I have two sticks I use, a 1GB and a 2GB. The 1GB was always just a stick. The 2GB one is a Memorex TravelDrive U3 that I used the removal tool on to remove the U3 system (good riddance!). With the 1GB I never have the following problem, ever. With the former U3 drive (2GB) intermittently when plugging it into a Vista machine Vista complains that the drive must be formatted to be used. However, it works fine. It just does not use the autorun.inf. Sometimes it works fine. I even backed up my drive once and let Vista format it, made no difference. Any idea why Vista would sometimes mistakenly decide my former U3 drive would need to be formatted?
I let this stew for a very long time hoping someone had any info that might be helpful. Guess no one has seen it before!
I have the same issue with an u3 Intuix key.
http://www.ajedrezvasco.com
I don't have this problem so I don't presume to know for sure, but...
U3 works by having it's files in a seperate partition. If the U3 removal tool did not properly reconfigure your two partitions into one and reformat then you may have an empty (and possibly unformatted) partion on your drive. I haven't played with partitions in a long time, and never with Vista so you should check your documentation or possibly google vista partitions and check if your drive has two partitions on it. If so then see how to repartition and format the drive using only one partition.
I don't know why the problem would be intermittent, but that's the only thing I can think of that might cause those symptoms.
See this URL: http://blogs.freshlogicstudios.com/Posts/View.aspx?Id=f6237b88-ed73-4237...
Which states:
Sadly, it appears that the U3 removal tool doesn't appreciate Windows Vista. I ended up having to run it on a friends XP machine to format my newest U3 plagued flash drive.
Hope it helps.
Have an Awesome Day!
...you take the world's most used yet overrated (read: LAME) Operating system ever - Winblows - and attempt to use it with the world's lamest implementation of portable app'ing ever - U3 - and you have problems?...
Sounds to me like a recipe for disaster, an exercise in futility, and a marriage made in hell, all rolled into one.
Just my opinion, of course...
[/end sarcasm]
"I don't hate cats...as long as they stay on the freeway, where they belong."
- Brad Stine