USB pendrive low level format

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sailor

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
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I have a USB pendrive memory that was given to me some years ago as some company's advertising. When I plug it in to the computer TWO devices appear in Windows: a "CD-ROM" which contains a PPS file with a presentation of that company and a "removable drive" which I can use normally.

I would like to get rid of that "CD-ROM" but I do not know how. It has a presentation which is out of date and I find it obnoxious.

I figure there are two possibilities: (1) The pendrive does actually have a separate ROM from the flash memory (I think this is unlikely) or (2) the flash memory is formatted into two partitions at low level and one is made to appear as ROM. If it is the second case then a low level format should be able to get rid of that ROM partition. I have tried searching online for formatting tools but the few that I have tried cannot format the USB as a single unit. They see the USB flash drive partition but they do not see the ROM part because it appears to Windows as a CD-ROM unit. Because it is a CD-ROM init no writing is allowed. To make it appear as a USB flash memory I would need to change the way it reports itself to Windows.

In the registry they appear as:
##?#USBSTOR#Disk&Ven_USB&Prod_Flash_Disk&Rev_1100#AA04012700000987&1#{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}
File System: FAT


##?#USBSTOR#CdRom&Ven_USB&Prod_Flash_Disk&Rev_1100#AA04012700000987&0#{53f56308-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}
File system: CDFS

Is there any way that I could either (1) format the device so that it appears as a single unit and I would free up the part of memory used as ROM or (2) at least get rid of the CD-ROM part even if I cannot use it?
 
It's most likely using U3, a crappy tech created by SanDisk to make a USB pendrive/stick "appear" like a CD to the OS so it can autorun whatever even crappier software was placed on the stick by whoever in the first place. If it's got a U3 label on it, there ya go. The problem is U3 failed, and many people have such sticks even to this day and just want to use the full capacity of the stick - and getting rid of U3 is a chore without the right tool...

You can get the U3 removal tool which gets rid of it and then you'll have full access to the whole capacity of that stick here:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Uninstallers/U3-Launchpad-Removal-Tool.shtml

SanDisk no longer offers it for direct download (what a bunch of maroons) but, there it is at SoftPedia.

If that's not the case, then you can use diskpart (in Windows Vista/7) to clear the USB stick of all partitions - the regular Disk Management tool won't do it. Try the U3 removal tool first, if that doesn't work come back and report on it and I'll provide you the step-by-step to use diskpart and clean the stick.
 
Bahamut, thanks for your post.

I checked and there is no autorun file in there, only the PPS presentation. (One of the first things I do when I configure a new system is disable all autoruns. I have no idea why this crap is on by deafult.)

I tried the U3 removal tool but it does not recognise the device as a U3 smartdrive so I guess the next step is to try diskpart. All my computers are running Win XP but I have access to one running Vista.

I have had a look at the MS description page of diskpart and it looks like pretty complicated. I will wait for your instructions on how to use diskpart. Thanks again.
 
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You need to follow these instructions very carefully as using diskpart can result in some rather catastrophic things (aka wiping your primary hard drive clean in a split second or two, seriously) so... pay attention.

Apparently you have access to a Windows Vista machine so you'll need to use that one. Attach the USB stick and wait for it to be recognized as a drive before proceeding, check in Explorer to make sure it's visible. I don't know the size of that USB stick so I'll use 1GB as an example (1024 KB).

I'll bold the commands so they're easy to spot, also. Diskpart does NOT use drive letters, only a number that identifies each physical disk so you need to be careful when you select the one you're hoping to work on - you verify it by the Size reported by Diskpart, and my example is a 1GB stick which shows up as 1024 KB.

Open an Administrative Command Prompt in Windows Vista. When the Command Prompt is open, type:

diskpart (and press Enter)

After a few moments you'll get a DISKPART> prompt. Type:

list disk (and press Enter)

which will list the currently attached physical disks/drives in the system. Find the one that matches the size of your USB stick, and as I said I would use 1GB as the example, you might see an entry that says 1024 KB in the Size column, if so that's the one (but you need to match it to your stick, which could be 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, etc). This is the critical part so MAKE SURE you're selecting the right one. Each disk has a number so, the next command is:

select disk <enter the number of the USB stick as listed and press Enter>

If it's Disk 1 then you'd type select disk 1 (press Enter) and then you'll see:

"Disk 1 is now the selected disk."

From that moment on, any actions you commit will only affect that disk and that disk alone which is why it's so important to make sure you select the right one. Once you do select the USB stick, then type:

list partition (and press Enter)

You'll get at least 2 listings, probably a Primary partition, possibly an Extended partition, and maybe even a Logical one as well for 3 entries, it really doesn't matter as long as something shows up. When you're 100% confident that you've got the USB stick selected and you're staring at the partitions (the "CD" part, the rest of the stick, etc), then type:

clean (and press Enter)

After a moment or so you'll see a message stating the selected disk was successfully "cleaned" which means diskpart just wiped out all partitions in a fraction of a second - that stick is now totally departitioned and ready for use fully. Type:

create partition primary (and press Enter)

and it'll create one big partition that uses up the entire capacity of the stick. Type:

format fs=fat32 quick (and press Enter)

and a few seconds later the stick will be formatted and ready to go. If you wish to give the stick a particular volume label, the command is:

label="name" (where name is the volume label and yes you do need the quotes, then press Enter)

Once that's done, you'll need to assign a drive letter so Explorer can use it. Type:

assign letter=<drive letter> (where <drive letter> is just the letter itself without the colon, for example assign letter=h andthen press Enter)

and you're done. If for some oddball reason this process doesn't work, you'll end up using Linux or a bootable Linux LiveCD to get it done, more than likely. Diskpart is the most "powerful" Windows tool for disk partitioning there is and if it can't do it, well... ;)

This is how I've removed U3 from dozens of sticks in the past as well as some really weird ones that did something similar, it's more efficient for me instead of having to track down that U3 tool or use Linux for the process.

Good luck...
 
Thanks. While you were preparing that post I saw that the diskpart command utility is available on my XP machine but it does not recognize the USB drive so I will try with Vista to see if it does. I am familiar with drive numbers, partitions, etc. so if I screw up it is because I made some dumb mistake.

I'll try with Vista and report back.

. . . .

Well, in the Vista machine Disk 1 shows only one partition, the flash disk; the CD-ROM does not appear.

In the disk manager of administrative tools the CD ROM appears separately as "CD ROM 1" while the flash drive appears as "Disk 1" so it seems they appear separately even at the lowest level of the OS. Windows genuinely believes it has a separate CD-ROM plugged in. Any other ideas on what I might try?

If it is not possible to reformat at low level and use that space used by the "CD-ROM", at least I would like to nuke the virtual CDROM so it does not even appear in Windows Explorer.
 
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Well, in the Device Manager I disabled the virtual CD-ROM drive and now it does not show up in Windows Explorer. Of course, this solution would have to be repeated in every other machine where I use it but it is better than nothing. I would still like to find a better solution, recovering the space if possible.

The device is pretty neat. It has 2 GB and is very, very thin. So much that it does not have the usual USB metal part around the connector; it only has the flat part with the four USB contacts.
 
So much that it does not have the usual USB metal part around the connector; it only has the flat part with the four USB contacts.
Click to expand...
Kinda like this?

I've looked at 'um before but was afraid I'd lose it! :D

If you don't find a better solution, they're about 10 bucks.
 
Did you actually clean the stick with that command as instructed? Just curious... if not, give that a go and see what happens.
 
Old Hippie, yes, it is like that. I do realize that these things are very cheap these days and not worth spending a lot of time over them but I take it as an opportunity to tinker and learn.

For some time now I have had the idea of securing a USB pendrive to the desk, hidden somewhere and plugged into the computer and keep passwords, encryption keys, etc. in it. That way, if the computer is stolen, the passwords and encryption keys do not go with it and the important information would not be accessible to the thieves. Maybe I can use this particular USB device for that.

Bahamut, yes, I did try reformating but the "CD-ROM" stays where it is and is not affected. Only the flash memory part was partitioned and formatted.

I am wondering if there may be an actual ROM chip separate from the flash memory and if it could be disabled by destroying it. Of course, there is a very probable risk of damaging the entire device.
 
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