Can this be done?

[Bovon]

Commercial Cd's/DVDs are written to auto run when the CD/DVD is inserted in a drive.

I have a very old copy of Warbirds on my drive..it is not installed, and I have simply saved the complete folder for several years, and then just copy the whole folder to a new hard drive.

It will run under all versions of Win9x and now Win2k...donno about xp, I do not have that one installed.

I have a grandson that would like a copy..which I can run directly from a CD but must surf to the executable by way of My Computer or Explorer/CD/Warbirds etc.

It would be great if I could add some kind of autoplay or autorun to the root files to have the CD run from the beginning...

Is such as this possible?..

Thanks,
Rob

[Mntsnow]

Yep it is....
To create an Autorun-enabled CD-ROM, proceed as follows:


Create an Autorun.inf File
Autorun.inf is a text file that is located in the root folder of your application CD-ROM. It provides to the computer the name and the location of the startup program for your application that is installed when the CD-ROM is inserted. The Autorun.inf file can also contain optional information including the following:
The name of a file that contains an icon that represents your application's CD-ROM drive. This icon appears in Windows Explorer instead of the standard drive icon.
Additional commands for the shortcut menu that appears when the user right-clicks the CD-ROM icon. You can also specify the default command that runs when the user double-clicks the icon. Autorun.inf files are similar to .ini files.
The [autorun] section contains the default Autorun commands. All Autorun.inf files must have an [autorun] section.
icon: Specifies the path and the file name of an application-specific icon for the CD-ROM drive.
open: Specifies the path and the file name of the startup application.



Autorun.inf
The following is an example of a simple Autorun.inf file. It specifies Filename.exe as the startup application. The second icon represents the CD-ROM drive instead of the standard drive icon.

[autorun]
open=Filename.exe
icon=Filename.ico






Tips for Writing Autorun Startup Applications

Essentially, there are no constraints on how to write an Autorun startup application. You can implement it to do whatever you require to install, remove, configure, or run your application. However, the following tips provide some guidelines for implementing an effective Autorun startup application:

Users should receive feedback as soon as possible after they insert an Autorun CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive. Therefore, startup applications should be small programs that load quickly. They should clearly identify the application and provide an easy way to cancel the operation.
Typically, the initial part of the startup application presents users with a user interface (such as a dialog box) that prompts them for how they would like to proceed.
User-friendly CD
Take advantage of this autorun feature to create a professional start for your CD. Offer your users a clear and concise menu interface that provides information about what the CD is about, what's on the CD and copyright details, as well as presenting a wide range of clear actions.

[Bovon]

Hey thanks Mike..

I just looked at a Visioneer CD I had laying here and it has an autorun.inf...here it is:

[autorun]
open=.\start32.exe
icon=.\FrontEnd\FrontEnd.ico

When I look at the CD drive in Explorer, I see the words 7600EPP

Start32.exe is in the root, and I presume this brings up the menu where I have several choices...let me execute that to see...

Yep, that brings up a menu for installing several apps.

Now, if I want to autorun Warbirds...which is in a folder... I will need to have all the files in the root...right?..and the open=./start should say Warbirds.exe, right?...and that should run the program without having to track down the executable inside a folder and double click it...right?

Can I still have the original folder on the CD but put the Warbirds.exe out in the root and it will still find and execute the working files that are still in a folder?..or should all files be in the root..

Maybe like this... icon=.\warbirds\warbirds.exe?
or, maybe like this...open=.\warbirds\warbirds.exe? and leave off the icon=.\?

Thanks again,
Rob