How to Change the Default CD Player

By Christina Shaffer

You can choose different default players for music CDs and blank CDs.
i chantier cd-ROM 3 image by Frédéric Prochasson from Fotolia.com

Each time you place a CD in your disk drive, the default media player that is set on your PC will open and play your disc automatically. If you have more than one music application installed on your computer, one of the programs may have altered the default settings when you installed it on your PC. Whether you want to change the default settings back to Windows Media Player, or change it to an alternative player, such as iTunes, you can easily set a new default player by accessing the Control Panel. This process will work for PC users who have Vista or Windows 7.

Click on "Start" and open the Control Panel.

Click on the "Hardware and Sound" link, and then click on "AutoPlay." The "AutoPlay" settings window will appear on the screen.

Click on the "Audio CD" drop-down menu and select the application or media player you would like to set as your default CD player. Depending on the applications you have installed on your PC, you can choose from a variety of programs such as Windows Media Player, iTunes, RealPlayer, Napster, etc.

Click on the "Blank CD" drop-down menu if you would like to change the default player for blank CDs. The default player for blank CDs allows you to designate a specific default program for burning music or data on a blank disc.

Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the screen to save your new default settings.

×