Error Message: Windows Cannot Find Autorun.exe

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This article was previously published under Q153981

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SYMPTOMS

When you are viewing drives in My Computer, one or more of the drives may have an incorrect icon associated with it. When you double-click the icon to view the contents of the drive, the following error message may be displayed:

Program Not Found
Windows cannot find Autorun.exe.
This program is needed for opening files of type 'File'.

You are then prompted for the location of the Autorun.exe file.

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CAUSE

An Autorun.inf file exists in the root folder of the drive.

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RESOLUTION

Delete or rename the Autorun.inf file in the root folder of the affected drive.

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MORE INFORMATION

The Autorun.inf file is used with CD-ROMs to automatically run specified programs. When a non-CD-ROM drive contains an Autorun.inf file, AutoPlay is started when you double-click the drive's icon. AutoPlay attempts to load Autorun.exe (which is not present) to read the Autorun.inf file.

If the Autorun.exe file is also present in the root folder, the actions specified in the Autorun.inf file are carried out if possible.

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