Reset AutoPlay Settings in Windows 10

AutoPlay is a special feature of the shell which allows the user to quickly pick a desired action for various media types you have connected or attached to your computer. You can configure it to open your favorite image viewer app when you insert a disk with photos, or launch a media player app automatically for your drive containing media files. It saves your time, since the required app starts automatically every time you connect your device or insert your disk.

In recent Windows 10 versions, the AutoPlay options can be found in Settings.

Tip: It is also possible to hide or show some pages from the Settings app.

Also, there is a classic Control Panel applet.

Settings you configured for the AutoPlay feature are stored in the Registry. You can quickly reset all the options at once when you want or need instead of changing individual options. Here are two methods you can use.

Note: In Windows 10, there are different ways to enable or disable AutoPlay. It can be done using Settings, the classic Control Panel or the Registry. See for reference:

How to Disable or Enable AutoPlay in Windows 10

To Reset AutoPlay Settings in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open the Registry Editor app.
2. Go to the following Registry key.

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoplayHandlers\

   See how to go to a Registry key with one click.

3. Right-click on the subkey EventHandlersDefaultSelection on the left and select Delete from the context menu.
4. Now, right-click on the UserChosenExecuteHandlers folder and select Delete from the context menu.

This will reset your AutoPlay options to their defaults. To save you time, you can use the following *.bat file:

REG DELETE HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoplayHandlers\EventHandlersDefaultSelection /F
REG DELETE HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoplayHandlers\UserChosenExecuteHandlers /F

Download the batch file

Unblock it before running.

Finally, the classic Control panel still hosts a number of AutoPlay options. There is a special button in the classic AutoPlay applet. As of this writing, the classic Control Panel still comes with a number of options and tools which are not available in Settings. It has a familiar user interface which many users prefer over the Settings app. You can use Administrative tools, manage user accounts on the computer in a flexible way, maintain data backups, change the functionality of hardware and many other things. You can pin Control Panel applets to the taskbar to access frequently used settings faster.

Reset AutoPlay Settings using Control Panel

1. Open the classic Control Panel app.
2. Go to Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\AutoPlay.
3. Scroll down to the end of the page.
4. Click on the Reset all defaults button.

That's it.

Articles of interest:

• Backup AutoPlay Settings in Windows 10
• How to Disable or Enable AutoPlay in Windows 10
• Disable AutoPlay for All Drives in Windows 10
• Disable AutoPlay for Non-volume Devices in Windows 10