\disk\autoeject autoeject.exe AutoEject Autoeject Version 1.21 May 7, 1997 by Kevin Marty , Please read this before sending me a bug report: ------------------------------------------------ This software is not capable of ejecting drives with mechanical latches, such as the standard 3.5" and 5.25" floppy drives in most PC compatibles. It is not physically possible to automatically eject the disks in such drives, so please don't report this as a bug. To reduce confusion, I have removed drive A and B from the list of ejectable drives. If this affects anyone who has a drive A or B that really is soft-ejectable, please let me know and I will put them back into the list. Background ---------- On systems with removable media drives (like the Iomega Zip drive) and hard disks with primary and extended partitions, the drive letter assignment depends on the total number of primary and extended partitions found during the boot process. For example, if my system is booted with a disk in my SCSI Zip drive, the Zip disk becomes drive D: and consequently causes the extended partitions on my real hard disk to be shifted up one letter, wreaking havoc with programs that depend on the original pathnames to find their files. To solve this problem, AutoEject automatically ejects the disk from the Zip drive at Windows shutdown, so it isn't detected at the next reboot. It can also be used on public-access machines to help prevent users from losing their disks and CDs by leaving them in the drive when they leave. Installation ------------ 1. Copy the autoejct.exe file to a convenient directory on your system. 2. Run the autoejct.exe program. 3. Right-click on the new Taskbar icon (it looks like a disk drive with a green arrow coming out of it) and choose "Properties..." 4. Choose the drive letter(s) you want to eject from the "Icon Click" and/or "Shutdown" pages. 5. Click OK. 6. Put a shortcut to autoejct.exe in your StartUp programs folder. [NEW!] Command-Line Interface ----------------------------- It is now possible to use AutoEject from the command-line to immediately eject a drive or drives, without loading the GUI. This is especially useful from a batch file, or a shortcut somewhere on your Start menu. The command line syntax is as follows: AUTOEJCT [/check] [/all] [x:] ... * Without any arguments, the GUI portion of AutoEject will be loaded. /all -- cause all removable media drives to be ejected immediately /check -- turns on the "Check for media before ejecting" option x: -- Eject drive x: (more than one drive letter can be specified) Example: AUTOEJCT D: E: will eject drives D: and E: immediately. Notes ----- * All drives that Windows thinks are removable are listed in the "Drive to Eject" list. AutoEject will not be able to eject drives that are not capable of ejecting under program control (e.g. floppy drives). Choosing such a drive will have no effect. * This program will not work with SyQuest-type drives, since they use a manual eject lever, which cannot be activated electronically. * If you choose not to display the Taskbar icon, running the autoeject.exe program a second time will bring up the configuration dialog and allow you to change the configuration or close the program. * Double-clicking on the taskbar icon or selecting "Eject Now" from the menu will cause the drive listed in the "Drive to Eject on Icon Click" list to eject immediately. * If you want to use the "double-click to eject" feature, but do not wish to have the disk ejected when you close Windows, uncheck the "Eject on Shutdown" option in the properties dialog box. This is handy for CD-ROM drives. * Turning the "Check for media before ejecting" option off doesn't always work under Windows NT 4.0. * Ejecting certain types of drives under NT 4.0 may not work if your account doesn't have sufficient privilege. I'm still working on this problem. Things I'm working on --------------------- 1. I had hoped to provide a way to close the CD-ROM drive tray with a second icon click after it had been opened, but I haven't had the time to implement this feature. It is on the top of my TO-DO list for the next version. Comments and suggestions ------------------------ Although I can't promise there will be any new versions of this program, I would like to hear any comments or suggestions you may have. I can be contacted at one of the following addresses: kmarty@visi.com kmarty@compuserve.com Information on the latest version can be found on the web at: http://www.visi.com/~kmarty/software.html Copying ------- This program is copyright 1996-1997 by Kevin Marty, but may be used and distributed freely -- I encourage it. This program is provided without any warranty, expressed or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular purpose.