Desktop.in on all my CDs and DVDs

[Sterno]

Why do all my CDs and DVDs have a desktop.ini file on them in Vista?
Is there a way to prevent Vista from doing this?

P.S. I noticed that they even appear on old optical media that I
burned before Vista...how can that be?

 

[Richard Urban]

Windows XP also placed desktop.ini in many places. If you don't show hidden
and system files you won't see these .ini files. YOU made them appear - they
were always there.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Sterno]

Thanks for the reply. I understand what you said, but when looking at
the contents of my DVDs and CDs in Windows Explorer, they all possess
the exact same desktop.ini file dated 6-21-07 (the day I installed
Vista), even though some of the CDs were created years ago. Can Vista
alter the space-time continuum, or is there another explanation?

 

[Michael Solomon]

Windows XP also placed desktop.ini in many places. If you don't show
hidden and system files you won't see these .ini files. YOU made them
appear - they were always there.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

ROFLOL, and Richard, please explain to David Copperfield here, that we don't
give up those magic secrets lightly!

 

[Michael Solomon]

Thanks for the reply. I understand what you said, but when looking at
the contents of my DVDs and CDs in Windows Explorer, they all possess
the exact same desktop.ini file dated 6-21-07 (the day I installed
Vista), even though some of the CDs were created years ago. Can Vista
alter the space-time continuum, or is there another explanation?

I'm guessing this is a bit of Windows trickery. The desktop.ini is meant to
customize the behavior of various folders. Now, to the time/space continuum
you mention. Since the behavior specified may no longer be valid in Vista
or must be changed or optimized for Vista, you see a more appropriate
disktop.ini, that is, one that Vista places on memory on such occasions.

When you access the files on a CD or DVD or even on your hard drive, they
are placed in memory and that is the specific area from which the data is
read. I'm guessing, in cases such as you mention, Windows is placing a more
current or appropriate desktop.ini in order to accommodate both Vista and
whatever customizations the desktop.ini applied to the folder.

 

[Sterno]

Oh. So the desktop.ini file isn't actually burned onto the CD or DVD,
but merely appear as a sort of "virtual" desktop.ini when viewing the
contents of the disks in Win Explorer? That would explain everything.
Thanks.

Sterno

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

Do you have native Windows CD/DVD recording enabled, as it is by
default? Are the Desktop.ini "greyed out"-looking, with shortcut
arrow? If Yes and Yes, then you are prolly not looking at what is on
the optical disk, but what would be on the optical disk were you to
"write files to disk". IOW, the Desktop.ini you see is really in the
HD, specifically in a "files to be written to disk" buffer.

I find thus FUDdiness intolerable, and kill it by disabling Windows
native CD/DVD writing support. At last I can do this in Vista, now
that bundled Nero is finally Vista-compatible with Nero 7 Essentials.

--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

To one who only has a hammer,
everything looks like a nail

 

[Sterno]

Yes and yes. The desktop.ini file is "greyed out" with a shortcut
arrow, and its "Location" is listed as "Files Ready to be written to
disc", when viewing any optical disks' contents in Windows Explorer.
It's a great relief to understand that the desktop.ini file is not
physically on the disks.

Sterno