[OPLINTECH] Possible Solution to USB KEY Drive Issues

[JKENZIG]

Our local Web Guru Greg Weller just came across some great information
that I wanted to go ahead and pass along to the group about USB Drive
issues on locked down machines. As most of you know not all USB Stick,
keys, fob, or whatever you want to call them work on public computers.
That is because a lot of them use a proprietary driver.  Greg has
discovered that holding the shift key down when inserting the device
bypasses the request for driver installation and recognizes the key as a
basic drive. 
Here is the text from Greg:
There is a distinct class of USB drives that are labeled as a 'U3'
device, or a SmartDrive. A lot of the Sandisk Cruzers are this type of
device. Some other big ones are: Kingston U3 DataTraveler, Verbatim
Store 'n' Go U3 Smart Drive, Intuix Smart Drive, Memorex Mini
TravelDrive, and GeekSquad Flash Drives. The U3 home page is here: 
http://www.u3.com/default.aspx 
And there's a more comprehensive list of drives and what they look like
here: 
http://www.u3.com/smartdrives/default.aspx 
The U3 device has a launcher application that starts when you plug it in
and while they say that it doesn't affect the operating system it does
in the sense that it needs to load some drivers in and then wants you to
reboot the PC in order for it to work. Obviously, this is not going to
work on a Dell in the branch. Here's the fix: Hold down the Shift key
while you are plugging in the device, and keep the shift key held down
for around 30 seconds. This disables the launch pad and it now looks
like a plain old USB drive instead of a SmartDrive. The only other
apparent solution to this is to wipe the drive completely to remove the
software, which is not something that I would ever tell a patron to do.
This 'fix' is from the USB page, and does not harm the drive. I tested
it out on our Dell behind the help desk, and on a couple of machines
down at PAS and devices that I've never gotten to work on a Dell, worked
fine. As far as it goes, it might just be a good idea to tell people to
hold down the Shift key no matter what kind of USB drive they're
plugging in. 

Thanks for the info Greg!
Regards,
Jim Kenzig 
Network Manager 
Cuyahoga County Public Library
Microsoft MVP - Terminal Services
<https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=23AEC72D-4582-47DE-8516-85D40
0AD929A> 
Citrix Technology Professional
<http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/feature.asp?contentID=38494>

Provision Networks VIP
<http://www.provisionnetworks.com/vips/members.aspx> 
jkenzig at cuyahogalibrary.org
216-749-9389 


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