AutoPlay/AutoRun Not Working or Missing Not Open in Windows Vista
An AutoPlay dialog window will be displayed and shown whenever users put in a CD or DVD disc into a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD-RW or DVD-RW optical drive, or when insert and plug in a USB/FireWire removable storage device such as USB Flash memory key stick or portable and external hard disk drive into computer port, or when insert a memory card such as SD, CF, MS, xD into memory card reader.
AutoPlay (or AutoRun) dialog box allows users to select a action to perform on the contents on the drive from a series of menu options such as import pictures, play music media files, transfer videos, open folder to browser files or configure ReadyBoost caching on the device to speed up system. AutoPlay provides a convenient shortcut to directly access or run many frequently used functions.
However, the AutoPlay dialog may ‘disappear’ or ‘missing’ sometimes. When place in a CD or DVD, connect a USB Flash drive (memory stick or USB key or memory card) or insert a removable mobile hard disk, the AutoPlay does not working and does not open or show up as usual. Not only is automatic AutoPlay dialog option window is not activating, the “Open AutoPlay” shell extension on right click contextual menu which associated with supported drive type to manually start AutoPlay dialog has vanished as well.
Trying to resolve AutoPlay not working issue and restore AutoPlay option by resetting all settings to default via Play CDs or other media automatically link in Control Panel’s Hardware and Sound section does not help to fix the missing AutoPlay problem.
There are many reasons that can cause the Vista AutoPlay (or AutoRun) not working and does not pop up. If you’re facing the AutoPlay not appearing issue, the guide below will point you to the possible cause and where to check for the error.
Ensure that Shell Hardware Detection service is running
Type “service.msc” in Start Search to run Services console. Locate Shell Hardware Detection, and ensure that the “Service Status” is Running, and “Startup Type” is Automatic. If not, start the service and change the Startup Type setting accordingly.
Ensure that CD-ROM AutoRun is not disabled in registry
For users facing AutoRun/AutoPlay doesn’t work when insert a disc into optical drive, run Registry Editor (regedit), and navigate to the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CDRom
Locate the AutoRun registry value in the right pane, and check that the value data for AutoRun is set as 1 (one), which is enabled. If it is 0 (zero), which mean disabled CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive AutoRun process, re-enable the AutoRun by changing the value to 1.
Ensure that correct NoDriveTypeAutoRun and/or NoDriveAutoRun policy value is set
NoDriveTypeAutoRun registry key is used by Group Policy to configure whether to disable the Autoplay feature on all drives of the type specified. To check this setting, run Registry Editor (regedit), and navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
or (note that above registry value, if exists, will always supersede the below user-specific key),
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Locate the NoDriveTypeAutoRun registry entry on the right pane. The registry key is in DWORD hexadecimal value, which each bit determines which type of drive to disable or enable AutoPlay feature. There are many possible value for NoDriveTypeAutoRun, some possible wrong value that disable AutoPlay are:
0×000000B5 (181) disable AutoRun on CD-ROM drives, plus default unknown drive, removable drive (meant for floppy or ZIP), network drive and reserved drive type.
0×000000FF (255) disable AutoRun/AutoPlay on all drive types.
The best bet is to set NoDriveTypeAutoRun to default value as set by Windows Vista, which is 0×00000091 (hexadecimal) or 145 (decimal). Previous Windows version such as XP uses 0×00000095 (hexadecimal) or 149 (decimal). To enable AutoPlay on all drive types, set NoDriveTypeAutoRun to 0 (zero) or 0×00000080 (128) which only disable AutoPlay on unknown reserved file type.
NoDriveAutoRun registry key, which stored at the same registry location, meanwhile determine whether a particular connected drive should run AutoPlay function or not. When AutoRun is enabled on the drive, media is automatically started when it is inserted in the drive.
By default, Windows Vista does not add any NoDriveAutoRun registry subkey. And you probably don’t want to block any drive from AutoPlay too. So remove and delete all NoDriveAutoRun key in the registry.
Uninstall conflict software
Some software application, especially disc imaging or image editing program such as Nero, PowerISO, MagicISO, and even some other programs such as Rhapsody and various VMWare virtualization products such as VMWare Server and VMWare Workstation.
If you’re facing the drive won’t Auto Play or Auto Run issue after installing certain software, try to uninstall the software to see if it fixes the problem. Better still if it’s possible to roll back the system using System Restore to earlier Restore Point when the software is not yet installed.
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Entries (RSS)
November 9th, 2009 07:01
The iPhone will not transfer photos to your computer if the device is locked and you are using a passcode. If you want to transfer photos, simply unlock (Slide to unlock and enter passcode) your device to transfer photos.
Note: Plug the iphone to your computer in unlocked mode.
November 6th, 2009 15:44
thanks a alot! the registry did the trick, after i restarted the computer (at 1st it didnt work because i didnt restart my laptop). i was frantically trying to find the solution to this problem, and you saved the day!
July 8th, 2009 00:17
Vista x64 here…Nero did it. So sad that this is happening, is it Microsoft, or these other software guys? Why does it seem that everything is getting worse these days (and i’m not just talking about computers)?
June 25th, 2009 01:25
uninstalling real player 11 made the autoplay dialog appear, it also appeared on the right click menu on the drive.
I later installed real player again from the website and autoplay still works..try this
June 18th, 2009 16:48
why not just use autofix.exe from microsoft? http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/3/2/2326455e-a840-4c61-bc28-3afa1820b240/AutoFix.exe
June 8th, 2009 16:57
Hey for those whose issue has not been solved by reading this try uninstalling softwares that cause the problem ie:
Real Player 10, Nero 7 etc.
The autoplay dialog was mising from my pc and the right click menu as well. But on reading wikipedia’s article,I decided on uninstalling Real Player and voilá it works!!!!!!
May 26th, 2009 00:30
Thanks a lot. Something changed my registry to
0×000000FF (255) disable AutoRun/AutoPlay on all drive types and changed that to default and presto. Thanks god for people like you in cyberspace you take the time to help people on annoying PC issues like this.
Thanks again.
May 22nd, 2009 18:03
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April 30th, 2009 12:11
Thanks… Stupid VMware. Oh well at least it works now. You’re the best.
March 16th, 2009 13:52
ThankS!
March 3rd, 2009 11:30
Thanks, I think you helped me get to the bottom of this one.
January 4th, 2009 09:59
You rock dude!!!
December 19th, 2008 09:36
Ok, it works again
The CD worked, the problem was with the USB Hard Disk, I added the category “Software and Games” in AutoPlay, and everything went fine again 
December 19th, 2008 09:31
Oh no. It stopped working again, even though the registry remained as I put it…
December 19th, 2008 09:21
Although, I must say that immediately after editing the registry my PC didn’t want to boot, even *before* trying to load windows! I panicked, but, fortunately, after turning it off manually, it started gracefully and with the problem solved
December 19th, 2008 09:17
Thanks a lot! It worked! How can an application just do that and the user has no control or knowledge over it? Mmm…
December 7th, 2008 07:10
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November 23rd, 2008 14:41
Just a heads up that it’s ’services.msc’ and not ’service.msc’
November 23rd, 2008 00:26
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November 15th, 2008 11:49
Thanks for the help! It really solved my Autoplay problems!
October 17th, 2008 23:46
Thanks for writing this. Unfortunately I found the article very hard to read, since it seems like its written especially for the search engines!
October 15th, 2008 03:00
Thanks a lot, Buddy!
Your detailed advice helped me in 100%
CD-ROM autorun was disabled in my Vista, don’t know how it happened.After bought it – couple months worked well, after running a virtual disk that problem appeared.
August 27th, 2008 15:04
Thank you for this tip!
I hated manually starting every CD/DVD I put in cause I had the NoDriveAutoRun registry key but you’re guide fixed that
Grtz
August 25th, 2008 07:33
Thank you so much! Solved my autorun issue.
July 23rd, 2008 04:15
You should fix ur translation machine. It is horrible to read it in german. I guess in other languages i wouldn’t be better.
July 6th, 2008 02:16
[...] sort of AutoPlay / AutoRun problem. I also had this problem, and this website solved my problem. AutoPlay/AutoRun Not Working or Missing Not Open in Windows Vista
July 1st, 2008 02:36
[...] See if this helps you. AutoPlay/AutoRun Not Working or Missing Not Open in Windows Vista » My Digital Life [...]
June 21st, 2008 22:32
Thanks for publishing this article… solved an annoying autoplay problem for me.
Greatly appreciated! Have a great day
ST Vancouver Canada
February 11th, 2008 11:16
Thank you very much for the information. Apparently, an application I recently installed disabled autorun for some reason. I was able to re-enable it using your instructions for changing a key in registry.
Thanks again!!