Question

XP "Always do the selected action" not working.

Asked by: garycase

A friend asked me to help with what I thought would be a simple fix -- just run one of the many AutoPlay repair tools (e.g. Kelly's Korner).     But nothing I've tried is working.

Details:    Inserting a DVD in the drive results in the typical pop up listing the various possibilities ... which include "Play with PowerDVD" and "Play with Windows Media Player".     Selecting one of these works fine.    But if you check the "Always do the selected action" box it has NO effect ==> the next time you insert a DVD you get the same choice menu (with the "Always do ..." box already checked).

If you do a Properties on the drive and go to the AutoPlay tab, select DVD movie, click the "Select an action to perform",  highlight a choice (e.g. play with PowerDVD), and click Apply -- the result is the same !!   No change.    Going back to the drive's properties always shows the "Prompt me each time to choose an action" box checked !!

As I noted, I've tried several common registry mods; and run several "AutoPlay fix" utilities -- NOTHING changes this behavior !!      Any ideas???

I'm NOT looking for "Googled" links -- I've already done that & tried anything that sounds plausible.     Looking for someone who's experienced this exact issue and found a fix !!

System is XP SP3 with all updates.

Points doubled to 500 for a focused, correct, works-first-time answer :-)

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Asked On
2009-07-10 at 17:54:18ID24561716
Tags

XP

,

Autoplay

Topic

Windows XP Operating System

Participating Experts
3
Points
250
Comments
7

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Answers

 

by: nick2253Posted on 2009-07-10 at 17:59:57ID: 24828537

Does the action hold when you insert the same DVD?  ie, you run a movie, say the Lion King, and you select remember this response for PowerDVD.  Then, you re-insert the Lion King.  Does it pop up again?

--Nick

 

by: garycasePosted on 2009-07-10 at 19:05:02ID: 24828752

Yes -- makes no difference what movie, or whether it's a "pure" DVD or a hybrid with both a movie and PC content.

 

by: orangutangPosted on 2009-07-10 at 23:00:55ID: 24829277

Did you also try Autoplay Repair Wizard (http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?familyid=C680A7B6-E8FA-45C4-A171-1B389CFACDAD&displaylang=en) ? Also, have you tried using another Windows account?

 

by: garycasePosted on 2009-07-11 at 07:02:32ID: 24830475

Yes, I've tried Microsoft's AutoFix utility (one of the first things I've done), hive cleaner, disabling the antivirus program, etc.      Also tried the repair utility from Kelly's Korner;  and have examined every registry key associated with AutoPlay that I can find.    Tried the tips, utilities, and "fixes" at Tom's Hardware,  Doug Knox's site, Paul Thurrot's site, etc.    Nothing helps.

Note this is NOT an autoplay issue -- autoplay works just fine ... the choices menu pops up as it should when a DVD is inserted => it simply won't retain an "Always do the selection action" choice ... no matter which way it's set [either by checking that box when the selection menu pops up;  or by simply setting the desired action in the drive's Properties page/AutoPlay tab with "Select an action to perform"

I've also tried swapping the DVD drive (a Plextor 740) with two others (a Plex 712 and a Liteon) ... just in case this was somehow related to the drive itself.     No change.

I also restored an image of a much earlier build state -- with just XP/SP3 and all updates ... very few additional programs (just antivirus, Acrobat Reader, Flash, etc.) ==> and it STILL has the same symptoms.

Very perplexing :-)

 

by: garycasePosted on 2009-07-11 at 09:55:21ID: 24831185

Fixed it :-)

I had tried disabling AVG's Resident Shield with no impact;  but completely uninstalling AVG (latest version) did the trick.    Uninstalled it; set the desired choice ... and it works fine.   Reinstalled AVG and it's still working -- so apparently the AVG process somehow interferes with setting the option.

 

by: orangutangPosted on 2009-07-11 at 17:48:37ID: 24832836

Wow, I didn't realize you were asking this question! If I knew, I probably wouldn't have tried answering (or maybe I would...)
:)

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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