I found my old U3 flash drive that is password protected but when I plug it into my pc it won't boot. I can see some basic files but none of my data. I can't get in to remove password protection. It ver. 1.0.5.17

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

Unfortunately, you can NOT access your user data and applications on the device without a password.

If you think you are entering the correct password, ensure that CAPS lock or NUM lock is not turned on. You should try to type your password in another application (like word or email) to ensure that it is being entered correctly. This can help you see if CAPS lock, NUM lock, or a sticky key is causing the password to actually be entered incorrectly.

Password attempts
There's a set number of attempts before U3 locks your device and you have to reformat it.
Reformatting will delete all files and applications on the flash drive.

Password hint
If you set a hint when you enabled the password protection, click Hint in the log in window to display the hint you entered. If you did not set a hint or still can not remember your password you will have to reformat the drive.
Reformatting will delete all files and applications on the flash drive.

It is recommended to keep a backup of all the data on your U3 device on your PC for safe keeping.

To unlock a u3 USB drive, you need to follow the following steps. Before proceeding be sure that you backup the thumbdrive just in case, and also don't have any programs using the flashdrive (including any instances of Windows Explorer).

1. Run the launchpad program from the USB drive
2. Double click on the icon to open up the main windows.
3. Click on "settings" and the U3 Launchpad Settings.
4. click on the uninstall tab on the side and then Uninstall U3 launchpad.

This solution will work if you have forgotten your Windows password. It will not work if you have forgotten your boot password or hard drive password etc.

USB Flash Drive Method
You need to download a Windows password cracker, put it on a flash drive, and boot it outside of the Windows environment. This solution will show you how to do that.

1. Download the Ophcrack Windows password cracker from here. For Windows 7, click on the ophcrack Vista LiveCD. Ophcrack is one of the best free Windows password recovery tools available. It's fast and easy even for a first time Windows password cracker. Save file to Desktop.

2. Download Xboot 1.0.0.0 Beta 6 here. Save file to Desktop. Unzip file and extract to Desktop.

3. Plug a USB flash drive into your PC and format it with a FAT32 file system. This can be done by opening "My Computer" and right clicking on the USB flash drive and selecting Format. Select FAT32 and click OK. (Note: this will erase all data on your flash drive.)

4. Open Xboot.exe. Select the Ophcrack ISO file you downloaded and drag it onto the Xboot screen.

5. Click on "Create USB" found in the bottom right hand corner of the Xboot window.

6. Select your USB drive and click OK. Wait for your USB flash drive to be created.

7. Restart computer and press F10 or appropriate function key for your computer to enter the temporary boot menu. It may be F12 or F9 etc. Look at the first screen that appears when you turn on the computer and you will see which key to press. You also could enter the BIOS and change the boot order if you would prefer that method.

8. Select USB Flash Drive from the boot menu.

9. The Ophcrack LiveCD will now boot. Hit enter to select the Graphic Mode option when it appears.

10. Ophcrack will automatically begin cracking your passwords. The longer and more complicated the password is the longer it will take to crack. 99% of passwords are crackable. Any password over 14 characters cannot be cracked. This program found my 8 character password which contains letters and numbers in less than 10 minutes.

11. Write down your password when it's cracked. Remove the USB drive and restart computer.

Good luck and thanks for using FixYa.

Unfortunately, you can NOT access your user data and applications on the device without a password.

If you think you are entering the correct password, ensure that CAPS lock or NUM lock is not turned on. You should try to type your password in another application (like word or email) to ensure that it is being entered correctly. This can help you see if CAPS lock, NUM lock, or a sticky key is causing the password to actually be entered incorrectly.

Password attempts
There's a set number of attempts before U3 locks your device and you have to reformat it.
Reformatting will delete all files and applications on the flash drive.

Password hint
If you set a hint when you enabled the password protection, click Hint in the log in window to display the hint you entered. If you did not set a hint or still can not remember your password you will have to reformat the drive.
Reformatting will delete all files and applications on the flash drive.

It is recommended to keep a backup of all the data on your U3 device on your PC for safe keeping.

Each U3 smart drive comes with a pre-defined number of login attempts. When you have only 3 attempts remaining, you will receive a warning message to prevent losing your data unnecessarily.
SanDisk does not have any method to bypass the password security feature on Cruzer U3 flash drives. SanDisk has not built in any back door or password reset methods. If the password feature is enabled and you exceed the number of incorrect password attempts, the drive will lock. Once the drive is locked there is no way to unlock the drive or gain access to the data stored on the device. You can only select the format feature, which will perform a secure erase (drive wipe) and data recovery will NOT be possible. U3 Cruzer flash drives which are password protected use 128bit AES encryption for data security

http://kb.sandisk.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/191

USER MANUAL LINK



Copying to or from a USB device is the same as copying to or from any standard disk device.

1. Click on your desired file to select it.

NOTE: You can select multiple files by holding down the Ctrl while left click on the desired files. Or you can select all files by holding down Ctrl and press A.

2. On your keyboard, hold down the Ctrl key and press C.
3. Navigate to the desired folder destination.
4. Hold down the Ctrl key and press V.




U3 smart drive is a USB flash drive that allows you to install and run U3 smart applications from the U3 smart drive itself. When you use a drive in this manner, you can take your applications with you and run them on any Windows 2000 or XP computer.

Not only can you use the U3 smart drive for carrying your files but you can also carry your applications with your personalized settings with you as well. There is an application that is included on every U3 smart drive called the U3 Launchpad and it is your console for managing the applications that are installed on your U3 smart drive. The U3 Launchpad also provides utilities that let you customize your U3 smart drive your way.

More on U3:
Under the hood, a U3 smart drive is an advanced USB flash drive with special features that allow the U3 smart drive to take on multiple personalities depending on how it has been configured. The default configuration is composed of two drive letters or domains. One of the drive letters is a removable mass storage domain just like any other USB flash drive. The other drive letter or domain emulates a closed CD-R CD disc in a CD drive and contains the U3 system files that makeup the U3 Launchpad. When you connect the U3 smart drive to your PC, you will see two new drive letters after the Windows OS has fully set up the drive.

You will see the emulated CD-R drive which usually is indicated in file explorer by a U3 logo and another drive letter that is the mass storage domain. The mass storage drive letter will have a label with a name like "My U3 Drive" or some other manufacturer specific label. Newer versions of the U3 Launchpad lets you rename the drive letter label using the Status and Settings dialog. Older U3 Launchpads can be renamed by right clicking on its drive letter label in file explorer and selecting rename.

The drive letters assigned to the two drive domains by the Windows operating system can be any available letter but typically are between F: and Z:. The two letters may or may not be sequential and the mass storage drive letter may be before the CD-R drive letter. You do need to see both drive letters appear in order for the U3 Launchpad to run.

Hi,
The Cuzer has its own encryption software. Plug the Cruzer in a USB 2.0 prt on the computer. If the Cruzer LaunchPad does not execute by default, use the Windows explorer to explore My computer. You will see two icons related to your cruzer, one of them is a CD_ROM. In fact it is the LaunchPad of the U3Smart OS that come swith the Cruzer.
Click on the CD-ROM icon and an a yellow icon (U3) installs on the system tray. Click on it. A pop-up window deploys. Click the Settings button on the right side (2nd menu on the right, under explore drive). You will have to configure U3 LaunchPad Settings. Select Security and enable security.

See image

You will be prompted for a password.

Warning: If you use the Cruzer on Macs or Linux, you will not be able to open it on these OS's if security is enabled. You will be able to open it on Windows only.

Hope it helps.
Thank you for using FixYa.

Once you eliminated it just being a particular USB port (they go defective with wear), consider that your WinXP or whatever might be patched ...at all, basically... on that machine. It's rare that there's an OS issue, but Sandisk U3 is less readable on older Linux. Since you have cited neither USB drive model nor the OS you're using, that's the news; update the OS! Get Syllable or something decent, maybe.

PASSWORD