PC Hell: What are U3 Smart Drives and what programs can I use on them

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.

You can remove the U3 Software from a Drive and make it a normal flash drive. This process is irreversible though. So be sure you want to remove the system files FOREVER before using the uninstall programs.

For non-U3 USB flash drives, there is an alternative, Portable Apps. These are software programs designed to be installed on a flash drive, removable hard drive, IPod, etc. They don't require the proprietary U3 software to run so they can be installed on ANY flash drive. For more information on Portable Apps, click on the following link:

Although the list of programs is increasing each day, the following software is available for free to download and use on a U3 enabled flash drive. A complete list of free and commercial products for the U3 is located here.

When I first saw the U3 drives, the first thing I wanted to do was to uninstall the software from it. At the time, I didnt understand how invaluable the U3 software would become to me, and how much I enjoy having a "smart" USB flash drive with my programs and data on it.

If you want to uninstall the U3 system software, you'll have to download an uninstall program from U3, or if you have the Sandisk model, they have their own uninstaller. Click on the links below to go to their sites and remove the U3 software if you wish.