How to turn off CD AutoPlay

Problem

You don't want AutoPlay to automatically run whatever's on a CD when you insert it in your computer.

Solution

Holding down the SHIFT key while inserting the CD works for some people. It never has for me, but iIt's worth a try.

• Windows 2000 & XP Pro (but not XP Home) Use the local group policy editor method:
1. Choose Start, Run and enter GPEDIT.MSC then click OK
2. Group Policy mmc will popup. On left panel:
3. Double-click Computer Configuration to open submenu
4. Double-click Administrative Templates to open submenu
5. Double-click System to open submenu. On the right panel:
6. Double-click "Turn off Autoplay" (near the bottom of the list in the right panel)
7. Set it to Enabled (and make sure you choose CD Drives in the dropdown list box.
• Windows XP/Home This involves editing the registry. If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it.
1. You may need Administrator privileges to edit the Registry
2. Click Start, Run and enter REGEDIT, click OK
3. Browse to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
4. Create a new value called: NoDriveTypeAutoRun of type DWORD, value: 0x000000b1 (177)
5. Close Regedit
6. Log off/Log On or reboot to ensure that the change takes effect.
7. Note: To undo this, set the NoDriveTypeAutoRun value to 91 (145) instead of B1 (177)
• Windows 98
1. Locate My Computer on the Windows desktop. Right-click it and choose Properties.
2. Click the tab marked Device Manager
3. Click the + sign next to CDROM. The list expands to show all of the CDs on your computer.
4. Double-click the name of the CD drive you want to work with
5. Click the tab marked Settings
6. Remove the checkmark next to "Auto insert notification"
7. Click OK then click OK again to return to the Windows desktop