Help Desk Geek – Help Desk Tips For IT Pros

Whenever you place new media into a computer running Windows 7, the operating system will perform any of several actions including opening the media, playing a music files, or showing a movie depending on the media inserted. However, many users do not know that you can edit the default action for each type of media and for certain files that Windows 7 detects.

If you are annoyed by the way Windows 7 handles the media you insert into your computer, read on to learn how to edit the default AutoPlay features. Also, explore how to turn off AutoPlay altogether for all media and files types.

What is AutoPlay?

The AutoPlay feature was introduced in Windows XP as a way to make it easier for the user of a computer to open, interact, and use certain types of media. Kind of an evolution of the AutoRun feature in previous versions of Windows, some people found the AutoPlay feature to be too intrusive with the assumptions it made about how media should be handled when inserted into the computer.

Here is how AutoPlay is supposed to work: You insert, say, a music CD into one of your computer’s optical drives (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.), Windows detects that the disk contains music, and the operating system automatically begins playing the disk using the default music player.

However, not everyone wants a music disk to start playing upon insertion and must close the music player to get back to the task at hand such as ripping the music files to MP3s or making a backup copy of the while disk.

Changing Windows 7 AutoPlay Settings

To explore the AutoPlay settings and change them to better suit your tastes and needs, begin by clicking on Start>All Programs and locate the item titled Default Programs at the top of the list.

If you do not find the icon in that location, search for Default Programs using the Search Programs and Files search box on the Start Menu. In the window that opens, click on the Change AutoPlay Settings option.

You should now be looking at the Windows 7 AutoPlay Settings window. Notice that there are a number of media and files types for which you can change how or whether Windows 7 will take action when these types of media or files are inserted into your computer.

The first option you should consider is how you want Windows 7 to handle Audio CDs and DVD movies. If you use the drop-down menu next to Audio CD, you will notice that you have three choices.

The first choice titled Open Folder To View Files Using Windows Explorer will simply open Windows Explorer and show you the audio CD’s contents whenever you insert a Music CD into your computer.

The second option titled Take No Action is typically chosen by people who don’t want any AutoPlay actions for Audio CDs. The last option titled Ask Me Every Time will force Windows 7 to prompt you each time you insert an Audio CD into your computer.

The prompt will ask how you want to handle the new media. This option is great if sometimes you want to play music on an audio CD and sometimes you just want to view the disk’s contents.

Continue in this fashion down the list until you have reset the default actions for each type of media or file Windows 7 may encounter. If you prefer to turn off AutoPlay altogether, simply uncheck the option at the top of the window titled Use AutoPlay For All Media and Devices.

Although some people find the AutoPlay feature to be useful, others find it annoying that Windows 7 makes assumptions about how media and certain files should automatically be handled. Luckily, the operating system allows you to change the settings and offers the option to disable AutoPlay for all media and files types.