When I plug in my U3 Smart Drive, the following error message pops up “An error has occured while initializing U3 launchpad: Device Connect Error. U3 will close now”. What is the problem?

This can happen when there is a conflict which prevents the U3 Launchpad running.

The following are some possible conflicts
  1. The device is not getting enough power to run correctly. Ensure you plug the disgo into a USB port directly on the computer and at the rear. Sometimes front USB ports and hubs fail to deliver enough power;
  2. A drive letter conflict. If you double click My Computer you should see two drives – one called U3 System and the other may be called Clever-Stuff or Removable Disk. If you cannot see both drives you may have a drive letter conflict, to resolve this problem you need to reassign the drive letter in Disk Management;
  3. Conflict with other device on your computer. Does your computer have a card-reader? (Either built-in or removable) There have been some reports of conflicts between card-readers and U3. To check this you can use the Safely Remove Hardware Wizard to eject the card reader and check whether the U3 Launchpad will now start;
  4. CD Writing software, if this is running in your System Tray then disable this to see if it resolves the problem, the following CD Writing software are known to conflict:
    • B’s Clip (from BHA)
    • Data Add 2.0 (Ulead)
    • DirectCD (from Adaptec/Roxio)
    • InCD and Nero 7.0
    • PacketCD (from CeQuadrat)
    • RecordNow MAX, MyCD, PrimoCD, PrimoDVD and DLA (from Veritas)
    • Write DVD! (from Software Architects)