U3 - shoot me now!

May 8, 2009 8:03 AM

I have two U3 "smart" drives. I find the pop-up windows they generate on insertion into a USB port incredibly annoying. How do I get rid of the damn U3 mojo?

I have repeatedly deleted all system files off of these things, and even going back to DOS shows nothing left... so why does the damn system keep coming back each time like a rotting, fetid, stenching zombie? Where is it coming from? How can I rid myself of this once and for all? I simply want nice blank USB flash drives, is all... Even when I go in to manage the disk from the systray icon (which shouldn't be there anyway if the frigging system is gone!) and select DELETE PROGRAM it keeps coming back. Sure, I could use other drives, but I don't like being stymied by a crappy little piece of plastic. Any advice before this eats my braaaaaaaaaains?

posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit to computers & internet (8 comments total)

How do I uninstall U3 from my flash drive?
posted by odinsdream at 8:04 AM on May 8

Check to make sure, but when I uninstalled U3 it had to reformat the USB drive. Just a warning.
posted by ALongDecember at 8:07 AM on May 8

U3 Remover.
posted by box at 8:20 AM on May 8

These things come with a very small read-only partition (IIRC it identifies itself as a CDROM drive) which contains the U3 software. As mentioned above, you need to use their removal utility to change this.
posted by Who_Am_I at 8:23 AM on May 8

Bingo, odinsdream -- thanks!
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 8:24 AM on May 8

And everyone else -- appreciated.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 8:25 AM on May 8

By the way, I found that by typing "uninstall u3" into google. I don't have one of these devices.
posted by odinsdream at 9:35 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]

I consider an essential security precaution on XP boxes to be getting the TweakUI powertoy and turning of autorunning for all drives. So far as I know, this will take care of the U3 menace.
posted by Zed at 11:40 AM on May 8