How to Add Autoplay to a CD

Start any program when a user inserts a CD.

Microsoft introduced Autoplay with the introduction of Windows 95. This feature causes a program to execute when you insert a CD into your CD drive. It does this by looking for a file named Autorun.inf on the CD. This file tells Windows the name of the program to run. When you insert a music CD into your computer and Media Player opens, Autoplay causes that to happen. Add Autoplay to a CD by adding an Autorun.inf file to the CD.

Instructions

1. Open Notepad, and add the following text to a new document:

   [autorun]

   Open=ProgramToRun.exe

   Replace "ProgramToRun.exe" with the path and the file name of the program that you want to run. For example, to make the Windows Media Player program play when a user inserts a CD, use this text:

   [autorun]

   Open=wmplayer.exe

   "Wmplayer.exe" is the name of the Windows Media Player program.

2. Add this line below the previous line if you want to use a custom icon for your CD-ROM drive.

   icon=IconToShow.ico

   Replace "IconToShow.ico" with the path and file name of an icon that you want to appear. Users will see this icon in Windows Explorer instead of the default CD-ROM icon.

3. Press "Ctrl + S" to open the "Save As" window. Navigate to the folder that contains the files that you will burn to the CD.

4. Type "autorun.inf" in the "File Name" text box, and click "Save."

Tips & Warnings

• Microsoft recommends keeping Autorun applications small so that they start soon after a user inserts the CD.

References

• Microsoft: How to Test Autorun.inf Files
• Microsoft: How To: Create An Autorun Cd-rom for Applications That You Create by Using Microsoft Visual Studio .net
• Gsfc: Distributing Your Application on a CD-ROM

Resources

• Microsoft Windows: Autoplay: Frequently Asked Questions