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Replace U3 with PortableApps including the launhcer

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October 3, 2007 - 10:29am
#1
ipartola
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Replace U3 with PortableApps including the launhcer

I've been using a U3 drive for a while and PortableApps for even longer. What I'd like to do is this:

* remove U3 completely
* install a new ISO on the U3 launch drive that would launch the PortableApps launcher from the main portion of the drive
* enjoy it: whenever I plug in my thumb drive on any Windows machine it launches the PortableApps launcher automatically, despite the fact that the drive letters change from machine to machine

Is this possible? If so, how would one go about doing this?

Thanks in advance.

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October 3, 2007 - 11:03am
wsm23
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Search google..

.. for the U3 removal application. Warning this will format your drive. Backup and files or profiles you want to save.

Just install the suite: https://portableapps.com/suite

It will prompt you to launch itself every time you insert the drive.

Life is about the journey not the destination!

The Kazoo Spartan

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October 3, 2007 - 12:24pm
(Reply to #2)
sergentsiler
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actualy

Actualy it doesent format your drive compleately. if you are using the uninstaller in the menu, it copies a list of all of the software and stores it in an invisable partition. then when you go to reinstall from the website, the list is submitted and all of your apps are reloaded into your drive.

Zoop

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October 3, 2007 - 12:28pm
(Reply to #3)
wsm23
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Manually reformat

Thanks for the clarification.

Good. You should manually reformat then. I would not want hidden files left on my flash drive for space issues.

I am also trying to help a U3 victim here too. He has admitted to the problem and is willing to take the steps to change the bad behavior. We should support him and make sure we are not enabling a future relapse.

Life is about the journey not the destination!

The Kazoo Spartan

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October 4, 2007 - 7:45am
(Reply to #4)
sergentsiler
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doesent work!!

manual reformatting only reformats the avtive and visable partitions. u3 is pretty good thogh because sofar i havent been able to find anything exept the u3 reinstaller that can acsess it.

i have reformatted my drive many times and i will see later if i can still reinstall u3 but i am pretty shure that i can.

thogh there is a chance that u3 is only stored in a hidden folder because on my former u3 drive there is a hidden "system" folder that the PAM seems to have taken over and stored a couple of my apps in there. i am not shure if this is a backup folder or one left over from u3.

either way i will check it out.

Zoop

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October 5, 2007 - 9:22am
(Reply to #5)
ipartola
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Just install the suite:

Just install the suite: https://portableapps.com/suite

It will prompt you to launch itself every time you insert the drive.

I am aware of this functionality and this isn't quite what I'm looking for. What I would like to see ideally is that the Suite Launcher would start itself automatically because something from the U3 portion of the drive would find it (despite it being on different drive letters) and launch it. I've seen some theoretical/hackjob work on this but is there a streamlined method for doing this?

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October 5, 2007 - 9:34am
(Reply to #6)
SmithTech
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No "Streamlined" way

There is no easy way to do what you want.
Probably the closest your going to get is the info on my site, Here
There are other sites with similar info, you might find easier way but gonna have to search for it.

"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)

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October 3, 2007 - 11:10am
Aciago
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surf

this web page http://www.smithtech.us/

After reading it you will find the information you need to know o do what you want to do... well, maybe you'll still have some questions but it will be less... Blum

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report Biggrin

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October 12, 2007 - 10:28am
ipartola
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Success!

So it IS possible, just not with any of the tools that I found. What I did is I wrote my own "Universal Launcher". Something I dubbed JacKnife for now (this is a personal name - not something I'm going to release as a product). Here's the idea:

Make a universal launcher that would search for the drive letter of the main portion of the U3 drive and launch a specific application from it. Make it customizable with a config file. Make it have the ability to load a logo dynamically. Make it have the ability to display no logo at all (for evil doing/speeding up loading process). Finally make it launch StartPortableApps.exe from the drive.

To find the drive letter I used WinAPI to match a drive label to the drive letter. I then write the label and the file to run in a config file. I have it set up so that -invisible key as a parameter displays no logo. Otherwise logo.jpg is displayed.

At the time when I wrote this I only had Borland Delphi at my disposal, so it had to be done in Pascal. Re-writing it in C would probably take 2 hours.

I'll release the Delphi project files if anyone's interested. I will not release the executable file since nobody should trust anyone else's binary files anyways.

Happy hacking!

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October 12, 2007 - 11:32am
ipartola
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Success!

P.S.: If you want the Pascal code post here...

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October 12, 2007 - 11:46am
(Reply to #10)
SmithTech
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I would like to see the code

I would be very interested in your code.
I've been thinking about re-writing my AutoLauncher using Delphi
And adding the find drive by drive label to my Portable Menu
Would you mind me including some of your code in my projects?

"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)

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October 12, 2007 - 8:54pm
Kevin Porter
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Okay, easy.

1. Uninstall U3 as seen before.
2. Format your flash drive
3. Download either the PortableApps Platform 1.1 Beta 4 or the PAM Mod R30 (PAM Mod recommended).
4. Follow the automatic autorun procedure from this thread.

Simple as that!

"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." - Rick Cook

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November 1, 2007 - 4:25am
(Reply to #12)
hyzteric
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No autoloading :-(

Hi there,

I just followed your procedure but it doesn't work at all.

I changed the autorun.inf etc. but when I plug in my "old" U3 driver, the portableapps wont show.

Any clue?

Regards,
hyzt

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November 1, 2007 - 9:38am
(Reply to #13)
SmithTech
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Is it a sandisk drive?

If its a Sandisk drive the easiest way would be to...
1. Reinstall U3 (this may format your drive so back it up)
2. Reinstall your Portable Apps
3. Use my Shortcut Creator to add a shortcut for the PortableApps Menu to the U3 menu and set it to autorun.

The second easiest way (again only if its a sandisk)
1. Reinstall U3
2. Download my AppLauncher ISO.
3. Follow these instructions to install the custom launcher ISO to the U3 "partition"
OR use Lurking Biohazard's instructions below.

Unfortunately if its not a sandisk AND your autorun.inf is correct, there isn't anything you can do if its not your PC, the autorun feature is disabled.

If it is your pc you can try Microsoft's Autoplay Repair Wizard

"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)

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November 1, 2007 - 10:49am
(Reply to #14)
rab040ma
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Balancing security

Setting autorun is fine, except that there is a risk that other discs you insert might install a root kit or Trojan on your machine without your knowledge. So the trick is, if you do fix the autorun on your machine so it works consistently, be very sure you don't insert commercial audio CDs, DVDs, discs burned by your friends, or USB drives that you pick up on the street, because you never know when they might autoplay something into your machine that you won't like.

I suppose you could turn autorun off on your "real" disc drives, so it only works on the virtual disc drive created by your U3 device; that might reduce the risk a bit.

It only takes a couple of keystrokes or mouseclicks to hit WindowsStart-E to open Explorer, then click on the PortableApps drive then the StartPortableApps program.

Setting up autorun may be a convenience that saves you a few mouseclicks but gets your machine compromised.

MC

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October 12, 2007 - 11:41pm
Lurking_Biohazard
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Replace ISO

HowTo
Universal Customizer 1.0.0.8

~Lurk~

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November 11, 2007 - 7:36am
Hamm46
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security for the portable apps

there must be an auto run and security like u3 for portetable apps

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November 11, 2007 - 8:17am
(Reply to #17)
Simeon
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Thats not that easy

Cause PortableApps doesnt leave stuff on the PC u use it on but U3 does...

"What about Love?" - "Overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate." - Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

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February 20, 2008 - 4:22am
Yaara
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I uninstalled my u3 lately

it removed itself completely and easily. it was the last version (4 something, can't recall)

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