The Windows operating system keeps records of storage devices that have been connected to the system in the past. This is usually not a huge problem in most cases but some users might want to remove those storage device information from Windows so that no one who would analyse those devices would notice that they have been connected to the PC in the past.
The easiest way to perform this operation is by using Drive Tools for Windows. The command line application comes as a 32-bit and 64-bit edition which should be compatible with most Windows operating systems including Microsoft’s latest operating system Windows 7.
Here is what the software program will do when executed by the user:
Removes from the device tree non present
- USB mass storage devices
- Disk devices
- CDROM devices
- Floppy devices
- Storage Volumes
and their linked registry items under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceClasses
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2\CPC\Volume
The software comes with several switches. Adding -t to the program will for instance simulate the removal and display all the items that would be removed if the program would be executed by the user without the -t parameter.
-t test mode
-n no wait when finished
-u only USB mass storage devices
-d only Disk devices
-c only CDROM devices
-f only Floppy devices
-v only Storage Volume devices
-r only registry items
The switches can be used to remove all or only certain storage devices from the list of previously but not currently connected devices.
The program requires administrative privileges to run (except for test mode). The portable tool has a size of only 19 Kilobytes making it an ideal additional for an USB repair stick. It can be downloaded from the developer’s website over at Uwe-Sieber.de.
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Remove Old Windows Device DriversVista Drive Status, Drive Storage Information For XP’s Windows Explorer
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HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
Powerful Device Manager Device Remover
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Great find martin. No super find thanks a lot i really like this.
take a look at http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html
Thanks Martin!
Really useful tools.