How to prevent Windows Media Player from syncing ANYTHING in Vista?

[realmadmartian]

This is the lamest Vista feature I have seen yet. You plug in a USB flash memory stick that is over 4GB and Windows Media Player sets itself up for automatic sync automatically! You can hit "cancel" on the window that pops up, but then it prompts you again every time you stick the card in. If you click "finish" (the only other option), it starts copying your music library over to the USB flash memory immediately! You then have to select "stop all syncs" from the WMP sync menu and then go into the sync setup for that device in WMP and uncheck "sync automatically". Then you have to manually delete the few songs that got copied before you went into the WMP sync menu and clicked on "stop all syncs". You have to do this for *EVERY* USB memory stick that's over 4GB to avoid the prompt and automatic syncing. Memory sticks 4GB and smaller automatically set up for manual sync in WMP (automatic sync is unchecked by default if your flash memory is 4GB or less).

Well, I don't want ANYTHING to sync via Windows Media Player EVER. I prefer NONE of my memory devices show up in Windows Media Player, even music players. How do I shut this off (without turning off syncing my contacts/calendar with my cellphone by turning off the separate sync program entirely)?

I would prefer more than anything, if possible, to have the insertion of a memory stick cause a popup of an explorer window for that stick automatically. This is what used to happen in XP. Hopefully there is a way to make it happen in Vista.

 

[dloneranger]

Check the Autoplay control panel, plenty of setting there

Theres also a registry entry(ies) at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\DeviceNotificationCallbacks
({8E25992B-373E-486E-80E5-BD23AE417E66} is the Sync notification)

 

[erkko13]

1. disable and stop service WPDBusEnum aka Portable Device Enumerator Service
2. enjoy

 

[Gregory57]

Thank you - works like a charm

 

[MikeBell2112]

"Disable and stop service WPDBusEnum aka Portable Device Enumerator Service" also cures the mouse cursor from endlessly blinking or flickering rapidly between the arrow and busy icon when any USB memory is plugged in.