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Due to my employer's IT policy, I'm not allowed to have any kind of MP3 playing software on my computer. I do, however, like to plug my iPod into my computer to keep the battery charged during working hours. Normally, I plug the iPod in, Windows mounts the drive, then I have to go in and eject the drive so I can run my iPod normally while still keeping it charged.

Is there any way I can keep Windows from mounting the drive (and this drive only, I still use my USB flash drive a lot) from auto-mounting?

Update: Maybe this is more of an iPod issue, but specifically I would like for the iPod to not display the "Do not disconnect" message when plugged in.

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  • You do realize, if your employer is monitoring, they already know you're plugging the iPod in... which can be a no-no if say, removable media is also restricted (since an iPod is also a very expensive flash drive).
    – romandas
    Jul 27, 2009 at 22:43
  • Yes, I am aware they may know I'm plugging it in. They don't seem to mind about removable media, they just don't like having anything on the actual PC.
    – heavyd
    Jul 27, 2009 at 22:57
  • Personally, I would talk to my manager first, explaining to him that I would like to use their systems just to recharge my iPod. I would then have to explain why having a working iPod would improve my work performance. If he disagrees when I would not connect the iPod, not even with just a recharge cable, since it would simply just look real bad. Having a recharged iPod is not something I would like to lose my job over. But if your manager supports you in this, then you can use a recharge cable to just recharge your iPod. Or maybe just use a regular power socket, with your manager's approval.
    – Wim ten Brink
    Jul 28, 2009 at 4:55

7 Answers 7

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You could get a spare cord and cut the green and white wires. Then the computer won't be able to see it, because there isn't any way for the data to get to the computer.

If you're good with a knife I would carefully cut a 1 inch (25 mm) slice along the length of the wire. Then cut a slice around the wire, about in the middle of your first slice. You need to be careful not to nick the red or black wire. Then just cut the green and white wires.

Then just tape each end of the wires separately, and you have yourself a power cord.

I would like to note that USB ports aren't supposed to allow much current to go through the plug, until the device has connected. Since we prevented the two devices from connecting this won't happen. Many USB ports actually don't do this, so you may be fine there.

Some chargers pull the data pins high through a resistor, to indicate to the device it can pull more power.

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  • Yep, that would do the trick. The iPod gets recharged through the cable, yet no data will be sent over. It would be like those USB fans, lights or vacuum cleaners. :-)
    – Wim ten Brink
    Jul 28, 2009 at 4:50
  • and then you can't use that USB cable to read/write to the iPod from the computer.
    – hasen
    Jul 28, 2009 at 5:12
  • This is probably the simplest answer. You can even buy cables wired like this from various sources. Just don't plug it in to your laptop while on battery unless you are prepared to shift a bunch of the charge into the iPod...
    – RBerteig
    Jul 28, 2009 at 7:28
  • There is even a USB powered chainsaw.
    – Brad Gilbert
    Jul 28, 2009 at 20:11
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The proper solution is via diskpart's automount disable command

C:\Windows\system32>diskpart

Microsoft DiskPart version 6.3.9600

Copyright (C) 1999-2013 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: WIN81

DISKPART> automount

Automatic mounting of new volumes enabled.

DISKPART> automount disable

Automatic mounting of new volumes disabled.

DISKPART> exit

referenced microsoft article screenshot

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  • also MOUNTVOL /N does the same thing but i'm too lazy to edit the answer, see i.imgur.com/q3YOILv.png
    – Costin Gușă
    Aug 30, 2015 at 9:39
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    @CostinGusa I've tried to use mountvol /n and dispart automount disable but no luck - my usb flash drive and ipod are mounted as usb drives by Windows 10
    – oleksa
    Jun 25, 2018 at 10:27
  • How do you manually mount a drive when this command is active?
    – golimar
    May 17, 2022 at 11:03
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This doesn't answer your specific question, but I would look at using a USB charger instead of connecting the iPod to your desktop. Something like the Belkin Mini Surge Protector should work.

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  • i was writing this exact same answer. Beat me to it :)
    – pavsaund
    Jul 27, 2009 at 21:17
  • Yes, I have considered this, but I would prefer a 0-cost solution :)
    – heavyd
    Jul 27, 2009 at 22:58
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Here is the brute force method. Have it detect the device as it normally does. Then when it is detected and available, go into the hardware manager in -> Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Hardware Manager.

Once you are in the hardware manager find the device... Right click on it and select "Disable"

This will end the annoyance. Can be reversed with the same process only select "enable" instead.

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  • 1
    This actually worsened the problem, now I can't even eject the drive like I did before. See update.
    – heavyd
    Jul 27, 2009 at 23:04
  • And if I disable it at the USB controller level in the device manager, I loose the charge.
    – heavyd
    Jul 27, 2009 at 23:06
  • Sounds like the above suggestion did not work for you. You might be able to use a powered USB hub that is not connected to a computer to charge your iPod up.
    – Axxmasterr
    Jul 27, 2009 at 23:22
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Use USB Drive Letter Manager (USBDLM). You can configure the iPod by its unique ID to not mount as a drive or to immediately go into "Safe For Removal" mode.

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Go to Device Manager. Under Disk Drive tree, disable your removable disk and it won't mount again.

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  • Please see the Update message. Disabling still causes the iPod to display the "Do not disconnect" message.
    – heavyd
    Dec 1, 2009 at 21:28
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None of the solutions above worked for me, I have two NVMe drives, one for windows and one for linux, and the boot partition of the linux drive would always be mounted as D:.

The solution I found is open Disk Management which can be done by searching for "create and format hard disk partitions" using Cortana, then right-click on the left where the disk is (Called "Disk 1" in my case) then choose "Offline". All the drive partitions will be unmounted, and will not be mounted again after rebooting.

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