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I use to be able to put an audio CD into my computer and it would automatically play, now I have to click start it manually, any idea why it doesn’t start automatically anymore?

No, but the good news is that whatever has changed can likely be fixed and the even better news is that it won’t cost you a dime because your not alone in having trouble with the autoplay feature of your CD drive, so Microsoft has a free download to inspect , find and repair whatever is preventing your hands free autoplay feature from working.

You can download the free Microsoft Autplay Repair Wizard at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C680A7B6-E8FA-45C4-A171-1B389CFACDAD&displaylang=en

Its really straight forward, I will add that it does ask you for what drive that you want to run the inspection and resolution on, so this means that if you have more than one CD drive, and you are experiencing autoplay issues with both of them that this wizard will need to be run on both, fixing one doesn’t necessarily fix the other (I know from experience).
 
Let me also add that a reboot is required, and the software will prompt you as to that fact after finding and repairing your autoplay issue.  Its really that easy. 

What is a Service Pack and when was mine installed?

Microsoft releases frequent updates for their operating system like Windows XP and Windows Vista.  What this really means is that Microsoft offers free updates to your computer that can be downloaded from the Internet. 

These fixes are frequently referred to as “Updates” or Hot Fixes”, but every once in a while, Microsoft releases a “Service Pack” defined as “a cumulative update that includes all previously released updates”…  In short, it’s a larger download, with several of the smaller, previously released updates all put together in one big update. 

There really a must have, as they patch vulnerabilities, provide updates, and even improved performance, all depending on what updates are included and which service pack that you are downloading.  I have always looked of service packs as critical and my point of view has always been, if Microsoft had to do it all over again, this is what they would have done differently, so I might as well update to the same version of Windows that they will be putting on new computers that ship out today. 

It’s easy to tell which service pack, if any, that you have installed on your computer and to take advantage of these free updates if you haven’t already.  Just  right-click on the “My Computer” icon choose “Properties” from the menu created when you right-click and this opens a new window that shows several things, including how much RAM that your computer has, the processor speed of your computer and details of your version of Windows including the Service Pack level, if any.  You can get to this same window in Control Panel by choosing “System”. 

Now that you know where you stand, its likely time to check for updates.  Yes you can likely find “Windows Update” somewhere in the Start menu of either Windows XP or Windows Vista, but you can also get to Microsoft Website that checks your computer for needed updates by choosing the “Tools” menu in Internet Explorer and clicking “Windows Update”.  The website that this will take you to, will walk you through updating your computer for free.

Now, once the updates are finished and you want to see  what updates have been installed and when, you can simply go to the Control Panel (from the Start Menu) and click “Add or Remove Programs” in Windows XP to see a lists of all Windows Updates installed and the date that they were installed. 

By going to Control Panel and choosing Automatic Updates, you can set your computer to automatically download and install these updates in the future if you want, so you don’t miss out on any of these free updates in the future!