How do I delete/edit 'autorun.inf'?

[t4akawolf]

Hello my fellow Earthlings!

Whazzup mah peeps!

Wotcher guys!

Ahem, Hello.

I have a 150GB FAT32 External Hard Disk which shows up as 'Local Disk (J' in My Computer. I right-clicked it, and renamed it to 'T4 (J' but it still shows up as 'Local Disk (J'! I tried various names but still it shows up as 'Local Disk (J' in My Computer.

So I went to 'Disk Management' to try and change the label from there and, what do you know, Disk Partition (J shows 'T4 (J' !!!

It turns out that this could be an 'autorun.inf' problem. I think that the 'autorun.inf' of my ext-HDD has a parameter like 'label=Local Disk' or something similar.

But now, the problem is that I can't access 'autorun.inf' at all. No rename, no delete, no edit. I tried changing it's attributes from an elevated command prompt but still no luck. No matter what I try, in the end I get an 'Access is Denied' error.

Soooooo...any ideas? All I want is for my ext-HDD to be labeled as 'T4 (J' in My Computer. But it would also be VERY satisfying if I could delete the nasty 'autorun' bugger...

 

[Irene]

Out of my knowledge range, but I though this would interest you :
Autorun.inf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Having scanned over the page, I am not at all sure that you should delete the file. Someone more knowledgeable than I would have a better view on this.

 

[severedsolo]

Hi t4akawolf, It may be possible to take ownership of the autorun file and give yourself permission to edit it: try this; http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1911-take-ownership-shortcut.html to take ownership, then change the permissions to give yourself full access.

I had a similar issue with my Broadband dongle, it had the software bundled as a "CD" on it, and it was trying to autorun every time I switched on, I ended up just deleting the drive letter. Obviously not an option in your case.

Removing Autorun.inf from a Ext HDD shouldn't cause any major issues, you just won't get the "popup" window when you plug it in asking what you want to do in all probablilty.

Also, a stupid question: you DID refresh the Explorer Window after you renamed it right? Otherwise the changes might not be showing, (Explorer is slow like that sometimes)

 

[Bill2]

Uggh...isnt this a continuation of your earlier thread? Anyways, no need to delete the autorun, if you can take ownership of the file as pointed out by severed, you can just change the "label" part- so it should read label=External or whatever you want to name it.

The autorun defines the actions on insert, set custom icons for the drive, sets context menus so it aint a bad thing.

 

[t4akawolf]

Hi t4akawolf, It may be possible to take ownership of the autorun file and give yourself permission to edit it: try this; http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1911-take-ownership-shortcut.html to take ownership, then change the permissions to give yourself full access.

I had a similar issue with my Broadband dongle, it had the software bundled as a "CD" on it, and it was trying to autorun every time I switched on, I ended up just deleting the drive letter. Obviously not an option in your case.

Removing Autorun.inf from a Ext HDD shouldn't cause any major issues, you just won't get the "popup" window when you plug it in asking what you want to do in all probablilty.

Also, a stupid question: you DID refresh the Explorer Window after you renamed it right? Otherwise the changes might not be showing, (Explorer is slow like that sometimes)

Arrrggghhh!!! I was so sure your suggestion would work! But, alas, it did not...

As to your 'stupid question' (I don't think it is, btw): Yes. Many times. Did NOT work.

 

[Bill2]

If you cant take ownership of that drive, try backing up all your data, then format the drive and change the label in autorun.

 

[t4akawolf]

If you cant take ownership of that drive, try backing up all your data, then format the drive and change the label in autorun.

That was my 'Plan B'...*sigh*...Ok. Fine. I'mma go do that now. Thanks for your suggestion, anyway.

 

[HerbertB]

Deleted!

In my case, exact symptoms. Turns out the security software was *blocking* it (did not delete, clean, or quarantine) because it *referenced* a file (sperr32.exe x64) "not normally found in that location". I turned off the A/V software, and then successfully deleted the file. HTH,

HB

 

[BMGRAHAM]

I had the same issue because of Symantec Endpoint Prevention

• Open a command prompt by clicking Start | Run | type "cmd.exe" within the Open field and press Ok/Enter.
• Type the following commands on the command line:
  • cd "c:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection"
  • smc.exe -stop
• You now can access the file