USB Flash Drive not working on Macintosh

Follow these steps if your USB FLASH/Pen DRIVE DOES NOT GET RECOGNIZED OR DOES NOT MOUNT ON THE MAC

SCENARIO 1:
If the LIGHT on the drive BLINKS AND GOES OFF or STAYS OFF AND and shows the same signs on MULTIPLE COMPUTERS then the maximum chances are that the Drive is faulty and needs to replaced (if under warranty) or time to get a new one !!

SCENARIO 2:
If the drive is being used for the first time, Verify the OS of the computer to ensure that the Drive is compatible. Also if the drive device plugged into a USB hub or into your keyboard, plug it directly into one of the USB ports on the computer. If it works there, the issue is with the device to which it had been previously connected. The device may need more power than the port provides.

SCENARIO 3:
If the drive used to work and now its not working and the light does come on then there is a strong possibility that we can still fix this drive. Follow these steps:

• STEP 1 :Plug the drive in the MAC and wait for any signs of recognition, if you don't get anything jump to step 2.
  

• STEP 2: Check System Profiler to find if the drive is recognized at all or not. (System Profiler is like the Device manager in Windows) Click on Apple and click on About this MAC.

This tells you the version of the MAC as 10.5.2 and the the option for MORE INFO

• STEP 3: If the Version of MAC is supported by the DEVICE click on More Info, Choose USB on the LEFT PANEL and look for the device in the USB DEVICE TREE on the right.

If the device doesn't show up in System Profiler
The issue is more likely to be a hardware issue. Test if the flash drive is not working on other computers and if it does work on other computer it seems to be the USB port not functioning properly.

If the device shows up in System Profiler
Even if the device doesn't work, the issue is usually due to software. Jump to the Next step

• STEP 4 - Checking Disk Utility

Get to the Desktop, Open Hard Disk > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Type /Volumes/ in the path and click on Go
Make sure you keep the V capital.
--You will find the window with the Volumes
--Highlight the name of your device, if it shows Mount on top, click Mount so that it changes to Unmount
--If the Drive now appears on the Desktop if it is still not there then follow the next step
. Click on the Go Menu on the desktop and click on Go To Folder

Look for the flash drive in the Window if it is present there, click on it to make sure you can view your data

If you are able to view your data you are good to go, you can drag and drop the Volume from here to the desktop and it would appear there as well

--If the drive fails to appear in the Volume menu than there Your best solution is to try updating the drivers or create a new user.

Cruzer Profile - How to Add/Delete the finger print

Today I am going to discuss about one of the great Sandisk Drives "Cruzer Profile".
Sandisk has stopped manufacturing this Flash Drive but you can still find it on few online sites like amazon.com or ebay.com.
The unique feature of this Flash Drive is the biometric identification feature of this Flash Drive.
Yeah, that's right. You need to authenticate yourself by swapping your finger on the scanner built right on iy after inserting it in your computer to access the data stored on Flash Drive.

That's enough for an introduction for the Flash Drive. If you want to get more info please search on google to get loads of information.

Now, for the people who own this Flash Drive (like I do), I would explain the steps to add or delete your Fingerprint on this drive,

First of all, I recommend that you connect your Cruzer Profile to your Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or Windows XP computer through an USB port preferably located near the power hub of your computer (usually the rear USB port) or to an external self powered USB hub (with a plug for wall outlet).

To delete a registered/authorize fingerprint from your Cruzer Profile, locate the Cruzer profile icon on your system tray and click it and select the option for “Edit Fingerprint”. Click on that option until you get to the “Fingerprint Enrollment” screen. There, you will see set of finger/fingerprints. Do a single left click on one of the boxes and it will prompt you to “Delete” the fingerprint. Click on “Yes” if that is the fingerprint of your choice that you want to delete.

To add a fingerprint in your Cruzer Profile’s registry, locate the Cruzer profile icon on your system tray and click it and select the option for “Edit Fingerprint”. Click on that option until you get to the “Fingerprint Enrollment” screen. There, you will see set of finger/fingerprints. Do a single left click on one of the empty boxes and it will prompt you to “Swipe” a finger. You must swipe your finger three (3) times for verification. The new registered fingerprint will be on that box and after registering the fingerprint, click on “Finish”.

Now, if you did swipe your finger and still cannot access the Cruzer Profile but instead you see an error message stating "Drive need to be formatted", please refer to the following:

Double left click on the “My Computer” icon and locate the “Local Disk” with the Cruzer Profile icon and run the file named “cruzerprofile.exe”. After running the file, an icon program will launch and it will prompt you to swipe your finger. After you have swiped your finger, the Cruzer Profile icon will now appear in the system tray located at the bottom left corner of your screen.

If the first procedure didn’t work, please press simultaneously the “Alt”, “Ctrl” and “Delete” buttons and it will go to the “Task Manager” window. Please go to the “Process” tab, select the “cruzerprofile.exe” and then choose “End Task”. Double left click on the “My Computer” icon and locate the “Local Disk” with the Cruzer Profile icon and run the file named “cruzerprofile.exe”. After running the file, an icon program will launch and it will prompt you to swipe your finger. After you have swiped your finger, the Cruzer Profile icon will now appear in the system tray located at the bottom left corner of your screen.

That is it for today. Will share some things moving forward.
All the best.
Please do not forget to leave your comments.


USBGURU

Everything about Ready Boost

An Insight into Ready Boost

ReadyBoost is a disk caching technology first included with Windows Vista operating system. It aims to make computers running Windows Vista more responsive by using flash memory on a USB 2.0 drive, SD card, CompactFlash, or other form of flash memory, in order to boost system performance.

Using ReadyBoost-capable flash memory devices for caching allows Windows Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 80-100 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives. This caching is applied to all disk content, not just the page file or system DLLs. Flash devices are typically slower than the hard drive for sequential I/O. To maximize performance, ReadyBoost includes logic to recognize large, sequential read requests and then allows these requests to be serviced by the hard drive. When a compatible device is plugged in, the Windows AutoPlay dialog offers an additional option to use the flash drive to speed up the system; an additional "ReadyBoost" tab is added to the drive's properties dialog where the amount of space to be used can be configured. 250 MB to 4 GB of flash memory can be assigned. ReadyBoost encrypts, with AES-128, and compresses all data that is placed on the flash device; Microsoft has stated that a 2:1 compression ratio is typical, so that a 4 GB cache could contain upwards of 8 GB of data.

For a device to be Ready Boost compatible and it must conform to the following requirements:
• The capacity of the removable media must be at least 256 MB.

• Devices larger than 4 GB will have only 4 GB used for ReadyBoost.
• The device must be capable of 2.5 MB/s read speeds for 4 KB random reads spread uniformly cross the entire device and 1.75 MB/s write speeds for 512 KB random writes spread uniformly across the device.
• The device must have at least 235 MB of free space.
• NTFS, FAT16 and FAT32 file systems are supported
• ReadyBoost supports one device at a time.
• The recommended amount of memory to use for Windows ReadyBoost acceleration is one to three times the amount of random access memory (RAM) installed in your computer.

If the flash drive does not support ReadyBoost, you will see the following message:

The following pop-up window will appear if the inserted flash drive supports ReadyBoost.

Only one device can be used for ReadyBoost at one time.

To enable ReadyBoost for your device, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on your flash drive.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click on the ReadyBoost tab.
4. Click on Use this device.
5. Move the slider to allocate the free space for system speed. You can reserve up to 4GB.
6. Click OK.

Superfetch
ReadyBoost is also used to facilitate SuperFetch, an updated version of Windows XP's prefetcher which performs analysis of boot-time disk usage patterns and creates a cache which is used in subsequent system boots.
SuperFetch is a technology that pre-loads commonly used applications into the memory to reduce their load times. It's based on the prefetcher[1] function in Windows XP. The intent is to improve performance in situations where running an antivirus scan or back-up utility would result in otherwise recently-used information being paged out to disk, or disposed from in-memory caches, resulting in lengthy delays when a user comes back to their computer after
a period of non-use.
SuperFetch also keeps track of what times of day that applications are used, which allows it to intelligently pre-load information that is expected to be used in the near future.
While the necessary files by default are loaded into main memory, Windows Vista has the ability to instead use alternate storage methods, such as USB flash drives, which, though not as fast as RAM, often can be significantly faster than a hard disk drive, specifically for non-sequential
I/O as there is virtually no random seek delay; thereby freeing up main memory.
Prefetcher is a component of Windows XP. It is a component of the Memory Manager (a part of a computer program which accepts requests from the program to allocate and deallocate chunks of memory) that speeds up the Windows boot process, and shortens the amount of time it takes to start up programs.

So, that should help in understanding the concept of Ready Boost.

More to come...

USBGURU

How to Videos for Flash Drives

Here are links to few online videos that will tell you how to use your Flash Drives. (These videos are hosted on sandisk.com)

• Adding files to your flash drive
• Deleting files in your flash drive
• Enabling ReadyBoost in Windows Vista
• Disabling ReadyBoost in your Cruzer

USBGURU

How To Videos for U3

U3 is a portable application that can be used directly from your Flash Drive without installing anything. Just plug in your Flash Drive, Launch your Application and use it.
There are many software (both paid and free) that can be used with U3. To see the list of all supported softwares for U3 please go to www.u3.com Many Flash Drive manufacturers are providing U3 software pre-installed on Flash Drive. E.g- Cruzer Micro Flash Drive from Sandisk)

Below, you will find links to the online videos for U3. (Videos are hosted on Sandisk.com)

• U3 flashdrive features
• Accessing the "Removable Disk" section of U3
• Launching U3 (if U3 didn't launch automatically)
• Disable U3 Launchpad from launching when the flashdrive is inserted
• Uninstalling the U3 Launchpad from the flashdrive
• Reinstalling the U3 Launchpad to the flashdrive
• Searching for U3 Launchpad updates
• Updating the U3 Launchpad in the flashdrive
• Installing/ Adding U3 programs to your flashdrive
• Uninstalling/ Removing U3 programs from the flashdrive
• Safely ejecting a U3 flashdrive
• Enabling security features in your U3 flashdrive

USBGURU

How to Back Up your Favorites from Internet Explorer to your Flash Drive

To back your Favorites from Internet Explorer to your External Memory device (Flash Drives, Memory Cards,etc. ) follow these steps on the computer that you're exporting your favorites from.
1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.
2. Click the Add to Favorites button , and then click Import and Export.
3. In the Import/Export Wizard, click Next.
4. Select Export Favorites, and then click Next.
5. Select the favorites folder that you want to export. If you want all of your favorites, select the top level (Favorites) folder, otherwise, select the individual folder. Click Next.
6. By default, Internet Explorer creates a file called Bookmark.htm in your Documents folder. If you want to use a name other than Bookmark.htm or to store the exported favorites in a folder other than Documents, specify the new file and folder name.
7. Click Next. If you already have a file by the same name, Internet Explorer will ask you to replace it. Click Yes if you want replace the file or click No and type in a new file name.
8. Click Finish.

9.Now transfer the file to the external memory device by copying and pasting it. 

 Now, if you want to get your favorites back or save it on a different computer please follow these steps on the computer that you want to import your favorites onto after copying the file to that particular computer.

1.Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.
2.Click the Add to Favorites button , and then click Import and Export.
3.In the Import/Export Wizard, click Next.
4.Select Import Favorites, and then click Next.
5.By default, Internet Explorer imports from a file called Bookmark.htm in your Documents folder, but you can tell it to import favorites that are saved under another name. Click Browse and select a file, or type a location and file name to import, or click Next to accept the default.
6.Select the folder where you want place the imported bookmarks, and then click Next.
7.Click Finish.

USBGURU

How to add or delete the fingerprint from Cruzer Profile

Cruzer Profile is one of the best Flash Drives manufactured by Sandisk.
The best feature of this Flash Drive is the Finger print verification program.
In order to access the data stored on the Flash Drive you need to swipe your finger on the fingerprint scanner built right on the Flash Drive.

Here I will be explaining how you can delete a registered fingerprint from your Cruzer Profile.

To do this,locate the Cruzer profile icon on your system tray and click it and select the option for “Edit Fingerprint”. Click on that option until you get to the “Fingerprint Enrollment” screen. There, you will see set of finger/fingerprints. Do a single left click on one of the boxes and it will prompt you to “Delete” the fingerprint. Click on “Yes” if that is the fingerprint of your choice that you want to delete.

To add a fingerprint in your Cruzer Profile’s registry, locate the Cruzer profile icon on your system tray and click it and select the option for “Edit Fingerprint”. Click on that option until you get to the “Fingerprint Enrollment” screen. There, you will see set of finger/fingerprints. Do a single left click on one of the empty boxes and it will prompt you to “Swipe” a finger. You must swipe your finger three (3) times for verification. The new registered fingerprint will be on that box and after registering the fingerprint, click on “Finish”.

If you did swipe your finger and still cannot access the Cruzer Profile but instead you see an error message stating” drive need to be formatted”, please refer to the following:

Double left click on the “My Computer” icon and locate the “Local Disk” with the Cruzer Profile icon and run the file named “cruzerprofile.exe”. After running the file, an icon program will launch and it will prompt you to swipe your finger. After you have swiped your finger, the Cruzer Profile icon will now appear in the system tray located at the bottom left corner of your screen.

If the first procedure didn’t work, please press simultaneously the “Alt”, “Ctrl” and “Delete” buttons and it will go to the “Task Manager” window. Please go to the “Process” tab, select the “cruzerprofile.exe” and then choose “End Task”. Double left click on the “My Computer” icon and locate the “Local Disk” with the Cruzer Profile icon and run the file named “cruzerprofile.exe”. After running the file, an icon program will launch and it will prompt you to swipe your finger. After you have swiped your finger, the Cruzer Profile icon will now appear in the system tray located at the bottom left corner of your screen.

I hope this will help in case you need it.
Please leave your comments about this article.



USBGURU

Flash Drive or Memory Card not Detected by Vista or Asking for Drivers on your Vista Computer

If you get a "driver cannot be found" message when you plug in your USB flash drive to a Windows Vista computer or it's not able to recognize your Flash Drive/Memory Card then try these fixes to resolve this problems.

Ideally, any of the Flash Drives today do not need any drivers to be installed on Windows Vista computer. You can simply plug in the Flash Drive and start using it.

In case, you get a message saying that "driver cannot be found" when inserting your Flash Drive there's some problem in Vista which can be fixed using the below mentioned solutions.

SOLUTION 1 :-

Update Windows Vista to Service Pack 1 which includes the update to fix this problem.

If updating vista does not resolve the issue try the solution provided below:

SOLUTION 2 (Manually Locate the Driver):-

We need to manually locate the driver within the Vista operating system.

Microsoft Windows Vista may not find any driver for the device that is plugged in the USB port because the usbstor.inf (for MSC device) or wpdmtp.inf (for MTP enabled devices) is not present inside the C:\Windows\INF folder.

To resolve this issue, you must copy the driver files to the C:\Windows\INF folder.

Browse to the following folder:

1. C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository.
2. Look for the folder that starts with usbstor.inf_.
3. Copy all the files inside this folder to C:\Windows\INF.
4. Disconnect and reconnect the device.



If the problem still persists, try this Solution:

SOLUTION 3 (Advanced Troubleshooting Step):-
Clear hidden devices and make changes to the Registry

WARNING: The following steps are for advanced users only, please make a backup of your registry before proceeding.

In order to make a back up follow these steps: 

1. Click Start
2. Type regedit on the start search field, then press Enter.
3. Click File then select Export.
4. Under Export Range select All.
5. Type in the desired name to be saved.

Let's start with troublshooting now.

First we will remove Hidden Devices. These are the devices which are not connected to computer anymore but driver still exists in the registry. To clear these devices entries follow these steps:

1. Click Start.

2. Type cmd on the start search field , then press Enter.

3. Type set DEVMGR_SHOW_DETAILS=1 and press Enter.

4. Type set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1 and press Enter.

5. Type start devmgmt.msc and press Enter.

6. Device Manager window will appear

7. Click View, then select Show hidden devices.

8. Click + to expand Imaging devices, Unknown devices, and USB devices.

9. Verify if there are any devices and unknown devices (including grayed out devices). Uninstall.

Now we need to remove all oem*.inf files

1. Click Start.

2. Type cmd on the start search field and press Enter.

3. In the command line, type in the following commands and press Enter after each command:

cd \windows\inf
ren infcache.1 *.old
ren oem*.inf *.old
del C:\windows\setupapi.log
exit

Next we need to remove entries under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB

WARNING: If you have a USB keyboard or mouse, do not remove the VID entry for these devices, otherwise, Windows may not restart correctly.

1. Click Start

2. Type regedit on the start search field, then press Enter.

3. Click on the "+" symbol beside HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

4. Navigate to \System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB.

5. Highlight and delete all the VID_xxxx entries.

6. Turn off the PC by shutting down

7. With the PC turned off, plug the USB flash drive to a USB port.

8. Turn on the PC.

9. A New Hardware Detected balloon will appear and the USB drivers will load automatically.

WARNING: If you have a USB keyboard or mouse, do not remove the VID entry for these devices, otherwise, Windows may not restart correctly.

Note:Permissions may be set allowing the deletion of the VID_ entries by following the steps below:
a. Right-click the key to be deleted, then click Permissions.
b. Under Group or User name, highlight Everyone.
c. Under Permissions, select Full Control.
d. Click Apply, then click OK.
 

USBGURU

SD / SDHC Memory Cards -Speed Classes Available

Today I am going to discuss about 3 classes that are available in all SD/SDHC Memory Cards. All major manufacturer's provide this information on their package (that is the class supported by SD cards or the host device like MP3 player or camera).

Three classes available in SD/SDHC Memory Cards are:

• Class 2
• Class 4
• Class 6

The only difference between these classes is the minimum data transfer speed. 

Class 2 cards guarantees a  minimum data transfer speed of 2 MB/sec.

Class 4 cards guarantees a  minimum data transfer speed of 4 MB/sec.

Class 6 cards guarantees a  minimum data transfer speed of 6 MB/sec.

All host device manufacturers, develope their product to meet one of these 3 standard classes on the basis of their requirements.

This is the only difference between these classes.

If you have any further questions kindly leave your comments.

Thank you..

Link to download CruzerSync software for U3 enabled Cruzer Smart Drives

Hello everyone. Here's the link to download CruzerSync software and install it on your Cruzer Smart Drive. This will help in case you want to re-install CruzerSync software. Please remember that this version is for U3 enabled drives like Sandisk Cruzer Micro.

http://www.dmailer.org/download/CruzerSync.u3p.zip

Note: This is a zip file which you can download and save on your Desktop.

Steps to setup CruzerSync to receive your E-Mails directly into your Cruzer Smart Drive

That's a really cool feature of CruzerSync software that comes preinstalled in Sandisk Cruzer Flash Drives. Here are the steps you need to follow to setup your E-Mail account in CruzerSync in order to receive you emails in your Cruzer Smart Drive.

In my previous articles I have already explained about setting up CruzerSync for the initial use and then how to view files you synchronized in CruzerSync. Now, in order to setup email account please launch your CruzerSync software and then follow these steps:

• Click on the Options menu and click Incoming Mail Settings
• Click on Add button
• Add your Incoming Mail Server address. E.g- pop.myisp.com
• Enter your user name (Just username, do not add the domain name)
• Enter the password
• Click on the O.K. button and then click Receive Mail

That's It. You're done !!!

Also, for your information, you can add multiple E-Mail accounts in CruzerSync. To setup other acccounts just follow the same steps.

Complete guide to CruzerLock.

Today, I am going to tell you about Cruzer Lock. It's a software developed by a company known as Encryptx. Sandisk Cruzer Flash Drives comes pre-installed with this software. Using this software, you can encrypt your personal files with AES encryption. Encypting your data will help you to safeguard it from anyone else.

Note -- Please remember that if you forget the password and cannot guess it even with the hint question you setup initially then you will no longer be able to access your data and in order to use your drive again you would have to reset it which will wipe out the data and would not be recoverable even.

There are two versions of the Cruzer Lock program, Cruzer Lock Free version and Cruzer Lock Basic version. You get the free version on Sandisk Flash Drives and if want to use the Basic version you will need to purchase the upgrade from Encryptx. I will tell you how to do that. The difference between the versions are with Free you can only Encrypt the data on you Flash Drive and with the Basic version you can even encrypt the data stored on your Flash Drive.

In this tutorial, I am going to tell you the following things:

• How to setup Cruzer Lock software for the initial use?


• How to encrypt and decrypt your files?


• How to view your encrypted files?


• How to upgrade the Free version to Basic Version?

Note: I am assuming that you are on Windows XP, 98, Me, or 2000. Also, for you information, the current version of Cruzer Lock (2.1) is not compatible with Windows Vista.

So, let's go ahead and see how to setup the Cruzer Lock when using it for the first time:

• Please insert your Flash Drive in the computer and if you get an Autorun Window then click on "Open folder to View Files". If you do not get Autorun window, you can go to "My Computer" and double click on "Removable Disc" icon.


• You will now be able to see the list of files stored on the Flash Drive.

• Now you can Double Click on "CruzerLock2.exe" to launch Cruzer Lock.
  

• You should get the License Agreement window at this point.You can go through it and click "I Accept" if you agree to it and click continue.

• Now, you should see the window shown below.Select all the files and folders that  you want to archive (check the screen shots below)
  

After selecting the files you want to put in encrypted archive you need to drag and drop in the bottom pane of this window and click on "secure only" button.

Now you will get a new window to enter the user name and password. This is the screen where you will set your password to access the encrypted content. I would suggest to seta hint question as well that can remind you of the password if you forget it. Because in case you loose your password and cannot remind it again then your data will be inaccessible to you even. 

After entering the required info, please click on Save.

Now, the encryption process should start and you should see activity log screen in front which will also give you the list of all files that were encrypted.

After this process is complete, you need to click OK on activity log window which should take you to the main screen of Cruzer Lock.

By clicking on "Encrypt" button you can add and encrypt more files.

Clicking on "Decrypt" will help you Decrypt the encrypted files. Following window will appear when you click on Decrypt.

Here, you can select any or all of the files that you want to decrypt and click on Save As button at the bottom. (Note: "Save as" will be greyed out if you have not selected any file)

Clicking on "Save as" will show you the window to select the location where you want to save your files after decrypting it.After selecting the desired location (e.g. Desktop) , please click on the Save button to decrypt and save the files.

This will show you another log window showing the status on Decryption process. Click OK after the process is complete and check your files on the location you selected previously. (Note: If OK button is not activated that means the decryption is still is progress and you need to wait)

Clicking on the Contents button in the main window will show you the files saved in the archive.

To view any of the files, just highlight the file and click "Open". (Note:You need to have a compatible software installed in the computer to open the files.E.g- Word files require Microsoft Word to be installed)

Clicking on Open will show you another window where you need to check the second option to Launch the Application required to open a particular file.

Click on the OK button the file will open in the relevant application.E.g-Check the screen shot below where an image is  displayed  that was saved in the encrypted archive.

Click on the  Close button to close the Content window.

Clicking on the  "Upgrade Option" in the Actions menu will help you to upgrade your CruzerLock software from Free to Basic version. You need to pay the price for this upgrade to EncryptX as Basic version is not Free to use. But, as  I mentioned earlier, this is very useful since Basic version will also enable you to Encrypt your files saved on your computer as well.

A new browser window will launch and Registration window will open where you need to Enter the key you received from EncryptX after purchasing  the software.

After the software is successfully upgraded, the  Share button will be activated. This will help you to share the encrypted archive with local or network drives and also give you the option to save the archive on your Hard Drive.

That's it guys, quite a big article but may help you in case you need it. All the Best. Please do not forget to leave your comments.

USBGURU

Thank You.

Guide to Automatically Launch any Program when a Flash Drive is inserted.

Here's the step-by-step guide to setup your Flash Drive to automatically launch a program of your choice when inserted in a computer:

This method will only work on Windows Computers but may not work on few if you have any third party software installed to that blocks any Autorun software. Also, it will not not work if you have disabled the Autorun feature of  Windows.

So without further a do, here are the steps:

• Open your Windows Notepad by going to Start -> Run and type "Notepad" (Without Quotes).

• Type the text given below (or you can Copy and Paste it as well)

[AutoRun]

shellexecute=program.exe

• You need to replace "program.exe" with the filename that you want to execute along with the file extension.For example- USBGURU.pdf. Everything else should remain the same. You can also launch a webpage by replacing the program name with the address of the website. For Example- http://usbguru.blogspot.com ... This will launch this website in a default web browser.
• Now save this file as "Autorun.inf" (Without Quotes) on the desktop.
• Transfer this file to the root directory of your Flash Drive.
• Also transfer the program that you wish to launch to the Root directory. Make sure that the Filename should match the filename you specified in AutoRun file above. 

That's the only thing you need to do. 

Now if something kewl is coming to your mind like putting some Cracking or Hacking Program to launch automatically when Flash Drive is inserted then think before you do anything that things might fall back on you. Use this method ethically.

Kindly leave your comments.

View and edit the data stored using Cruzer Sync on your Flash Drive

As promised in the last article, here are the steps to view and use your Personal Data (including your Outlook Mails) that you synchronized. In case, you are using Cruzer Sync for the first please go through my article to set up cruzer sync and synchronize your data for the first time.

This article assumes that you have synchronized your data already.

The most amazing feature of this software is that you can easily view your personal files and outlook mails on any computer, even if that computer does not have outlook installed on it.

First of all, plug your cruzer Flash Drive in computer and launch cruzer sync by clicking on the U3 icon in the system tray and then clicking on Cruzer Sync icon.

Here it will ask for your password that you set while configuring cruzer sync for the initial use.Enter the password and click on OK to open the main interface.

This is how this interface looks like. (Please remember that this screen will only open after you have synchronized your data and want to view it)

As you can see in the screenshots above, you can view and work on your files amd mails directly off your cruzer drive on any computer. So, you will have easy access to all your information in your Flash Drive. Also, remember that the data stored in Cruzer Flash Drive using the cruzer sync software is Password protected and is encrypted with 128 bit encryption. But please remember, if you forget your password and even hint is not able to remind you of the password you would have no option but to reset the Flash Drive in order to use it again. This reset will remove the data from the flash drive which cannot be recovered even. 

Also, any changes that you make in your personal files inside cruzer sync will be saved directly on your flash drive. So there will be no traces left on the computer that you use.

When you come back and insert your Cruzer Flash Drive and launch cruzer sync it will automatically detect the files that need to be synchronized again. You just need to click on the Synchronize button on the main window of cruzer sync. This will apply all the changes that you made in your files and outlook data to your main computer.

Just for your information, currently cruzer sync only supports Outlook 2000, 2002, and 2003. It will not work if you have Outlook Express or Outlook 2007.  Also, it works only Microsoft 2000 and Microsoft XP (both home and professional). Currently it does not work on Linux, Unix and Macintosh operating systems. May be D-Mailer will come up with a version that supports these operating systems as well in future.

If you have any questions, kindly leave a comment.

Guide to setup CruzerSync and synchronize your data.

Many of the Sandisk Drives comes with CruzerSync software pre-installed. CruzerSync is an application developed by a company known as Dmailer. So, If you dont own a Sandisk Drive you can still buy it directly from Dmailer. But you get it free with Sandisk Cruzer Flash Drive.

Let me introduce this wonderful application to everyone who do not know about this. This is a portable application to securely access, edit and backup/restore all your files and outlook mails on any PC. That means you can sit on any computer and make it your own with all your personal files and data readily available.


How to Launch CruzerSync:
(Note: As mentioned above, this article is written particularly with Sandisk Flash Drives in mind on which it comes pre-installed).

1. So let's go and plug your Flash Drive into your computer.
   
2. Now wait till the U3 icon appears in the System Tray (U3 is set of Portable application that comes pre-installed in Sandisk Cruzer Flash Drives)
3. Click on the U3 icon when it appears in System Tray and a U3 menu will pop up.
4. Click on the CruzerSync icon available in this Menu to launch Cruzer Sync.

Now, let's go ahead and synchronize the data stored on your computer with Cruzer Flash Drive using Cruzer Sync.

The first screen will give you the option to set your language preference. You can select English, French,German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, or Chinese.

The next screen will give you the option to Password Protect your Flash Drive. Make sure that you remember this password. If you forget it, you will have to reset the drive to make it usable again.This will delete all data stored on the Flash Drive. It cannot be recovered even since the data is encrypted. For your own comfort, you can keep a hint on the same screen that can remind you of the password in case you forget it. Needless to say, hint should not enable others to guess your password.

Moving on to the next screen, you will get a chance to select your files and outlook data that you want to synchronize between your computer and the Cruzer Flash Drive.

After selecting the files and the outlook data that you want to synchronize please click on next to start the synchronization process.

After this process is complete, a new message will appear on the screen asking you if you would like to launch Cruzer sync to view your files. Here, you can click on OK to view the synchronized data.

This article explained the process of setting up Cruzer Sync for the first use. In my next article, I will explain the process of viewing your synchronized data and synchronize it again with your computer.

How many pictures can be stored on my memory card?

Here I am going to give you an estimated idea for number of Pictures that can be stored on a memory card with particular capacity--

If pictures are uncompressed, that is, in RAW format (Highest Quality Images):

Above, left hand side shows different card capacities and top row shows the Megapixel Value of the camera. The higher the megapixel is, the larger the image will be.


Now, if the images are compressed, it will take less space with a very little compromise on image quality which is not easily visible to human eyes. But hey, if you have the right eye, you surely can. So, these compressed images with a minimal loss in quality will take the below mentioned space:

Please remember, actual results will depend on the camera model, resolution, and compression.
Kindly get in touch with your camera manufacturer to get the accurate values.

Introduction to Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Cards

SDHC (Secure Digital High-Capacity) are new Flash memory cards based on the SDA (Secure Digital Association) 2.00 specification. SDHC provides removable memory storage for compatible digital devices, including cameras, camcorders, PDAs, MP3 players and more.SDHC cards guarantee a minimum sustained data transfer speed, not a maximum speed. There are three available speeds — Class 2, Class 4 and Class 6.There is difference of Data Transfer Rate (DTR) between these classes.

Class 2 devices guaranty a minimum DTR of  2 MB/sec
Class 4 devices guaranty a minimum DTR of  4 MB/sec
Class 6 devices guaranty a minimum DTR of  6 MB/sec

The device class is specified on the device itself.

The previous versions of SDA specifications did not provide such common standards for sustained data transfer speeds to be shared by all manufacturers. The new speed classification allows users to select card performance based on the needs of particular applications, such as HD video, and other MPEG applications, rather than just a maximum speed rating.

SDHC Cards comes in different capacities ranging from 4 GB-32 GB. Please see the highest capacity supported by your device. SDHC logo on your device does not neccesarily means that your device will support all the capacities that are provided under SDHC cards. There is probabilty that your camera may support only 4 GB of capacity which is also SDHC. Please contact your device manufacturer or refer to your manual for further clarifications.
SDHC cards has the same physical size as SD cards but with higher capacities which cannot be used with SD host devices that do not comply with SDA Specifications Version 2.00.It makes sense,since the same size card with increased capacity would have a different circuit design all together. Also, there is a Sandisk Card Reader that can start supporting SDHC cards after a small firmware upgrade. But only few device versions of that particular model can be upgraded to support SDHC Cards.Host devices complying with SDA Version 2.00 can use both SD Memory Cards and the new SDHC Memory Cards.
Current SD cards complying with Version 1.01 and Version 1.10 use either the FAT16 file system, whereas Version 2.00 uses FAT32. This latest specification was established to support SDHC card applications with higher capacity needs.Remember, only if the approved SDHC logo appears on the card or package, the product is compliant with SDA 2.00 specifications.

I hope you enjoyed it.
Please feel free to leave your comments.

Thanks

http://usbguru.blogspot.com

Flash Drive Not Detected? Here's the Solution.....

There can be several reasons for Flash Drives not being detected by your computer.
First your computer is not able to provide drivers for your Flash Drive. Now, for your information, you do not need to install any drivers from outside if you are using Windows 2000 SP4,Windows XP or Windows Vista as they come with native support for these devices.
If you are thinking that you are already using one of these versions of windows still your computer is not able to mount your Flash Drive. Don't worry,that's why I am writing this article. Just read on...
If your are not on one of these Windows version then your problem can be easily resolved by just installing the drivers which you get on a disc that comes with your Flash Drive. If you did not receive any disc,try checking out the manufacturer's website and it should be there for sure. If still no luck,then try contacting me....


Remember, everything is explained here assuming that you are on Windows XP but need not worry as other Windows like Vista should work the same way.

Let's come back to the topic..


There are several possible reasons for Flash Drives not mounting on your computer. Mentioned below are few of them:


Drive Letter Conflict

Flash Drive not formatted properly

Windows require some patch or update
Problem with the USB port
Physical connection problem

So, let's start with the first one, that is, drive letter conflict.
Now, this can be the problem when you are trying to use your Flash Drive in a network environment. The best possible solution to this problem is to change the drive letter assigned to Flash Drive. This can be done by going to Disk Management and right clicking on Removable Drive and then clicking on Change Drive Letter. You can select any drive letter which is not assigned by windows to any drive or partition in any computer inside a network. Also, before changing the drive letter it's recommended to check if your Flash Drive is showing in Device Manager under Disk Drives. If it's not there that problem can be something else.
If changing Drive Letters does not help and drive is showing in Device Manager then probably you should try disconnecting that computer from the network by taking out the network cable or if you are inside a corporate environment then try contacting you IT deptt to know the drive letter not being used anywhere.

Let's talk about the second scenario. If the drive is not formatted properly that means that it's mounting up and being detected by the computer as well. It's just would be giving a message to Format the Drive when trying to access it. This can happen if the File System has corrupted on Flash Drive or its not formatted in the supported format. For example, if you are trying to use a Flash Drive formatted in Ext2 file system in Windows Computer. The only solution to this problem is to format the drive in the supported format. For windows you should always format the drive in Fat or Fat32 and in Macintosh you should use MSDOS as this will also be supported by Windows computer. Please note formatting the Drive will ERASE all data. So, if you have any important data kindly try using a different computer to see if drive works or contact a Data Recovery company. If you want some reference kindly leave a comment.
Also, if you are not able to format the Flash Drive, please try using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. It's made by HP but works on generally all Flash Drives.

Now let's talk about problems that can happen because of any updates or patches. No matter if you have the latest service pack for your Vista or XP computer. Still, there are few updates or rather say patches which need to be installed if you face any such problem.

Vista Patch
As per this article, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941600, if you are facing any of these issues you should download the patch immediately.
The issues are--
" When the computer resumes from a suspend state or from a hibernation state, the computer stops responding. Additionally, you receive a "0x9F" stop message on a blue screen.
" The computer takes a long time to resume from a suspend state or from a hibernation state.
" The computer takes a long time to resume from a suspend state or from a hibernation state when you use a VIA controller.
" The computer stops responding when you use an Authentic USB fingerprint reader. Additionally, you receive a "0xFE" Stop error on a blue screen or a "0x9F" Stop error on a blue screen.
" The computer stops responding when you use a USB Bluetooth audio device.
" The computer takes a long time to resume from a suspend state or from a hibernation state when you use an Enhanced Host Controller Interface (EHCI) controller.
" The computer stops responding when you remove a USB device. Additionally, you receive a "0xFE" Stop error on a blue screen.
" When a computer resumes from a suspend state or from a hibernation state multiple times, you receive a "0xFE" Stop error on a blue screen.

So go and install this even if you are facing a different problem related to but not similar to this.

Here's another fix if you are on XP SP1 --- http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/5/d/d5dc65b3-fda4-454f-813d-ae4ca2638c87/WindowsXP-KB822603-x86-ENU.exe
If you are using SiS USB controllers (for more info refer to your computer manual) then installing this patch may fix your problem -- http://www.usbman.com/WebDrivers/sis-usbdetect.exe

Another possible problem, that is, problem with USB port should happen rarely but the possibility is still there. The best to identify is to attach any other USB device on the same port and check if that device works or not. For Example, USB Printer. Also of you are using a Desktop and inserting the drive in some front USB port then try using some port at the back.

And Last but not the Least, improper physical connection is the general cause for Drives not getting detected. This may happen if USB port or connector on Flash Drive has bent or physically damaged due to which drive is not able to make a contact with pins on USB port. In this case, you should also look the inside area of port or connector and if any damage found please take it to some local technician of Drive manufacturer to get it fix.

So, this was my first article. Any feedback will be appreciated.
Thanks