Opening non cd drive when Win98CD is present

I copied the entire contents of my Win98SE CD onto drive G:. Now when I open G: I get the menu for the 98CD instead of the normal explorer view of all the contents of the drive. By clicking the Browse feature on the CD menu I can find other files that I have loaded onto G:, so it's a situation I can live with, but my question is, how can I get G: to open normally? There is an autorun.exe and .inf in CD Sample (one of the folders from the CD) which I realize is responsible for bringing up the menu, but when I remove it, the drive does not open at all. I can not find where in the registry I can change the program with which to open the drive, or with what. I assume it's explorer, but I'm not certain of it.
Another option is to delete the CD and reload only the elements I really want, so, as I say, I can live with this or fix it another way, but I am very curious to know the more elegant fix.

 

What you probably copied was a shortcut to the CD.

Try this:

Open Windows Explorer.

Put Win98 disk in Cd drive. Hold down the shift key until blinking on drive stops.

In explorer, browse the CD and Right click and drag the Win 98 folder to your G drive and drop it. Select copy here.

Everything you need will be in the Win98 folder on G: drive. I assume you are doing this so you don't have to get out the CD when you need to access the .cab files.

Let me know if I am off base here.

 

OOPS !!!. Reads like a mistake that I have also made. Not with Windows but other software.

All you really needed to copy to the HD is the Contents of the Win98 folder on the CD.

I myself would just delete everything referring to Win98SE from the HD and then just copy the Contents of the Win98 Folder over.

Or you could just delete everything else that was copied from the CD ( especially in the root directory of the G: drive ) and just leave the Win98 Folder.

Or just getting rid of the Autorun files may be OK. But there is alot of stuff in other folder that is not needed.

BillyBob

 

" "All you really needed to copy to the HD is the Contents of the Win98 folder on the CD.
I myself would just delete everything referring to Win98SE from the HD and then just copy the Contents of the Win98 Folder over. "

I guess I wasn't clear in my original post. I know how to solve the problem as indicated in both of the posts above. What I really want to know is how to change the way in which the G: drive is opened.

"Or just getting rid of the Autorun files may be OK. But there is alot of stuff in other folder that is not needed. "

Again, I must not have been clear. I have already tried getting rid of the Autorun files, but having done so, the drive will not open at all. There must be an entry in the registry that specifies how to open a given drive, mustn't there? Or perhaps not. At any rate, I can't find it, nor am I sure what to change the entry to.
To be more specific. There is an entry in the registry under Autorun that lists autorun.exe as the program for opening G: (or 5 as it is called in the registry). However, when I deleted autorun.exe in the registry (and removed it from G: as well) and put explorer.exe, or C:\windows\explorer.exe as the entry, the drive would not open.
Let me say again that this problem is theoretical since both of the above postings have very nicely suggested how to solve the problem practically. I'd like to learn how to do it more elegantly, if anyone else knows how.

 

for opening G: (or 5 as it is called in the registry).

Now there is a new one for me. I need to take a look for that as I have not seen such a thing.

explorer.exe, or C:\windows\explorer.exe as the entry

HUH ?? What are you trying to do ?

I am lost for any ideas on same. If you just want to see the contents then right click on start and select EXPLORE should do it.

BTW. C.\Windows\Explorer.exe is already in Memory once the machine boots. That is why selecting Explore works from where ever you select it. And by typing what you are it is trying to load it twice and may not work.

OOPS !! Typing Explorer in the Start/run line does work. I just did it.

Please gives us a little more info so we can maybe clear up this mis-understanding.

BillyBob

 

Well, I'm lost! But then one of the requirements to be a citizen of East Texas is to have an elegantbuttonectomy.

The only way I know of opening the drive is to open explorer or my computer and dbl click on the drive letter or icon.

 

Billy Bob--To reproduce the problem, put any cd with an autorun feature on it into your cd drive, then do a search for "Autorun" in the register. You should come up with a number instead of the letter of your CD drive. (Only the drives with the autorun feature are listed). Keep opening folders under Autorun\ through \shell and \command and you'll see the autorun.exe on your cd rom disk listed as the value.
Since I had copied the entire win98 CD disk onto my G: drive, the above procedure produced the "autorun" command on my G: drive (listed as 5, not G) even though it was not actually a cd drive.
Now, my most basic question is, if I were to remove the "autorun.exe" in \command in the register, as above, with what program could I replace it and have the G: drive open to reveal all the contents of the drive and not just the contents of the CD that I have copied there?
Or, more basic still perhaps, where in the register can one find the value that tells the various drives how to open? BMoore suggests that explorer is the program, and I don't doubt him, but I can't find it in the register--not in the proper context.
BMoore, sorry about the loss of your elegant button but don't despair. Ol' dubya hasn't a trace of elegance or wit but it hasn't slowed him down a wit.

 

Did you just do this?

Not to late to delete the files copied to G drive and then restart in dosmode and use the ole scanreg /restore function. Choose a dated registry backup that predates problem.

 

To reproduce the problem, put any cd with an autorun feature on it into your cd drive, then do a search for "Autorun" in the register. You should come up with a number instead of the letter of your CD drive

I will have to check that out. It may or may not work as I do not have the CDROMs set to auto start Data CDs. Audio CDs do auto start.

BillyBob

 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
"NoDriveTypeAutoRun "=hex:95,00,00,00
This would allow the CD to autorun Data and Audio.
"NoDriveTypeAutoRun "=hex:B5,00,00,00
Disable Autorun for CD
"NoDriveTypeAutoRun "=hex:91,00,00,00
Enable autorun for floppies.

The only other place I have found autorun was under these, not what you are looking for;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\CheckBadApps\SETUP.EXE
"autorun\win95cd.ico "= "10015 "
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\CheckBadApps400\autorun.exe

Absolutely no autorun under;
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive

I don't know if this helps. I have copied my 98SE CD to my E: drive and can Explore it with nothing happening.

One thought did occur to me on this. Do you have your system set to respond to one left click of the mouse to open anything? and accidentily still doing a double click?

 

Do you have your system set to respond to one left click of the mouse to open anything? and accidentily still doing a double click?

Oh Good grief. !!!

Left Mouse button one click to open a file.

I did that once and hope and PRAY that I NEVER do it again

BillyBob

 

Let me try this one more time and then I'll let it go before I exhaust everyone's patience.
Goddez, I'm not really trying to fix the problem--I know how to do that. This is now just by way of a hypothetical discussion to find the most basic way to do it.
I make the assumption that somewhere in the registry is an entry that dictates the program to use when opening a drive in My Computer--a normal drive, C: for instance, that is not using "autorun ". Does anyone know how to find that entry? Does anyone know what the value for that entry should be? The assumption is that it would be "explorer.exe ", but can anyone show me in the registry where that is the case for opening a drive?
(I have found "explorer" galore in the registry, but none that are obviously linked to opening a drive. Likewise with a search for "open" and "Disk Drive ")
All of these assumptions may be wrong. Does anyone know for a fact that they are?
Thanks to you all for your indulgence.

 

I also did not find any references like pstanhope refers to in the registry.

Again that may be due to the fact that neither of my CDROMS are set to Autorun Data CDs. Audio CDs YES. Data NO.

What he does see may also have something to do with the Autorun file being on a HD partition. That is possible I guess.

What I would like to have cleared up is;

What is do you mean by OPENING a drive ?

BillyBob

 

By "opening" a drive, I mean viewing its contents by clicking on the icon in My Computer.

 

Good Lord. Now you have me completely dumfounded.

And I assume this is what you are referring to.

How about just double clicking on my Computer to open it.

Click on a drive to select it.

Then Double click on it to open it.

These commands are all builtin. But don't ask me where they are in the reg as I have never looked. ( or cared for that matter )

I myself prefer right clicking on Start and selecting Explore.

I do not use either if these items anyway. I use PowerDesk.

Which is an EXCELLENT replacemnet for Windows Explorer. And I can view more than one partiton at the same time with only one start.

BB

 

OOPS !!

I forgot something.

The above mentioned selections will also work to virew a CD.

( If one is inserted anyway )

BB

 

"These commands are all builtin. But don't ask me where they are in the reg as I have never looked. ( or cared for that matter ) "

Ah, but that IS my question. Where are they and what are they?

 

AH Well, that is a question then that I can not answer.

BB

 

Nor, apparently, can anyone else who has checked in on this post. All, well, continued ignorance may serve to make me less dangerous.
Thanks again to all. It has been of heuristic value at least.

 

You say the drive is listed as 5 in the registry. Perhaps I'm missing something here but can't you look at drive 3 or 4 in the same key and see what the data values are for them? Otherwise I have no idea other than BB's suggestion. While viewing the drive in my computer right click on the drive and choose explore.