I recently discovered the true evil of the included software on my Sandisk Cruzer Micro 1 GB flash drive with "U3 Smart" technology.

It automatically installs this U3 program onto any Windows PC it is plugged into. Also, the drive itself is partitioned such that a small portion is recognized by WinXP Pro as a CD drive. Therefore, the files on this "CD" partition can't be easily removed by me.

When I erase the program files on the writable partition of the flash drive, they come back the next time I check the drive. I think this happens because the files on the unwritable partition get copied over every time I plug in the drive.

Also, (and here's where it gets really evil) the U3 program that was automatically installed is near impossible to remove. It's not in the add/remove programs list, it's not in the registry, and it's not running as a service. Yet, even after I had a friend open up the flash drive in linux and remove the partitions, and format the drive by writing 0 to every bit, the files were magically back the next time I plugged the drive into a PC with the hidden program. The hidden program restored all the deleted files on the USB device!

So, does anyone know how I can erase this hidden program on my PC and Flash drive once and for all?

Thank you.

Here ya go. This is the only way I was able to remove it. Kind of a pain.

http://www.u3.com/uninstall/

I hate U3...
The software packed are available free online...
U3 is just a program annoying users with the menu and increased loading time

Or put in a Linux or Mac computer and delete the files.

Or just delete the .exe file?? Worked for me.

That does not always work, evongugg is right though.

I don't own the product in question, but the topic was of interest to me so I delved in. I clicked on the link Scarchunk posted, and as I was reading, I came across this:

Whoa! Did I miss something? Wasn't the OP complaining about the U3 **** being installed on his PC and damned near impossible to remove? Why aren't there any lawsuits being filed?

U3 sucks eggs.

I'll second that. During a U3 software(firmware?) upgrade, it formatted the drive. I lost everything!

No no no, the automatic format was a "Feature" added to the latest upgrade.

This worked great thankyou

1. U3 was designed for portability
2. U3 will load a small program on your Windows XP or Vista or 2000 so that upon insetion the device launches rapidly. You also need enough RAM, for the device to work efficiently........
3. U3 devices are minature hard drives and as such you must unblock the hidden file system files in Control Panel or you will not be able to see all the software.
4. U3 devices are excellent for travelers who must utilize computers that are not their own. Therefore programs like Robo and Open Office Org are ideal allowing one to read any downloaded email attachments.
5. My experience is that you need a minimum of 8GB this allows several gigabyte for software and sufficient space to store personal files. Also like a hard drive sufficient space to swap files in and out to RAM. That is why you need sufficient RAM.
6. A U3 device can be erased and used simply to store personal files or business files without any software, but then you must manually identify the drive through Windows Explorer and know the location to enter files.
7. U3 devices can become infected with virus or trojan horse like any windows drive.
8. The free anti-viral softwares are great for scanning your drive just prior to removal so that the next computer you use does not become infected.
9. I recently downloaded an Opera upgrade the zipped file was infected and my portable viral software caught the infections (four) immediately....
10. We must remember that these drives are relatively new and eventually this type of technology will replace hard drives in all computers up to including over one terabyte of storage.
11. U3 devices on older computers that only have USB 1.0 technology are very slow, but with patience they work even on an older computer.
12. U3 devices used for password storage and password creation to hide from key logger software should be backed up and/or a duplicate USB device kept locked up in a critical place or you may never be able to enter your password protected websites. Robo encrypts your password..............