CD/DVD Drive AutoPlay Feature Does Not Work in Windows XP

Affected Products: Software, System CDs
Affected Operating Systems: Windows® XP

ISSUE: When you place a CD in the CD/DVD drive, the Microsoft® Windows® XP AutoPlay feature may not work. The CD/DVD drive is still able to read the disk properly, but it does not autoplay.

Additionally for this specific issue, you must have an additional or incorrect NoDriveTypeAutoRun DWORD value in the registry. Other user accounts may work properly.

RESOLUTION: This issue can be resolved several different ways. Following are the most common methods.

Note: For additional information about AutoPlay issues, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles including, but not limited to, 330135 or 314855.

Method 1: Reset AutoPlay key for CDs using HelpSpot

  1. From the Start menu, click Help and Support.

  2. In the Help and Support window, in the Search field, type: Reset autoplay, and then click the green arrow.
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  3. In the Search Results window, click Gateway Tech Tools.
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  4. In the Quick scripts section, click the Reset AutoPlay key for CDs link.
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  5. In the Tech Tools dialog box, click OK.
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  6. Close all open windows and restart the computer. If this does not resolve the issue, attempt Method 2.

Method 2: Create a New User Account

  1. Create a new user account.

  2. If the new user account works, use this account for normal activities. The other account can be deleted after you back up any files you may need. If the new user account does not work, attempt Method 3.

Method 3: Enable the Shell Hardware Detection Service

  1. Open Control Panel.

    • If you are using the Windows XP default Start menu, from the Start menu, click Control Panel.
    • If you are using the Classic Start Menu, from the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. In Control Panel, open Administrative Tools.

    • If you are in Category View, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click Administrative Tools.
    • If you are in Classic View, double-click Administrative Tools.

  3. In the Administrative Tools dialog box, click Computer Management.

  4. In the Computer Management window, click the plus sign (+) next to Services and Applications, and then click Services.

  5. In the Computer Management window, locate and double-click Shell Hardware Detection.

  6. In the Shell Hardware Detection Properties dialog box, verify that the Service status is set to Started. If it displays Stopped, press Start to start the service.

  7. In the Shell Hardware Detection Properties dialog box, change the Startup type to Automatic, and then click OK.

  8. Close all open windows and restart the computer. If this does not resolve the issue, attempt Method 4.

Method 4: Manually Edit NoDriveTypeAutoRun Registry Key

  1. Run System Restore to create a restore point.

  2. Search the registry for NoDriveTypeAutoRun.

    1. From the Start menu, click Run.
    2. In the Run dialog box, type: Regedit. Click OK.
    3. In the Registry Editor window, from the Edit menu, click Find.
    4. In the Find dialog box, type: NoDriveTypeAutoRun. Click Find Next.
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  3. Inspect each NoDriveTypeAutoRun DWORD value found, and then correct it.

    1. For the AutoPlay feature to work properly, there should only be one NoDriveTypeAutoRun DWORD value in each registry key, and the NoDriveTypeAutoRun DWORD value must have a value data of 91 hexadecimal (145 decimal). In this example, two entries appear and one does not contain the correct value data. AutoPlay will not work properly.
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    2. To correct each NoDriveTypeAutoRun DWORD value, delete any extra entries so that there is only one left. Click to select the extra entry, and then from the Edit menu, click Delete.
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    3. Edit the remaining NoDriveTypeAutoRun DWORD value. Double-click NoDriveTypeAutoRun. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, verify that the Value data is 91, that the Base is Hexadecimal (145 decimal), and that the Value name is NoDriveTypeAutoRun. When complete, click OK.
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  4. In the Registry Editor window, from the File menu, click Exit.

  5. Close all open windows and restart the computer. If this does not resolve the issue, attempt Method 5.

Method 5: Disable the "Turn off autoplay" Group Policy

Note: This setting does not affect Autoplay for music CDs, and is not available on all computers.

  1. From the Start menu, click Run.

  2. In the Run dialog box, type: GPEDIT.MSC. Click OK.

  3. In the Group Policy window, double-click Computer Configuration, double-click Administrative templates, double-click System, and then double-click Turn off autoplay.
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  4. In the Turn off autoplay dialog box, click Disabled, and then click OK.
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  5. Close all open windows and restart the computer. If this does not resolve the issue, attempt Method 6.

Method 6: Reinstall Windows XP

If all of the methods above have been attempted and followed correctly but the issue still persists, Windows XP may need to be reinstalled in order to resolve the issue.