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lakegeofan
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April 14th, 2008 17:00
No autorun for software?
I just hooked-up an Inspiron 530 desktop yesterday. It's running XP home. In loading my software programs (Photoshop, Dreamweaver etc.), I noticed that whenever I inserted the disk into the drive, it just sat there doing nothing. About half of the time, I could hear the motor whirring, but the autoplay never did kick in.
Yes, I can go into 'my computer" and open the disks manually, but I don't want to. The computer is brand new, and I think it should work properly. (BTW, it's actually a replacement for another problem, so returning it is not an option.)
Here's what's weird- - - when I insert either a video or music CD/DVD, the autoplay does start. However, it will not recognize any software disk (as far as automatically opening and running, that is.)
I called support, and the Dell tech advised me that something was probably wrong with my software disks (WRONG!!) and he advised me that my only option was to reload Windows XP. Since that's one of their favorite fixes for anything, I'm reluctant to do so. I've been through the mill with support techs for over a month, and I'm tired of their canned responses.
Any other ideas? I've looked at some of the registry setting posts, but my numbers already appear correct.
According to my documentation, the drive is GSA-H73N HL-DT-ST.
Thanks for any help!
lakegeofan,
Take a run through the steps in this Dell troubleshooting article. Why Will CDs Not Autorun When Inserted in My CD or DVD Drive?
lakegeofan
12 Posts
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Posted April 14th, 2008 20:00
I ran the MS Autoplay Repair Wizard. On the last page, both entries (Legacy auto play event and Autoplay V2 event were marked "problems." Next to each was a box that said "repair." When I clicked on "repair" for each, I got a message saying that it was either a malfunction or that yje wizard couldn't determine what the problem was.
So, I still have no autorun. :smileysad:
Osprey, you mentioned security issues. Do you have any ideas of what or where I could check?
The Namek, I did all the steps on the Windows technical Support page, but everything there checked out okay, except the wizard I mentioned above.
Thanks to you both for trying, but I'm still stymied... Why would auto run work for music or videos but not software?
@lakegeofan wrote:
Why would auto run work for music or videos but not software?
There are a number of reasons.1. The labels on the discs themselves are improperly balanced & causing them to 'wobble' in the drive rather than spin normally. I'm pretty sure you think this sounds quite weird or unlikely. I've seen it happen though. Sometimes the disc(s) simply don't autorun, other times they won't read at all or only sporadically. You can usually hear that the sound emitted from the drive sounds different when this is the case.2. The discs you're inserting don't have the Autorun.inf file on them, which must be present for any CD or DVD to autorun. To rule this out try inserting an application CD that's known to contain Autorun.inf, such as your OS CD or the Dell Resource CD.3. Autorun is not enabled for the type of disc a problem is being encountered with in Windows XP. If in fact you went through all the steps in the article I included a link to in my previous post then this isn't your problem (unless there's deeper OS corruption). Checking autorun was step 5 in that article.4. Packet writing software like Nero's InCD, Roxio's DirectCD or Sonic DLA could be interfering with application CD autoplay functionality. If you have any CD or DVD burning software that allows drag-and-drop burning try disabling it then test an application CD to see if autorun works.lakegeofan
12 Posts
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Posted April 14th, 2008 23:00
The_Namek,
I did do all the different possible fixes as outlined in your link. (Thanks!) As for my CDs themselves possibly not having the correct format, I know that's not the case, since they work fine on both my laptop and other desktop. They autorun on everything except this new 530.
Osprey,
In my searching, I did see where the registry could be changed to disable the autorun function, but I guess I'm lazy and I just like it. Yes, I can obviously manually open all my software disks, but it simply bugs me that a brand new 2 day old computer already has a glitch.
Again, thanks to both of you for your suggestions!
lakegeofan
12 Posts
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Posted April 16th, 2008 01:00
Osprey,
I'm sorry, but I'm not quite sure where to do that. Could you possibly be a bit more specific about where those settings are located?
Thanks!
Hi, I would usually create a new thread, but it seems I have the exact same problem. Though I have a Dell Precision T7400 quad core system thats 3 days old. Its awesome (fast) except that I can't get autorun to work. I can insert the same CD (software install disks) into another Dell, also XP, and it autoruns.
I was on an online chat with Dell tech support last night for an hour. We looked at the registry. All the settings look fine. We ran the Microsoft Autoplay test wizard and it failed. I think that it thinks the drive is not winXp compatible.
The drive is a TSSPcorp CD/DVD +-RW. We uninstalled Roxio and that didn't help. Its very frustrating. Its my wife's new system and this lack of autorun annoys her.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Steve
osprey4
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34230 Posts
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Posted April 14th, 2008 17:00
Hi, Lakegeofan:
MS has a utility called the autoplay repair wizard. See if that helps.
There are a couple other suspects besides Windows (security software, for example). But generally the drive itself is not the problem.