usb u3 drives

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by lodore, Sep 13, 2006.

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  1. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    Hi

    I was thinking of getting a new usb pen for my new course to backup my work on to.

    i was thinking about buying a u3 drive. someof them contain avast antivirus. i was wondering if that means when i plug it in it would automatically turn on and conflict with my current antivirus software. I am new to u3 drives. portable firefox would be useful and so would be trillion. but the avast thing i want more info about on demand active? both?

    thanks in advance
    lodore
     
  2. gerardwil

    gerardwil Registered Member

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    If I plugin a U3 stick I get a menu first from where I can start programs if I like.
    I use Sandisk Cruzer U3

    Gerard
     
  3. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    ok oddly that was the one i was looking at lol. it does look good. i would install some more apps on it.
     
  4. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    This is the first I saw of the "U3" utility:

    From the Pc mag reviews:
    Does this mean the U3 enabled USB keys could be used as a boot device rather than floppy/DVD/CD ??

    Or does the "cant boot from USB"restriction on many mobo/bios still apply??

    Regards
     
  5. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

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    To my knowledge, all of the AV scanners bundled with U3 are manual scanners only. (This was certainly the case on my Memorex USB flash drive, which came with McAfee.)

    I can't speak for aVast!, but using McAfee this way was a royal pain. Updates were NOT incremental (I don't always have access to higher speed internet!) and scanning parameters were not customizable (you could only drill down to the drive level... no further. Consider how long a scan could take!) If you buy one of these drives, hopefully aVast! is designed much better.

    In my case, I gave my U3 drive quite a long test. But in the end, I wiped it back to a regular flash drive (a U3 uninstaller is available.) (Be aware that removing U3 is a one way trip!) Nowdays, I carry the standalone Dr. Web CureIt and when needed, I run it from the PC being examined. The download is approx. 25 to 30% smaller than McAfee's was via U3. And the scanner is highly customizable.

    If you are looking for portable programs for a flash drive, check out these 2 sites. Most of the stuff on them will run on any flash drive, not just U3. Plus, they're free!
    http://portableapps.com/
    http://www.portablefreeware.com/all.php
     
  6. VikingStorm

    VikingStorm Registered Member

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    Normal USB flash drive can be used as a boot device if it's properly formatted, and the motherboard supports booting from USB. U3 won't help at all if the motherboard doesn't support booting from USB (heck, it might even hinder it).
     
  7. Alphalutra1

    Alphalutra1 Registered Member

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    Avast's scanner for u3 is on-access as well, but it is required to have a paid subscription to work after the initial trial period. I just use dr. web cure-it, antivir, portable clam-win, a-squared, ewido micro, and ad-aware which all work portably in my toolkit. I also use HJT from time to time.

    Cheers,

    Alphalutra1
     
  8. dallen

    dallen Registered Member

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    I just wanted to add that I currently use a 1GB SanDisk Cruizer Micro (with U3) and I love it. I use it for a portable email client. Using the Thunderbird email client allows me to take all of my email accounts with me wherever I go.

    Furthermore, using RoboForm Portable allows me to use maximum character random passwords, which are far more secure, and significantly simplify every logon.
     
  9. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    that seems great
     
  10. Genady Prishnikov

    Genady Prishnikov Registered Member

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    Just be aware that many people HATE U3 and it's very controversial. You can roll your own using portable applications available at many places on the web, complete with launchers. The difference is that it doesn't load the proprietary U3 software and it takes up much less space on your drive. U3 has even had to finally place a removal tool on their website as so many hated it. Just Google: hate, remove and U3.
     
  11. Alphalutra1

    Alphalutra1 Registered Member

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    u3 also doesn't load properly at my school, so I always have to kill the launchpad.exe from task manager, pretty annoying actually. Also, I have found that u3 apps tend to become outdated very quickly, so i tend to just use the ones not intended for u3 drives anyways. Oh well, it only wastes 12 MB on my 1 GB drive ATM, so I am okay for now. I most likely will remove it though in the near future since I don't use any u3 drives, and can instead use PStart, or maybe even program my own launcher :cool:;

    Alphalutra1
     
  12. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

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    Alphalutra1: If you want to keep the U3 on your USB drive but not load the 2nd drive at school, just hold down one of the shift keys before you insert it and continue to hold it down until it the regular drive portion shows up. (This is the same thing one does to prevent auto play from a CD drive (which is what the 2nd U3 drive emulates.))
     
  13. dallen

    dallen Registered Member

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    ...but you did not give any reasons for people hating U3. Personally, I think it works very nicely for a number of reasons including a nice interface, clean organization, and it runs smoothly. Why do people hate it, if in fact they do. Just because you hear people complain about something and the company is nice enough to give users the flexibility of uninstalling the software if they so choose, doesn't me that it is bad. Sometimes it's just a case of the outspoken few. I'm not saying that there is nothing bad about U3, but you've got to do more than merely saying, "a bunch of people hate it" to justify the implication.
     
  14. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    i think its good because after you have used the programs there is no trace of them on that pc.
     
  15. Alphalutra1

    Alphalutra1 Registered Member

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    thanks for the tip, I will try it on monday.

    Alphalutra1
     
  16. Robyn

    Robyn Registered Member

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    I have one of those U3 drives and have never installed it on my computer due to all the issues I read about the drive letters it takes. I didn't choose to purchase this but it was sent to me as a prize. I like the idea but do not like the fact the launcher could mess with my drive letters as it akes one permanently the second one can still be used as 'safely remove' which is what I like to do with any flash drive.
    Does anyone know if it is possible to remove the launchpad out of the drive without launching it in the first place? I know there is an uninstaller but I really would just like the drive to be a flash drive without auto anything.

    I would much prefer to download portable applications to my 4GB flash drive and use them manually but this 1GB flash drive is of no use to me as it is due to the auto launch and all the horror stories I have read on the site itself o_O I have the Kingston DataTraveler 1GB U3 smart drive.
     
  17. VikingStorm

    VikingStorm Registered Member

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    I believe the complaints about U3 was the fact it would leave "junk" (drivers) on every PC you used it on, and at the time, there was no way to remove the U3 partition from the flash drive (not true now). Overall, I think it was a bit overblown.
     
  18. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    @robyn:
    ?throw it in the trash for some other lucky winner
    :)
     
  19. dallen

    dallen Registered Member

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    HAN,
    I just wanted to make a small correction (I think, but I could be wrong). I do not think that moving from U3 using the uninstaller is a "one way trip." The reason I think this is that there are U3 installers available for U3 as well (at least for my SanDisk).

    I have since given the non-U3 route a try and I like it better than U3.
     
  20. Genady Prishnikov

    Genady Prishnikov Registered Member

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    If you have a U3 enabled USB flash drive, here's a GREAT piece of software:
    http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/510152/2660746/

    It is a modified PStart that works far better than the U3 launcher, but still uses the "launchpad installer" shell. If you have a U3, give it a try!
     
  21. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

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    Things may have indeed changed. :) I lost interest in U3 fairly quickly (way too many other options I liked better) and haven't kept up with the latest U3 info. I recently bought a new 4GB U3 Sandisk and the 1st thing I did with it was wipe U3...
     
  22. Robyn

    Robyn Registered Member

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    Did you have to install the U3 bit and then remove as I would like to get rid of it without having to run the launchpad - can I click to format via disk management or something?
     
  23. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

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    I didn't on my new Sandisk. Before I inserted it into the PC for the first time, I held down one of the shift keys and continued holding down the shift key until the PC had fully recognized the flash drive and had assigned it's drive letters (remember that there is a pseudo CD partition on a U3 drive.) Holding down the shift key prevents any auto-run actions from happening, which in this case is the installation of the U3 launcher.

    After the flash drive is then ready for use, I just ran the U3 remover utility (as noted above, that I had already downloaded and placed on my desktop.) It automatically found the Sandisk drive and removed the U3 programs and the pseudo CD partition. The next time I plugged the drive, I had a nice normal flash drive. :)
     
  24. Robyn

    Robyn Registered Member

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    Thank you HAN :) I will try this with my laptop I should have the uninstaller there as I got this when I read about the way it worked but didn't want to have the install first - great to know that this may work for me freeing up the drive for use instead of sitting on my desk. Appreciate your advice.
     
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