Autorun CD

Creating an Autorun CD

Autorun The autorun function is part of the Windows operating system and has been designed to react in a given way when a storage medium such as a CD ROM or DVD ROM is changed or inserted into the drive. A good practical example of how this system works is offered by autorun CDs containing a multi-media presentation. When such a CD is inserted into the drive it will start automatically along with the player or viewer needed to enjoy the presentation.

Contents
This website contains information about how to create a autorun CD, what you should bear in mind and helpful links to help you with your work.

• Why was the autorun function introduced?
• What is an Autorun CD (autorun DVD)?
• How does autorun work?
• The Autorun.inf file
• How is an autorun CD created.
• Checking and setting the autorun settings
• Autorun application requirements
• The autorun solution: Using an autorun CD menu

Why was the autorun function introduced?

There has been a huge increase in the use of digital multimedia presentations over the past few years. CD business cards, product, business and project presentations represent just a few of the applications for CDs and DVDs that have been gathering pace. CDs and DVDs offer a large amount of data storage potential and are inexpensive.

One of the most important things to bear in mind when creating a CD or DVD presentation, however, is that the whole experience should be made as easy as possible for the user, and that means not expecting he or she to have to search the CD for the application or presentation file that needs starting. Indeed, it is set against this background that "autorun" was introduced for the Windows operating system. It makes it possible for the main application to be started automatically when the CD is inserted into the drive without the user having to do anything.

What is an autorun CD (autorun DVD)?

An autorun CD or DVD has a file called "Autorun.inf" in its root directory. When a CD containing this file is inserted into a PC drive, the Windows operating system implements the instructions contained within the Autorun.inf file automatically. This means that all a user has to do is insert the CD or DVD and everything else is taken care of automatically.

How does autorun work?

The computer hardware recognizes that a data-storage medium has been changed and sends an interrupt request to the operating system. The first thing that the operating system does is to check the registry entries as to whether the drive is enabled for autorun. If it is, the operating system then searches for a text file by the name of "Autorun.inf" in the root directory of the data-storage medium. If this file is found, its contents are read, interpreted and executed.

The Autorun.inf file

The Autorun.inf file contains the information required by the operating system to perform the autorun function and must be created by the manufacturer of the CD. The scope of autorun has been expanded with every new version of the Windows operating system. Because, however, the person or company creating the CD cannot know on which version of Windows the CD will be played but will still want to ensure that autostart functions correctly and reliably on versions of Windows, the creator of the Autorun.inf file has to restrict the scope of autostart to those functions that will work on most if not all PCs. This file also specifies an icon, which is displayed as the drive icon in Explorer and in My Computer, as well as the program to be started automatically.

Autorun.inf example

Can a presentation with the open command be started?
The open command can only be used to start an .exe file (program). The functional scope of Autorun.inf was expanded to include the "shellexecute" command with the introduction of Windows XP. This command can be used to start documents (presentations), provided that there is a suitable link between the document type and the executable file (.exe file as a viewer or player). Because it is impossible for the creator of the CD to know which operating system is installed on the target CD, this function should not be used as such.

How is an autorun CD created?

An autorun CD is created by saving a file called Autorun.inf in the root directory of the CD / DVD containing the commands to be carried out.

Checking and setting the autorun settings

The autorun-check program was developed to check and alter if necessary the operating system's autorun settings. You can download this program and find out more about this application on the following page:   » Autorun Check

An autorun application must be able to deliver the following:

After inserting the CD into the drive, the CD user needs to see a response as quickly as possible. This means that the start application should be small so that it can load quickly. The start application should provide the user clear and precise information about the CD. The user should be given the opportunity to abort the start application. The start application should also offer a user interface that provides details of what is available on the CD or DVD.

The autorun solution: Using an autorun CD menu

As you will have gathered from what you have already read, documents (files and presentations) cannot be started reliably using the Autorun.inf file. Not only that, it is all but impossible to meet the requirements of an autorun application under normal conditions.

The solution is to use an autorun application such as CD Menu. This application uses the autorun function to start a program with a graphic user interface that provides the user with immediate information about the CD and its contents. Not only that, buttons can be included that enable the user to start presentations, documents and programs. More details about this program are available on the following page: Autorun CD Menu

Glossary

Autorun
The Windows operating system comes complete with a feature that automatically starts programs when a data carrier is changed (such as when a CD ROM is inserted). The information needed to do this is contained in the "Autorun.inf" text file.

Autoplay or autostart
Autorun, autoplay and autostart are different terms for the same function, that is, the function that starts a program automatically when a data-storage medium is changed.

Autorun CD
When a CD is inserted into the CD ROM drive on a Windows Computer, a program is started automatically. A multi-media presentation is one of the most common uses. If the CD contains several presentations or documents, it makes good sense to start the CD with an autorun CD menu, which tells the user about the type and content of the CD and which can be used to start the presentations, documents and programs with the help of buttons.

CD and DVD
As far as the Windows operating system is concerned, there is no difference between a CD and a DVD. Both are data-storage mediums with different storage capacities, the only difference is the way in which they are recorded. All of the information given on this website applies to both CDs and DVDs.