USB Hack: Disable The AutoPlay Pop Up Window

The first couple of times I connected a USB drive to my computer it was nice to see the pop-up window asking me what I wanted to do with the drive. However, the pop-up window gets old. Here is how to disable the autoplay pop-up window for USB drives:

Go to your Windows Start button and navigate to RUN… type in:

gpedit.msc then click OK

A Windows Group Policy window pops up. This is where you configure the pop-up window setting.

Click the Administrative Templates folder, then click the System folder.

On the right side of the window you will see (may have to scroll down) the “Turn Off Autoplay” item. Double click that item.

Another window pops up and this is where you enable the turn-off autoplay pop-up window dialogue box. Simply click the radial button for “Enable” now select “All drives” or “CD-ROM drives”   Click OK or Apply and you’re set.

Please note, this setting will also affect your CD-ROM autoplay function as well. I’d like to see the ability to select only USB devices, but that’s just not the case.

To reverse the setting, follow the above instructions and set the radial button to either “Not Configured” or “Enabled”

If using Windows Vista – the process is just a little easier. Go to your Start button, or Windows Logo and navigate to “Dafault Programs” here a pop-up window opens and click the link for “Change AutoPlay Settings” which then takes you to the following window to configure your autoplay settings for all your devices.