Windows XP forum: How to stop Media Center from auto-launching????

Is it listed in Startup programs. Start > Run > type "MSCONFIG"w/o the quotes. Click OK. Click on the Startup tab. If listed, remove the check mark and click Apply > OK > restart the computer.

Hope This is helpful.

Charlie

I'm having exactly the same infuriating problem. Such a simple thing and nobody seems to have a solution. Please let me know if you come up with an answer.

Hello, we are having the same problem with this Media Center, no matter what we do to change the default player (we would like Windows Media Player) Media Center still starts up everytime we put a DVD in. It is so annoying! One Microsoft program is preventing us from using a different Microsoft program, it is so stupid how they did it!

Anyways, this is for foenhgreen or dalime: i don't have an adminstration icon in my contol panel, and i don't see a thing for "server" in the administrative tools. there is a services, which takes me to a box that let change the Media Center Extender Resourse to manual start up, but that didn't stop Media Center from starting up when inserting a DVD, now WMP and MC both start! Please explain how to get to this the point to disable the process. I thank you so much!
~Lu

As foehngreen stated, it is the service Shell Hardware Detection that needes to be disabled. (it will disable any and all auto play functions). This fixed the problem for me.
Whiz, I tried that but for some reason Media Center just ignores whatever action I tell it to take.

I was haveing a problem with mediacenter freezeing when I would put in a dvd. I would always use ctrl/Alt/Delete to shut down mediacenter,Then I would use Power DVD to play my movies .I have been searching the net for help for weeks and came across your posts and Thanks to you Guys The problem is fixed.

My problem turned out to be caused by Guild Wars. The game installed itself with the launcher having and extra added bonus A media center command tagged on to the file. It was like guildwars.exe.mc or something like that but every time i put a disk in it caused MC to launch looked it up and found out i had to delete the .whatever and it never happened again. So maybe check what programs you have and see if any have a media center tag added on.