Terry Pearson’s Blog

Is there Autorun after VMWare?

December 15th, 2007 by Terry Pearson

I installed VMWare player last week on my PC. Using their player software, I was able to create a partition for my Ubuntu Linux system that can be run from within Windows.

The installation went great, but I realized that some problems do not show up immediately.

Today I put my SD card in my memory card reader, expecting the Autorun menu to appear. Instead, I had nothing. I also did not have an “Autoplay” on the menu when right-clicking on the memory card in “My Computer.” Finally, the title of my card was no longer being displayed in My Computer.

Fortunately, the solution to these problems is simple. But first, the problem needs to be explained. When VMWare is installed, it modifies the Windows Registry to prevent Autorun.

This is probably a good idea. If you had your favorite Ubuntu distribution running from within Windows, and decided to put in a CD, you don’t want both Operating Systems to try to load the disc simultaneously. The easiest way to solve the problem is by disabling the Autorun feature.

Personally, I like Autorun. I take pictures all the time, and I like the convenience of popping my memory card into the computer and clicking the program I use to download my pictures and movies. Maybe it is not the coolest way to download pictures, but it certainly makes my life easier.

To re-enable the autorun feature in Windows XP (I heard that Vista is similar, but having never used the OS, except at the store, I have no guarantee that this works in Vista):

1. Go to Start -> Run
2. Type in “regedit” (No Quotes). This will bring up the Windows Registry Editor.
   • As a side note, registry edits can hose your computer. Be very careful. Your edits are at your own risk.
3. In the registry, delete the following keys:
   • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoDriveTypeAutoRun
   • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoDriveTypeAutoRun
4. Finally, ensure that HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CDRom\AutoRun has a value of “1.” Otherwise your DVDs and CDs will not Autoplay.

I have also created a script to accomplish these tasks. You can download Terry Pearson’s AutoRun Restore Script here.

1. To Run the script, first download and save the zip file to your desktop.
2. Unzip the file.
3. Double click on the script.
4. Windows will display a warning message. Click “Yes.”
5. A dialog box will then display telling you that the changes have successfully been entered into the registry.
6. Your Autoplay feature should work now.

Please note that I have made every attempt to ensure that this script is safe and work correctly, but it is ultimately your responsibility to check the safety and usability of any script you download on the internet.

   Post in Technology, Windows