FIX: AutoPlay Not Working on Windows
AutoPlay is a feature that comes with all currently supported versions of the Windows Operating System. AutoPlay handles any and all storage drives that one may connect to their Windows computer, providing the user with a list of options every single time they plug a storage drive into their computer. However, Windows 10 users have encountered quite a few different problems pertaining to AutoPlay on Windows 10, with one of the most significant issues being AutoPlay not working altogether on the latest and greatest iteration of the Windows OS.
Users affected by this issue see that no AutoPlay dialog box pops up when they insert storage drives such as an external Hard Disk Drive or a USB stick into their computer, and instead, they just receive an AutoPlay notification in their Action Center. Clicking on the notification that shows up in affected users’ Action Center does not bring up an AutoPlay dialog box and, instead, simply does nothing to point the user towards a list of things that they can do with the storage device that they have connected. AutoPlay is a pretty big and crucial part of Windows 10, and it not working is an immensely significant issue. Thankfully, this problem can be resolved by simply editing certain elements of your computer’s registry, and you can do so manually or using a .REG file that applies the solution for you.
Solution 1: Manually edit your computer’s registry
Press Windows Logo key + R to open a Run
Type regedit into the Run dialog and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
In the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the following directory:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
In the left pane, click on the Explorer folder under Policies to view its contents in the right pane.
Among the contents of the Explorer folder in the right pane, locate a registry value named NoDriveTypeAutoRun. If such a value does not exist, right-click on an empty space in the right pane, hover over New and click on DWORD (32-bit) value. Name the new value NoDriveTypeAutoRun.
Double-click on the NoDriveTypeAutoRun value to modify it.
Make sure that the value’s base is set to Hexadecimal.
Replace whatever is in the NoDriveTypeAutoRun value’s Value data field with 91 and then click on OK.
Exit the Registry Editor, restart your computer and the issue will have been fixed.
Solution 2: Use a .REG file designed specifically to fix this problem
If you simply don’t want to go through the trouble of manually editing your computer’s registry, you can instead use a .REG file that makes all the registry modifications for you. To do so, you need to:
Download the .REG file that has been designed to resolve this AutoPlay issue.
Navigate to the directory to which the .REG file has been downloaded, locate it and double-click on it to launch it.
When the .REG file asks you for permission to edit your computer’s registry provide it with the permission it requires.
Once the .REG file is done working its magic, you should simply restart your computer and you will see that AutoPlay works exactly how you’ve configured it to work once it boots up. You can now delete the .REG file from your computer.
