Can I Make Windows Media Player NOT Start Automatically?

Hey folks, got a quick question. Whenever I put a CD in my drive, Windows Media Player pops up and starts playing. As I prefer to use a different CD player, I don't really want or need Windows Media Player to show up each time I load a CD. I've checked Media Player over and for the life of me, I can't seem to figure out how to tell it to NOT start up automatically. I assume there's gotta be a way to do this, but I'm probably too dumb to figure out just what that way is. If anyone out there can help me out, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for any info.

Cheers,

Snaithbert

 

Hi,

Go to Device Manager / expand CDROM / double-click on your CDR then Settings and uncheck "Auto Insert Notification". OK out of Device Manager.

Good luck.

Spaceman

 

That seems to have done it! Many thanks, Spaceman. I am in your debt.

Cheers,

Snaithbert

 

The downside here is that now, by disabling auto-insert, any CD capable of auto-run... won't.
What version of Media Player are you using, and what program and its version do you want to use. Maybe we can get it to work the way you want.
Are you meaning audio CD's?
A down and dirty way is to open Windows Explorer, select View, Folder Options, and select the File Types tab. Highlight AudioCD, click edit, then edit again on the new window. Change the 'application used to perform action:' line to your preferred player.
You can do the same for MP3's, or any other type of file.
Keep in mind that some players can hijack the association, so even if you change it to another player, Windows Media Player or another program may steal it back in the future. Real Networks is FAMOUS for doing things like this in the Real Audio Player product.

 

Jeckler,

I appreciate the help, but actually, I think I'm just fine having automatic play turned off for all CDs.

I always found auto-play annoying, even with CD-ROMS and stuff like that. Sometimes you just want to put the disc in the drive and deal with it later, but with auto-run, things (install programs, media player) just pop up when you insert a disc and then you gotta close stuff, etc. This way, I can just open the contents of the disc later, (or play it or whatever) when I feel like it.

So unless there's some reason for using auto-run that I don't know about, I'd say I'm fine having it disabled.

But I really do appreciate the help. You and all the other folks at this forum have helped me out of more jams than I can recall and I'm in your debt, rest assured.

Cheers,

Snaithbert