Technology and Computing - USB Flash Drives

U3 Flash drives may not work properly on public computers

Due to security concerns, public computers do not allow standard use of USB Flash Drives supporting U3 (encryption) partition. An error message will occur telling you the device will not function properly. There are a few work-arounds you might try.

Many U3 drives have “public” or “unencrypted” partition. The encrypted partition usually requires a key code or software supplied by the manufacturer to read this portion of the drive. U3 software is specific to each drive/manufacturer, making it nearly impossible for public machines to have this software already pre-installed.

Since individuals are not allowed to install software on public computers, patrons wishing to use USB Flash Drives that support the new U3 standards will need to try one or more of the following.

• Try holding down the “Shift” key while inserting the flash drive. In many instances, this will over-ride the auto run feature of the U3 software causing the drive to behave normally.
  
• Another option is to click “cancel” or “take no action” option when prompted. This prompting usually occurs directly after inserting the drive. This will allow the unencrypted portion of the flash drive to be accessed by the public computer. To view the drive, LEFT-CLICK “My Computer” and RIGHT-CLICK on the flash drive. Often, the drive will be the same name as the manufacturer of the flash drive. This should allow the unencrypted portion of the device to be viewed and allow the computer to save to this area of the drive. The saved file can later be retrieved and resaved into the encrypted partition of the flash drive at a later time when the user is working on a machine containing the key-code software.
  
• If you find neither of the above options allows you access, you may want to remove the U3 encryption from your drive. This will essentially remove the partition of the drive protected by the encryption, forcing the drive to function as a normal flash drive. You will need to consult the users’ guide to your drive or visit the manufacturer's website for instructions.

Ejecting your Flash Drive

• In order to eject your flash drive you must LEFT-CLICK the icon instead of the normal right click. Right-clicking the icon will produce an error stating that the operation could not be performed. For security reasons the the "hardware properties" access has been disabled on these machines requiring the above instructions to eject your flash drive.

Other Storage Alternatives

Those affiliated with the Georgia State University have access to an online storage account available at: https://elocker.student.gsu.edu

(Content for this page was used with permission from
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Funk ACES Library)

Page updated on: June 25, 2008