Duckie Dawn asks:
When I first started to use my Flash drive it would pop up in a window with the choice to open or view files. Now it automatically starts downloading information to the flash drive without asking me. How can I fix it?
6 Answers -
Bruce Epper
June 27, 2012Scan it for malware.
Check the autorun.inf file to see what (if anything) is auto-executing. Modify this file to stop the program from running (or delete it).
FIDELIS
June 27, 2012Hello, if you are talking about online downloads, this could happen if your flash drive is setup as your default location for downloads. It could happen if this was chosen as the default action when plugging a flash drive.
The best option would be to disable autorun/autoplay. To do so, try the following:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows/disable-autoplay-of-audio-cds-and-usb-drives/
Keep in mind that you can not use the gpedit option with the lower varieties of operating system like windows 7 basic/starter and some of the home editions. When you have autorun/autoplay disabled, you would plug your external drive and then double click on the file you want to open/play to open it.
Dalsan
June 27, 2012Is it downloading files from the internet or the computer? Seems like it is downloading from the computer, and somehow was selected to automatically to do such. It could be selected to be used as Ready Boost if you are using Vista or 7, automatic backup, or something else, or it could be malware. First scan for malware as suggested. If nothing found, then right click on the flash drive letter and select properties to see if there is anything it is selected to do that you are not wanting, like use as Ready Boost. Otherwise, you could backup the files you want to keep, then reformat and start fresh with the flash drive. The last option should be to format, but if you just want to get it over with quickly, that would be my suggestion. Do the other suggestions made by Bruce and Fidelis as that is a good starting point, and just for safety reasons, disabling autorun is a good idea, unless you use it for installing an OS or run an OS in a virtual environment.
Oluwaphemmy Popoola
June 27, 2012the best thing to do has already been stated, want more… msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/cc144204(v=vs.85).aspx
enough info to do any thing about auto run.
Ben
July 1, 2012Do you have antivirus software installed? Is it up to date? Run a full scan just to rule out malware.
Tony Batty
August 29, 2012Dawn, go to xoftspy.com and download the program and it should help you with your problem.