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frankthetank966 · May 26, 2008, 09:49 PM

I just plugged in a brand new ScanDisk Cruzer and noticed it had a program called "LaunchU3.exe" Can I delete this program or will it not allow my USB to pop-up/load on my MAC if I get rid of it?

peeb · May 26, 2008, 10:01 PM

You can delete it. For starters, it's a Windows executable file.

frankthetank966 · May 26, 2008, 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by peeb

You can delete it. For starters, it's a Windows executable file.

Great thanks.

mduell · May 26, 2008, 10:10 PM

It's an annoying auto-launch thing that some marketingtard thought was a good idea.

U3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

turtle777 · May 26, 2008, 11:09 PM

U3 is not that bad. Yes, there are alternatives, but it's ok if you are on a PC.

-t

Vitaly · Aug 4, 2008, 10:18 AM

you can use this tool from sandisk

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

luck!

Vitaly

auto_immune · Aug 4, 2008, 12:07 PM

Unless something has changed, you will also need access to a computer running win xp
to use the removal tool.

Curiosity · Aug 5, 2008, 02:00 AM

What is the format of the USB drive? If it is Fat32, you should be able to delete whatever files you want right away.

ghporter · Aug 5, 2008, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Curiosity

What is the format of the USB drive? If it is Fat32, you should be able to delete whatever files you want right away.

IIRC, a U3 drive has its boot sector set up to look for the U3 loader, so if you just delete the loader, the device won't work properly on a PC.

I have a Kingston DataTraveler Mini that's a U3 device, and leaving that tiny file in place has never bothered my Macs one bit.

Afah Dalah · May 25, 2009, 07:32 PM

I have a Mac and I have no idea what the purpose of this program is .. launchU3.exe
I have IDisk and Time capsule ... is it used in one of those back up systems ?
I am NOT able to delete it. I place it in the trash and it says I have to press the option key and then click on the button to continue to empty the trash ... the trash empty's except for that ... it never leaves the trash.
Any suggestions?

chabig · May 25, 2009, 07:34 PM

You have two options:

1. Ignore it.
2. Download the removal tool and run it on a Windows computer

That's all you can do. Pick one...

Andy8 · May 25, 2009, 07:58 PM

I just ignore it and use the Cruzer without fuss.

Curiosity · May 26, 2009, 01:29 AM

There was a removal tool for Mac on Sandisk's website. I used that to remove the U3 stuff.

Thorzdad · May 26, 2009, 01:48 PM

Just re-format the drive.

chabig · May 26, 2009, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by Thorzdad

Just re-format the drive.

As ghporter noted, you can't.

CharlesS · May 26, 2009, 02:05 PM

^ Why not? Ghporter's post says that the removal tool is necessary because of something it puts in the boot sector. Reformatting should clear the boot sector, too.

chabig · May 26, 2009, 02:33 PM

Reformatting doesn't do it. You MUST use the U3 removal tool from SanDisk, and it's Windows only.

UPDATE: I found a link to a Mac version of the removal utility. I'm not going to install and test it, but some other brave soul might like to:

http://communities.sandisk.com/sandi...thread.id=1066

CharlesS · May 26, 2009, 03:04 PM

How is that possible? Where can this U3 thing store stuff where it would be safe from a reformat?

ghporter · May 26, 2009, 03:15 PM

U3 devices seem to come with two partitions on them from the factory. The U3 specific crap is on a partition marked as a CD (NOT a "CD-R"), so it's generally seen as read only by the OS. Apparently the removal tools override the "that's a CD so I can't write to it" logic.

Thorzdad · May 26, 2009, 04:06 PM

Lord, I really hope there's a special pit in hell for the marketing team that thought this U3 garbage was a great idea.

Both my daughter and wife have Cruzers with this junk on it. Unfortunately, the Mac version of the removal tool doesn't run under 10.3.9. Hope the Windows version works on my wife's Windows laptop...without buggering anything else on the laptop.

Chuckit · May 26, 2009, 04:27 PM

But couldn't you still rewrite the partition table? Or does having a partition marked as a "CD" make that impossible?

CharlesS · May 26, 2009, 05:13 PM

^ I was just about to ask the same thing. Why can't you just nuke the partition map?

P · May 26, 2009, 05:29 PM

If you really can't, it must be a recent change. I have one of those drives, and a reformat worked for me.

Note that you must really reformat the DRIVE. If you just erase the partition (that is, put a new file system on the individual partition) it won't work. Disk Utility is a little confusing here, because the relevant tab is called "Erase" both if you select the partition and if you select the entire drive, but the effect is quite different.

The reason that partition is marked as a CD is to work around a security feature in Windows, btw: Autorun from USB drives is disabled in some versions of Windows, and the U3 stuff wants to autorun its installer. Hint to all developers out there: If you have to circumvent a security feature to make your app work the way you want, you're most likely doing something wrong.

ghporter · May 26, 2009, 07:35 PM

Well a lot of people default to clicking on a partition in Disk Utility rather than the whole drive, especially when they're dealing with a USB device. So you SHOULD be able to nuke the whole thing by selecting the DEVICE and telling DU to format it.

And P, you are SO right about dodging security to get one's stuff to work. BAD idea with a capital "BAD."

CharlesS · May 26, 2009, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by P

If you have to circumvent a security feature to make your app work the way you want, you're most likely doing something wrong.

Of course, the security feature is fairly useless if it's so easily circumventable - and now, of course, MS can't ever fix it without breaking a ton of people's USB drives.

Chuckit · May 26, 2009, 09:20 PM

I would argue that the more inexplicable decision was to allow autorun for CDs and not for thumb drives. If autorun is insecure (hint: it is), disable it for everything. Otherwise, just freakin' allow it. This is like the worst of both worlds.

CharlesS · May 26, 2009, 09:45 PM

True. But apparently the average Windows user isn't able to double-click a freakin' installer icon by him/herself after inserting a CD, so the autoworm feature is needed on that platform.

P · May 27, 2009, 06:30 AM

No, autorun on USB drives is worse. That can be used as a way to spread a worm, since you can stealthily write an autorun exe to a USB drive. Both Windows and the Classic Mac OS had such worms. Vista does allow autorun from USB drives, but Win 7 has removed that feature, limiting it to read-only drives once again.

Personally I think that autorun is counterproductive, because it means it confuses people's understanding of what is an application, but I can see that it's something that they would get a lot of heat for removing completely.

KathiH · Mar 26, 2010, 11:29 AM

I was clearing some items off my SanDisk Cruzer flashdrive and somehow got the LaunchU3.exe file on my Mac desktop. It's still on the Cruzer and that's fine, but I can't get it off my desktop on my Mac. Can't put it in the trash, can't move it to my hard drive icon, nothing. Any suggestions or do I just live with it sitting there? Thanks.

Thorzdad · Mar 26, 2010, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by KathiH

I was clearing some items off my SanDisk Cruzer flashdrive and somehow got the LaunchU3.exe file on my Mac desktop. It's still on the Cruzer and that's fine, but I can't get it off my desktop on my Mac. Can't put it in the trash, can't move it to my hard drive icon, nothing. Any suggestions or do I just live with it sitting there? Thanks.

Is it there even when your Cruzer is disconnected?
You might want to try downloading the removal tool Chabig linked to and see if you can run it on your Mac to remove the .exe on your desktop. While you're at it, I'd go ahead and run it to remove the junk from your Cruzer, too.

I hate that U3 garbage.

KathiH · Mar 26, 2010, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by Thorzdad

Is it there even when your Cruzer is disconnected?
You might want to try downloading the removal tool Chabig linked to and see if you can run it on your Mac to remove the .exe on your desktop. While you're at it, I'd go ahead and run it to remove the junk from your Cruzer, too.

I hate that U3 garbage.

Thank you, Thorzdad. Yes, it's there even when I remove the Cruzer. I'll try the removal tool and report back.

olePigeon · Mar 26, 2010, 04:09 PM

The Mac version of the U3 crap causes some versions of OS X to kernel panic. I hate it.

KathiH · Mar 26, 2010, 04:13 PM

OK, no good. It only works to remove the Launchpad from the flashdrive. There isn't an option for removing it from my desktop.
But I discovered that if I went to "Get Info" and unlocked it, I could then trash it and empty the trash. Gone.
Remember, I was trying to remove it from my desktop, not my flashdrive.
So, problem solved.
Thanks!

Thorzdad · Mar 26, 2010, 04:16 PM

Ah, the old "unlock it" trick. Well done.

Jasoco · Apr 25, 2010, 01:53 AM

U3 is useless. Completely useless bloatware that's as useless as the backup software that some HD companies try to force on you when you buy a HD. (Like the new MyBook's now.) I bought a Memorex 1GB flash stick a few years ago and was able to remove the U3 partition by booting into Windows on a PC and using a utility to remove it. (Since Memorex knowingly did not create a Mac version.) My drive works FINE on Windows or Mac OS X without this partition. So no, removing U3 will not hurt it.

turtle777 · Apr 25, 2010, 01:56 AM

I don't get all the hate.

My U3 4GB Sandisk Cruzer has been working great for years.
I'm using the U3 every day on my work PC, and never had any issues.

Yeah, it's useless for Macs, but that doesn't make U3 useless in general.

-t

Jasoco · Apr 25, 2010, 02:03 AM

The problem isn't that it exists, it's that it's so hard to remove and is just useless cruft if you aren't using Windows or if you just simply don't want it. The company should supply a cross-platform out of the box way to optionally remove that crap.

It's also a complete mess.

it's the reason I, and a lot of other people, won't buy Western Digital MyBook's anymore because after mid-2009 they started putting proprietary bloated backup software in the firmware that couldn't be removed. If they ever start doing that to the Elements, I'm gonna have to find another HD supplier yet again.