So if you’ve done any amount of digging, you might have come across people who’ve taken a normal flash drive and converted it to a U3 drive. The Mask ROM area holds the code U3 developed to authenticate and confirm the IC controller is certified and thus allow U3 to be installed into flash memory. This area holds encryption and authentication protocols and is hard-coated, meaning it’s programmed when the chip is manufactured and can never be changed. There is an area in the IC controller called the Mask ROM area. In the IC controller there are several things to make U3 activate. The PCB holds this logic, the flash memory for storage and maybe a microprocessor to speed up performance along with LED light for performance feedback. If you want more info then read on.Īn IC controller is a little bit of “logic” or “chip” which performs a control function and is located on the PCB board of the flash drive (Printed Circuit Board). Without a specific IC controller U3 will never work. U3 wrote their spec to call for certified IC controllers on the flash drive. In other words, if you don’t have the right hardware on the flash drive you’ll never get the U3 launch pad to load. U3 is not just software, it’s hardware too.
