Note that this section doesn't apply to those using free System Access to Go accounts.
What are these so-called U3 smart drives, and why are they so important? The U3 technology empowering these key chain-sized thumb drives delivers instant access to your files, software, e-mails and even application settings. The U3 standard allows applications to self-load and run directly from the portable drive. The drive plugs into the USB port of any Windows desktop, or laptop computer. System Access Mobile makes U3 smart drives instantly accessible anywhere. You can install System Access Mobile on any U3 smart drive. Here's how.
First, you need to have a standard computer running Windows XP or higher with System Access installed. Then you need to acquire a U3 smart drive.
You can purchase U3 smart drives at electronics stores anywhere, both online, and offline, with capacities ranging from 512 megabytes to twelve gigabytes (as of this writing). We recommend that you shop around and buy the U3 Smart Drive you prefer. This way you get the capacity you want and a brand you know and trust and you spend as little or as much as you like. Caution; be sure that the drive has the U3/Smart Drive logo either on the drive itself, or on the drive's box. The logo insures that the drive truly is a U3 smart drive and will minimize any future frustration.
Important, this process only works with U3 smart drives. This process will not work with non-U3 enabled thumb drives.
When inserting a U3 smart drive for the first time it is best to run System Access from the desktop machine and allow Windows to discover the U3 smart drive before attempting to install System Access Mobile on the device. Any messages after this step that talk about unsafe removal and loss of data can safely be ignored. Just check the box that says "don't display this message again" once you have set up your drive.
One more thing before we get started, Your Serotek account must have a license for System Access Mobile. You may need to visit the My Account section on the SA Mobile Network in order to purchase this feature. Please remember that you may only have one U3 smart drive in use on the account at any given time.
From within System Access, go to the "System Access menu", by pressing Modifier+F.
Now, arrow Up or Down until you get to "Set Up a U3 Smart Drive", and tap the Enter key. Note that if you do not wish to arrow around through the menu you can simply tap the letter U and this option will automatically be activated for you.
You will now be asked to insert a U3 enabled drive. (You can unplug the U3 smart drive and re-plug it in). Once you insert a U3 smart drive, you will be shown information about the U3 smart drive such as the brand and capacity.
At this time you will also be asked if you would like to use the existing U3 smart drive, or insert a different U3 smart drive. At this point you can unplug the current U3 smart drive, and insert a new U3 smart drive if you wish. You will get the information and prompts as indicated above again however.
You can choose to reinstall System Access, or install the software for the first time on a new U3 smart drive. If you do not change any installation options you will get the System Access software installed on the drive. However, you can also choose add-ons such as, Document Scan, and NeoSpeech VoiceText, both male and female voices. Once you have made your selection, you can activate the "Continue" button. You will be shown the software that you have selected to be installed to the drive, and the size of each software package along with the total size that the software will consume on the U3 smart drive. Once you choose to install the software on the current inserted U3 smart drive, installation will begin. You will hear status messages such as "Preparing to install...", or "Copying files...", as well as a percentage indicator to let you know how the creation process is going. The creation process will take about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the components that you select.
As soon as your U3 smart drive is set up, feel free to try it out on any Windows based computer. The use and/or presence of CD creation tools and/or virus programs does not stymie U3 smart drives. However, you may still need to unblock certain application components from time to time. If you get a new larger capacity U3 smart drive in the future, you can easily transfer System Access Mobile and your add-ons of choice to the new device.
If you are using windows xP just plug in the smart drive and. within 30 seconds, System Access begins talking. If you are using Windows Vista you will first have to tell Windows Vista to automatically run software from USB drives when they are inserted. this process must be done on each computer that you want to run System Access on, but it only has to be done once on each computer. you may need to use System Access to perform the following steps. if you are not comfortable performing the following steps without speech support
You are now on the Windows Desktop and the U3 smart drive places the U3 Launchpad directly on the desktop. The U3 Launchpad is the friendly graphical user interface to the U3 smart drive and its content. It comes installed on all U3 smart drives and provides the user an easy-to-use entry point to the personal workspace. System Access makes the Launchpad accessible.
When the U3 smart drive is installed, the Launchpad is also in the System Tray. You can access the system tray at any time and gain access to the Launchpad by locating it in the tray and simply hitting the Enter key.
We recommend that you rename your U3 smart drive, so that you can quickly differentiate this from your other removable drives. It is very easy to rename the drive. Just press the Windows Key+E. This places you within Windows Explorer. Now Tab once. You should be within a list of drives on your computer. Next, use your Up/Down arrow keys to find your U3 smart drive. With the cursor on the U3 smart drive, press Alt+Enter. The keyboard command accesses the U3 smart drive's properties. You should hear "Label editable text". Just type in a friendly name that will help you remember this U3 smart drive in the future and hit Enter. The next time that the U3 smart drive is inserted, the drive will show the name that you typed here.
The Launchpad works similarly to the Windows Start Menu. You can add software to your U3 smart drive and it will appear on the Launchpad. This Launchpad may contain programs like Winamp, an e-mail client, a web browser, and so on. To date you are not able to add Office applications like Microsoft Word to the U3 smart drive. With any of the applications on the U3 smart drive you can also have your settings customized just the way you want them. Winamp, for instance, works the way that you have configured it to work at home. All of your Internet bookmarks are also available. Likewise, your e-mails are also at your fingertips!
U3 smart drives are "hot swappable," which means you can plug a U3 smart drive in or remove it while the computer is running. The U3 smart drive is not damaged when you do this, and the software files, e-mails, and settings will all stay intact. There have been a lot of promises in the past, but U3 is the first thumb drive technology that is truly plug and play.