. When in the Cdrom folder change the Autorun from a '0' to a '1'
4. Close the Registry Editor.