customize autorun for u3 flashdrive?

[jackacohen]

I want to skip launchpad and just have the drive open a readme.txt file when it's inserted.

Is there a simple way to do this?

TIA

[Eye for Video]

Well since Flash drive and Adobe Flash are two completely different things, I’m not sure this is the best place to be asking this question… but since you’re here, I’ll offer my two cents worth, which come with a complete, 100%, no money back guarantee!
First, your USB drive is just a data storage device, like any hard drive. You might be able to re-format or re-Flash it to get rid of the built in software. Not sure if it will work for you, but that’s what I did when I bought a new external 500 GB hard drive. It came packaged with pre-installed software that I just did not want or use. Once it was reformatted, I can access it just like any other hard drive on my system without using that darn preinstalled software.
As for having a autorun program…. Not sure this will work but you might try something like an Autorun.inf file. Here’s a link to explain in more detail:
http://autorun.moonvalley.com/autoruninf.htm
This is the type of file I use on CDs when I want to autorun some program or content. I’m not really sure it will work on a Flash drive but you might want to give it a try.
Best wishes,
EfV

[jackacohen]

I assumed that questions about flashdrives belonged here since they are alternate media.

As for the reply, the "U3" flash has a partitiion, the first part of which causes Windows to see it as a CD! So windows looks for the autorun.inf file when it discovers the hardware. The problem is that that file is not user-modifiable via standard procedures.

My question, apparently in the wrong place (can someone tell me where I should have posted it?) was whether someone knew a hack/fix for accessing the autorun.inf file on a U3 flashdrive. The ones I've found via a Google search either haven't worked or have no instructions on how to use them.

[Eye for Video]

Yeah sorry I couldn't be of more help. The folks over at the "Computer Issues" section of this Forum may have more answers. While you wait for a response you might want to check out these links:
auto run u3 applications, scroll down to about middle of questions list:
http://www.u3.com/support/faq.aspx#U3%20Launchpad5
reformat part of U3 drive
http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/windows-xp-support/368578-solved-u3-flash-drive-usb-error.html
To remove U3 software:
http://windowssecrets.com/support-alert/2007/09/13/21-How-to-convert-a-U3-flash-drive-to-a-normal-drive
Best wishes,
EfV

[jackacohen]

I thought I'd close this thread with notice of an interesting (to me) discovery I made accidentaly

Using a NON-U3 SanDisk Cruzer (2Gb, MicroSkin) I installed an autorun.inf file and my WIndows XP SP2 system reads the file when I plug the flash drive into my USB port, opening the 'what do you want to do with these new files?' window, with my autorun-prescribed program at the top of the list and highlighted so that a single click causes it to run!

So I'llsettle for that as a solution.