Ever wish there was an easy way to get the CD that's sitting in the CD ROM drive to autoplay? I know this is especially true for those using programs that run from CD - stuff like maps, yellow pages, and / or clipart. You may have the CD in the drive, but it's not running.

Most people just open and close the CD ROM drive and the CD starts itself up again. Well, you guessed it, there's a better way. (This little trick is especially helpful for those who play audio CDs in their computer). Here's how:

1. Open your "My Computer" icon.

2. Right-click your CD ROM drive and select "Autoplay" (or for audio CDs, "Play").

That's the basics, but since I'm not especially content with the basics, I took it to the next level. I made a shortcut to my CD ROM on my desktop. Now, I just right-click the CD ROM desktop shortcut to get my CDs to autoplay.

The easiest way to stick a shortcut to your CD on your desktop is to drag the CD ROM from "My Computer" to your desktop. You'll get the customary warning message saying "You can't drag it to the desktop and would you like to make a shortcut instead."

Tell it yes.

Finally, if you have a My Computer toolbar, just right-click the CD ROM and select AutoPlay - just like you would if you were using My Computer.