How do I get Vista to install software from DVD drive?

[Dr. George]

VISTA: HP Media Ctr PC less than 2 years old has two DVD drives. Sager
notebook PC has one DVD drive. HP high end notebook PC has one DVD drive.
After recent large Vista updates were installed on all three PCs, none of the
DVD drives will permit installation of software from DVD. Checked Internet
for solutions, checked registry settings, nothing wrong, nothing worked to
restore function. What do I do?

 

[Peter Foldes]

Is there an error message or what happens exactly. Would be nice to know to try to
give you an answer

 

[Dr. George]

First, let me say that I never had this problem before. I now have it on two
notebook PCs and one desktop PC. All PCs run Vista. All PCs had numerous
(and some large) Vista updates recently.

The autoplay box is checked in Control Panel. I take all actions as
"Administrator." When I insert a software DVD into the DVD drive, the
Autoplay window pops up and gives me choices for transferring pictures,
playing music, etc. The software does not autorun. There is no choice to
execute the software.

I checked the DVD via Windows Explorer. The autorun.inf and setup.exe files
are greyed out. I cannot execute the setup.exe file by double-clicking on
it. I checked the registry settings for the DVD drive, autoplay settings,
etc. They are correct.

I had a technician try to correct this, and he couldn't...nor could he
explain why it was happening. He is now researching the problem further. I
came across an article on the Internet that said Microsoft initiated a Vista
update this year to stop Autoplay from automatically running autorun.inf
files tied to worms on memory sticks. This suggests that the update had the
unexpected effect of preventing me from running any autorun.inf file,
including those needed for software installation.

So I have three PCs at home that have no ability to load new software or
software updates. My fourth PC is an Acer Aspire One. It runs Win XP and
has no trouble at all.

Your help would be greatly appreciated. Dr. George.

 

[Malke]

First, let me say that I never had this problem before. I now have it on
two
notebook PCs and one desktop PC. All PCs run Vista. All PCs had numerous
(and some large) Vista updates recently.

The autoplay box is checked in Control Panel. I take all actions as
"Administrator." When I insert a software DVD into the DVD drive, the
Autoplay window pops up and gives me choices for transferring pictures,
playing music, etc. The software does not autorun. There is no choice to
execute the software.

I checked the DVD via Windows Explorer. The autorun.inf and setup.exe
files
are greyed out. I cannot execute the setup.exe file by double-clicking on
it. I checked the registry settings for the DVD drive, autoplay settings,
etc. They are correct.

I had a technician try to correct this, and he couldn't...nor could he
explain why it was happening. He is now researching the problem further.
I came across an article on the Internet that said Microsoft initiated a
Vista update this year to stop Autoplay from automatically running
autorun.inf
files tied to worms on memory sticks. This suggests that the update had
the unexpected effect of preventing me from running any autorun.inf file,
including those needed for software installation.

So I have three PCs at home that have no ability to load new software or
software updates. My fourth PC is an Acer Aspire One. It runs Win XP and
has no trouble at all.

To install the software, simply go to Computer>optical drive icon, right-
click Open. This will show you what is on the CD/DVD you inserted. Find the
setup.exe file and install your software. Can't address why your autorun
doesn't work but certainly you can still install software.

Malke

 

[Dr. George]

I did as you said. When I right click on setup, nothing happens. There is
no popup menu or any activity. I can't even open a "readme" file. Software
will not install. This is the same on each of the three PCs that I have at
home. I may have no choice but to sacrifice all three, format the hard
drives, and reinstall everything. What a mess!

 

[Dr. George]

There seems to be an incomplete entry here. However, I tried using system
restore. It doesn't work...literally. It goes through the whole cycle and
then tells me that there was an unexpected error. A message recommends
restoring to a time further in the past. I tried this...it didn't work
either. I read an entry on the Internet that suggested system restore would
not correct this kind of problem.

 

[Bob Kulp]

I did as you said. When I right click on setup, nothing happens. There is
no popup menu or any activity. I can't even open a "readme" file.
Software
will not install. This is the same on each of the three PCs that I have
at
home. I may have no choice but to sacrifice all three, format the hard
drives, and reinstall everything. What a mess!

Try Restore in safe mode. Sometimes a running program blocks it.