the problem can't be simpler - i just want a usb flashdrive to run an application when it is inserted. so, create an autorun.inf file that looks like this:

[autorun]
shellexecute= .\autorun\my_app.exe
icon= .\autorun\icon.ico

i've also tried:

[autorun]
open= .\autorun\my_app.exe
icon= .\autorun\icon.ico

and:
[autorun]
open= my_app.exe
icon= .\autorun\icon.ico

the result is always the windows sniffer saying there's multiple media types on the drive. is there a way of bypassing the sniffer? oh, the icon changes, so the autorun runs... ...just doesn't work. is there a god out there that can aid me in my quest?

but surely cd drives are "removable storage" and if you set up a wireless network using a flash disk, it autoruns. i'm just not entirely sure what i'm doing wrong.

there are u3 usb devices that have a "partion" which is partioned to look like a cdrom drive, on insertion it would autorun files.

so if you have one of those fancy ones you can, else you can't;

http://www.u3.com/

thanks a lot. that last one really helped.

no problem, i'm a big vat of useless information

for those of you who are interested, there is a solution to my problem. stubbourn persistence paid off in the end, thankfully.

the how to:
-create an autorun.inf file in your root directory
-choose one of the following 2 options:

-option 1 is to make sure the flash drive only contains apllications, hence no use for windows in giving you the choice in what action to take, or

-option 2 in which you add the following line in your autorun.inf file:

[autorun]
open=\autorun\app.exe
icon=\autorun\icon.ico
action=Autorun FlashDrive

the "action=[action title]" should give you the ability to choose "Autorun FlashDrive" frorn the windows sniffer dialog. also as a footnote, i might add that if you wish to run something other than an exe file, the "open=[path]" should be replaced with "shellexecute=[path]"

hope this helps some of you that might have had this problem yourselves. kind regards,
-AceldamA