I am hoping that this article will one day become “the definitive source” on how to remove the U3 Launchpad program from SanDisk Cruzer thumb drives. I have always loved SanDisk products but I am needless to say, less than thrilled with the included U3 software that comes bundled with most SanDisk thumb drives. I was truthfully a little bit surprised that the U3 Launchpad can be such a pain to uninstall so I thought that I would take the time to give you the exact information that you will need to properly remove U3 from your SanDisk product.
To make a long story short…
I had gotten an excellent deal on a SanDisk 16GB Ultra Backup Drive
a while back and am just now getting around to using it. When I inserted the thumb drive into my Windows 7 PC I immediately got an error message stating that the “Launchpad Installer Wizard has stopped working.” I remembered that SanDisk includes the U3 system on their thumb drives and even further remembered that there was a U3 removal utility available. I downloaded the software on my Windows 7 PC, ran it, and got another error message which again stated that the “Launchpad Installer Wizard has stopped working.” So to make a long story short, don’t try to remove or update the U3 software from a PC running Windows 7. It probably won’t work, and if you don’t believe me, SanDisk even has an article stating so.
How To Remove U3
SanDisk has both a Mac and PC version of their U3 removal software along with accompanying directions that show you step by step how to remove the U3 software from your thumb drive. I will offer you a word of caution however; You will be prompted to have all of your files backed up (or not) as part of the U3 removal procedure. Make sure that you check off the option to “restore your data after removing U3″ if you have personal data already stored on your thumb drive. If you do not select this option then all of your data will be lost.
I have confirmed that the PC version of the U3 Removal Tool works on both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Remember that the U3 Removal Tool will probably not work on PC’s running Windows 7. I have also confirmed that the Mac version of the U3 Removal Tool works on OS 10.6.4 which is the most recent version of OS X.
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Written by | Mike Steben
Mike enjoys computers and technology, playing the piano, selling stuff on eBay, playing video games, cooking, and eating at Teddy's Pizza. He started CompuNoodle in 2009 and loves to hear from his readers.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Mr. Steben,
My website is not complete as of yet. My question is why would you need the U3 system in the 1st place. From what I have found out it allows you to store and launch Windows applications directly from the Flash Drive. Is this a correct understanding? I am a Mac user primarily but I develop websites so I keep some old Windows based systems to test with. I test in Windows XP, XP Pro, Vista and 7. I have Mac’s that still run OS 8 & 9 plus OS 10.2. 10.3 10.5 and 10.6. The U3 system is more of an annoyance because I primarily use the flash drive to store back up data. However, I do run my Mac based accounting system (formerly MYOB AccountEdge now Acclivity) from a flash drive. Does the Mac’s require the U3 system to run applications from it? As far as I can tell this is strictly for Windows.
Since my last post I have resolved the issue. Reinstalled Sandisk’s uninstall tool. This time a kind of double install took place, .dmg to Cruzer Utilities for Mac, then this to an orange circle application with cross in it labeled Launchpad Utility for MAC. That did the trick and has not disappeared, though the U3 has. Probably my error in the first place!
Exactly the same outcome as Mike (June 28), but using OSX 10.4.11. Sandisk’s uninstall application for Mac completely gone after clicking on “uninstall”. U3 still there. Tried partitioning. U3 still there. Need help please!
I installed this software on OSX 10.5.8 and it just vanished on its own the first time I ran it… Nowhere to be found! U3 is still on my Sandisk drive, being as stupid as ever every time I plug it in somewhere. Any words of advice?
I just bought 2 of these (2 GB for the wife; 4 gig for me – you know how it is). The PC site gives you three options – one for initial use of the drive. On the 2 GB, the U3 pre-loaded without giving me the option to opt out at set-up. So I went to the option where you choose Settings, Uninstall, Reformat – worked like a champ. Since I haven’t used the drive before, there was no data to back up. The 4 GB did give me the option to not install the U3 but it left the junk on the drive. Installed the U3 then went through the uninstall / reformat routine and it cleared away the Reinstall app. Thanks for having the info available.
Hi Jack, as embarrassing as this is for a computer guy to admit; I actually didn’t read the instructions on SanDisk’s site, went ahead and installed the utility on OS 10.6 anyways and it worked like a charm. Your call, but it did work on my computer.
My iMac has OS 10.6 which SanDisk states is not compatible with the lauchpad removal software. What do I do now? I have only this one computer.
I removed the U3 Launchpad, using the removal tool, and even selected the top option of Yes, to restore my data. Guess what? It didnt work. I lost all my data. Thanks San Disk…last time I purchase your crap.
Thanks, kindly.
The Launchpad Removal Utility for Mac worked great on OSX 10.5.8. Note, however, that on the Sandisk site says:
“WARNING: The Cruzer Utility does NOT support Mac OS 10.6″
This is clear, up-to-date, succinct guidance compared to the gobbledygook (except your post) at http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/243608-32-remove-smart-software-sandisk-flash-drive
Thank’s for sharing this information!
Hi all,
I had a Verbatim USB stick with U3 software on it that wouldn’t work on W2008 R2. I managed to get rid of it by running the avove software as administrator with windows xp sp2 compatability setting. You will first have to uninstall the pen drive ‘hard disk’ leaving only the pen drive ‘CDROM’ drive installed. then run it. you won’t be able to keep any of the data but you get all your pen drive back!
Cool, I intentionally omitted any mention of Windows 7 XP Mode as I hadn’t gotten around to testing it yet! Thanks for the info!
The U3 Removal Tool does seem to work from Windows XP Mode under Windows 7. Be sure to re-attach the drive after it has formatted.
I have yet to witness any instances in person where the read/write speed of a thumb drive is negatively affected after the removal of the U3 system. Running the U3 Removal Tool did in fact delete the extra U3 partition automatically when I ran the Mac version of the utility. It should do the same on Windows.
Can you confirm or deny that if you remove the U3 software if it reduces the write speed of the drive also when you uninstall the U3 software how do you recover the space that the U3 partition used.