Safely remove and reinstall the U3 software!

Repair a U3 Flash Drive U3 Smart Drives are USB flash drives from SanDisk preloaded with smart applications that run directly from the drive. With smart applications such as Firefox and Skype installed, users can run these applications on Windows computer without installing and setting the applications up on the computer itself. According to the SanDisk website, it is possible for the file system on U3 flash drives to become corrupt or for other disk errors to occur. SanDisk provides two possible solutions for repairing a U3 Smart Drive that prompts an error message or is unresponsive when plugged into a computer. b> Repair File System on Drive that Prompts Error Message b> Launch Windows Explorer by clicking on the "My Computer" or "Computer" icon on the desktop. Right-click on the drive letter for the U3 Smart Drive. Select "Properties" from the pop-up menu that appears. Click the "Tools" tab in the Properties window that opens and click "Check Now." Check the check boxes next to "Automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" listed under Check Disk options. Click "Start" to repair the file system on the U3 Smart Drive. Once the Check Disk procedures are complete, check to see of the drive is working properly. b> Repair Unresponsive Drive b> Plug the U3 Smart Drive into a different Windows computer. If the drive works on the computer, proceed to the following steps. If the drive is unresponsive on other computers, it is malfunctioning and should be returned to SanDisk or the place of purchase. Disable password protection on the U3 Smart Drive by clicking "Disable Security" in the U3 Launchpad window and entering your password to confirm. This may allow the drive to be accessed on the original computer. Update the U3 Launchpad software. Click "Status & Settings" in the Launchpad window and choose "U3 Launchpad Settings" and "Check for Software Updates." Allow the system to check for updates and follow the provided steps to update the software if an update is found. Eject the U3 Smart Drive by clicking on the "U3" icon in the system tray and selecting "Eject." Plug the drive into the original computer to see if it's working.


Remove U3 From a Cruzer Micro Drive b> USB flash drives (thumb drives) offer people a portable, high-capacity alternative to carrying floppy disks and emailing files to themselves. Some drives include a software suite with features that include quick navigation and other functions. U3 makes a software suite that offers navigation and software installation functions. For some, this software is useful, and for others, it's a nuisance. Removing the U3 software from your Cruzer requires bit of effort and some technical know-how. Insert the drive into the USB port of your computer. Back up any important data on the drive at this time. Open the U3 software manually if it does not automatically launch. Click the "Settings" option, which is displayed on the right side of the menu, second from the top. A context menu will pop out; select the "U3 Launchpad Settings" option from the context menu. Click on the "Uninstall" tab located on the left side of the "U3 Launchpad Settings" menu. It is the second tab from the bottom. If you do not see the "Uninstall" tab, go back to the first page and click "Help and Support." The "Uninstall" option will be displayed prominently in the "Help and Support" menu. Close any other open windows or running programs. An "Uninstall U3 Launchpad" button will be displayed in the "Uninstall" menu. Click it to uninstall the software from your device. The area on the drive where the U3 software is stored will be rendered blank. Stop the device by clicking or right-clicking on the device's icon in your system tray. A context menu will pop up and display the option "Safely Remove Hardware." Click that box to "stop" your USB device for safe removal. Remove your drive and then reinsert it to check that the U3 software has been uninstalled. If it has, your device is now ready for use. If it has not, repeat Steps again. If the Uninstall utility is not available on your drive, or the previous steps did not delete the software, download the appropriate uninstall software for your computer (.dmg format for MAC and .exe for PC; see Resources for links). http://mp3support.sandisk.com/downloads/cruzer-utility-mac.dmg Follow the steps provided when running the utilities to remove the U3 software.


b>Get Rid of U3 SanDisk Program b> SanDisk is a company that manufactures flash storage devices. Most flash drives do not come with any extra software installed. However, SanDisk drives come with U3 Launchpad software. This software provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows you to access different areas of the file system. It resembles the Start menu of the Windows operating system. You may, however, not want the U3 Launchpad installed because it automatically launches every time you plug your drive in. You can remove this software without the use of any third-party application.

http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2550 Insert your SanDisk flash drive into the USB port of your computer. Allow the computer a moment to recognize the drive. Click the U3 icon in the system tray. The system tray can be found in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Click on "Settings" located in the right-hand column of the U3 Launchpad. Then select "U3 Launchpad Settings." Click the "Uninstall" link on the left side of the window. This should be second to last button displayed. Click the "Uninstall U3 Launchpad" button that will appear in the middle of the screen. Click "Next" to continue. Click "Yes" when asked whether you want to restore the data after the U3 Launchpad is removed. Clicking yes will allow you to save your data. If you click "No," all of your existing data will be deleted. Click the "Format" button. Hope this helps. If all of this fails Contact scan disk http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk/contact-us.aspx

This will get the drive back, but you WILL lose the data. If you need the data. I do not know the answer. Repost your question to go to Sandisk site below

'.............U3 smart drives come preinstalled with the U3 Launchpad which emulates the Windows OS start menu, and controls program installation and hence facilitate the portability of software. However, if you would like to use the USB flash drive or memory key as a pure normal USB mass storage device, or you don't use operating system that U3 supports (i.e Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems), or you simply feel that U3 Launchpad and applications have bugs such as unable to eject due to locked files in use, consent on privacy and automatic installation of U3 software and pop-up etc, you can uninstall and remove the U3 Launchpad from the USB storage device.

To remove and delete the U3 Launchpad, you need to download U3 Launchpad uninstallers or U3 Launchpad Removal Tool that remove the U3 Launchpad and re-configure the USB drive to be a single mass storage USB drive. Currently, U3 Launchpad uninstallers are only available for and must be run on Windows XP or Windows 2000 machine. When uninstalling, the U3 smart drives USB device has to be plugged in with U3 Launchpad running.

U3 Launchpad Removal Tool for SanDisk USB U3 devices can be downloaded here, http://u3.sandisk.com/

WARNING: U3 Launchpad removal is irreversible. You won't be able to install U3 again. Beside, backup your data before begin uninstallation process as ALL data will be erased.

UPDATE: It's impossible to reinstall U3 LaunchPad........."

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Very well could be due to the fact your running 64bit Vista. I would try shutting the computer off,connect the U3,then turn on the computer. Sometimes the drives come with software that could be causing the problem also due to the try to install themselves when connected. You could also try booting up in safe mode. Press F5 repeatedly when the computer is booting up and this will take you to a menu that you can choose the safe mode option and try to connect the drive in this mode. You can then load/disable files or software on the drive that may be the cause of the problem. Also try the drive in another computer if possible and if it works try getting the firmware update from the sandisk website. It is possible the drive itself could be bad.

1. If you’ve used the device before, make sure you’ve gotteneverything off of the drive you need. You’ll be reformatting it. (Theapplication may have an option that allows you to keep the data – Idon’t remember – but better safe than sorry.)
2. Plug in the drive – the U3 launchpad will load. You can close theU3 tour program and whatever main window pops up if you like, but leavethe U3 launchpad icon in the system tray enabled (i.e. don’t exit thelaunchpad application entirely).
3. Download SanDisk’s U3 Launchpad Removal Tool (opens in new window) – as the site says, make sure the USB device is plugged in and Launchpad is still running.
4. Run the tool, and choose the option which completely removes U3 and formats the drive.

Voilà, you now have a regular old USB drive which you can break in any way you want.
(NOTE: If the SanDisk tool above doesn’t work for you, you might try the uninstall tool from u3.com – I had no trouble with the SanDisk tool, but I can only speak for myself!)

U3 Smart Drives are regular USB flash drives with a twist. Programs can be installed on them and the data from those programs will travel with you. In other words, U3 Drives are computers on a stick. Although the technology is relatively new (the company started in January 2005), there is a wide variety of programs that can be used on these supercharged USB drives. 
One of the most important advantages of using a U3 enabled flash drive is the ability to take your documents, photos, email, address book, favorites, webpage logins, and more with you wherever you go.  


Of course you can backup all these files on a normal USB flash drive or other removable device, but the advantage of using a U3 drive is the programs along with the data are on the USB drive. This means you'll be able to work on a report, view photos, look up an email address, and more simply by plugging the device into a computer and pulling it up. You dont necessarily have to take a laptop with you anymore to get your work done. 

You can't make a "normal" USB flash drive into a U3 enabled drive. The U3 system software is pre-loaded on the drives and cannot be added to a normal drive. When a U3 drive is plugged into a computer, it creates two drives. One is a CD drive with the system software on it and the other is a removable drive that you can use to store information.