Disable AutoPlay so that connecting the recorder does not open File Explorer

This article explains how to prevent your computer from opening a File Explorer window every time you connect a LENA recorder.

Why does this window pop up?

Your computer opens this window because your Windows AutoPlay settings tell it to show you the contents of any disk drive you connect.

Part of the recorder acts like a flash drive, and so your computer shows you the two files on that part of the recorder: Autorun.ini and Fil.dat files.  

Note that these files are not your recording data. This window is not part of the LENA recorder transfer process, and you don't need to do anything with it - just close it (x).

You can avoid seeing this window on every connection by changing your AutoPlay setting, as described below.

How can I make it stop?

Change your AutoPlay setting for removable drives.

1. Open AutoPlay Settings

On Windows 10, you can find AutoPlay in Settings, in the Device section.

One quick way to access it is to:

  1. Click on the Windows Start button and start typing AutoPlay.
  2. When you see the AutoPlay Settings option, click Open.

On older operating systems, this setting is located in Control Panel. If viewing Control Panel options by category, it is in Hardware and Sound.

2. Change the setting for Removable drive.

This change will apply to ALL removable drives, including thumb drives. You can still see the contents of drives you plug in by opening File Explorer manually.

Open the options for Removable drive.

Choose Take no action, or Ask me every time.

Take no action = Windows will never automatically show the contents in File Explorer when you connect a recorder or other removable drive.

Ask me every time = Windows will briefly display a notification in the lower right of your screen, which you can click if you want to open the contents of the drive you've just plugged in.