There is nothing more frustrating than inserting
a CD or DVD into your CD/DVD drive only to find that
it won't auto play. Strangely Windows XP, Vista and
Windows 7 all have the ability to turn this option
off without even telling you. I honestly swear that
the autoplay/autorun option is haunted. Still even
though autoplay/autorun can be a pain it is easily
remedied by a simply registry tweak.
To make the necessary adjustments to the Windows
Registry proceed as follows.
Important Note
Registry editing is not for the faint hearted and
you really must feel comfortable editing this way;
any mistakes can easily render your PC unbootable.
Therefore, before beginning we suggest that you read
through these instruction carefully and make sure
you understand them prior to making any alterations.
As a safeguard it is also wise to make a complete
backup of your registry. For instruction on backing
up the registry Click on the following link:
16 Back Up The Registry
- Click the Start button.
- In the Search dialogue box type: Regedit
- User Account Control will ask for permission
to open the registry editor.
- If you are the Administrator, Click
Continue. If you are not then you will need the
Administrator user name and password before
being able to continue.
- Once the Administrator has given permission
the Registry Editor will open.
- The first thing you need to do is navigate
to the following subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CDRom
- In the Right Hand Pane you will see a list
of options. Look for the AutoRun option.
- If the Value in the AutoRun data column is 1
(one) then AutoRun is enabled. If, on the other
hand, the value is 0 (zero) then it is disabled.
- In order to re-enable AutoRun, Right Click
on the AutoRun option and Select Modify.
- In the Edit DWord Value box, Click the radio
button next to the Decimal base and in the Value
Data box type: 1 (one), then Press OK.
- Should AutoRun already be enabled for this
Registry key then move on to the following
subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
- If this registry subkey is not available
then look for the following Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
- Once you have located this subkey look for
an entry marked NoDriveTypeAutoRun (We should
point out that this entry is sometimes elusive,
therefore, you may find it easier to use the
Registry Find option to locate the entry. To do
this Click Edit on the registry main toolbar and
select Find. In the Find What dialogue box type:
NoDriveTypeAutoRun and click the Find Next
button.
- Once you have located this sub key take a
look at its value. If it is 0xb5 or 255 then
AutoRun is turned off (disabled).
- To enable AutoRun, Right Click the
NoDriveTypeAutoRun option and Click Modify.
Select the Decimal option and type: 91 (Ninety
One) in the value box. Finally press OK.
- All that is left to do now is to Close the
Registry Editor and insert a CD/DVD into the
CD/DVD-Rom. The CD/DVD should now
AutoRun/AutoPlay.