Bypass disabled autorun for USB devices on Windows 7
I think we may need some clarification on Autoplay Vs. Autorun.
AutoPlay
AutoPlay is a Windows feature that lets you choose which program to use to start different kinds of media, such as music CDs, or CDs or DVDs containing photos. For example, the first time you try to play a music CD, AutoPlay asks which media player you want to use, if you have more than one installed on your computer. You can change AutoPlay settings for each media type.
Autorun
Autorun is a technology used to start some programs or enhanced content (such as video content on a music CD) automatically when you insert a CD or another media type into your computer. This is different from AutoPlay, but the result is often the same: when inserted, the CD starts automatically, using a particular program. Autorun is incorporated into the media types that use it, and you can't modify it.
When you try to play a CD or another media type that uses autorun, AutoPlay asks you to choose an action to perform (for example, to play the autorun content or to skip it).
Autorun on USB/Removable devices has been turned off in Windows since April 2009.
To enable Autorun you will have to change some settings on your computer.
- Click Start, type
gpedit.msc
in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER. - If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
- Under
Computer Configuration
, expandAdministrative Templates
, then expandWindows Components
, and then clickAutoplay Policies
. - In the Details pane, double click on Turn off Autoplay ,and make sure that it is set to
disabled
- In the Details pane, double click on Default behavior for Autorun, set it to
Enabled
and then selectAutomatically execute the autorun commands
- Restart your computer.
Note that you will not be able to bypass the Autorun policy, it will only work on the intended media types such as CD's DVD's and Video Games.
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Scott
Updated on September 18, 2022Comments
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Scott almost 2 years
The following was mentioned in a post regarding autorunning from a flash drive:
"To get autorun working under Windows 7 requires special firmware on the drive and/or some specialty software preinstalled on the machine."
Could this be elaborated on?
Is there anything at all that I could do, or a program I could write, to bypass the Windows 7 AutoPlay disable?
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LuckySpoon over 11 yearsThis doesn't answer @Scott's question regarding bypassing AutoPlay being disabled. This is how to disable AutoPlay.
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Petr Abdulin over 11 yearsOh, seems like I misunderstood @Scott question. I guess this is similir to breaching core security features of an OS, since it's intended so it's behavior could be changed only by computer admin, and not some malware.
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LuckySpoon over 11 yearsAgreed, as per my answer. I think he may be looking for info on how to configure it generally so your answer may still be useful to him.
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Scott over 11 yearsI am looking in fact to do it in a way that any computer I plug it into autoruns specific content. What if I make a partition that emulates a CD drive? Could I put the autorun content on there, hide the content and make that partition unformattable (or at least hidden?)
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LuckySpoon over 11 years"Any computer" presents a bit of an issue. Windows/Mac/Linux/Unix? Thin clients, laptops, servers, netbooks, desktops? You could setup the AutoPlay equivalent for whatever you're targeting, but you can't stop the user from disabling AutoPlay.
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Scott over 11 yearsThank you very much. If one of the flash drive partitions emulated a CD drive, would I be able to autorun content then?
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Admin over 11 yearsYes, and you'll need a U3 Drive.