How to delete the USB storage history

[yxq]

Hello,
In Windows 7, i can view the used USB storage history in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR", but it's impossibe to delete the registry sub key, so i think if can uninstall the USB driver by the used USB storage HarewareID or SN, do not know how to uninstall the USB driver by command line or other ways, thank you.

 

[WindowsStar]

Question: Why do you want to delete these?????

 

[yxq]

Because i want to protect my privacy, thank you.

 

[alphanumeric]

What exactly do you think is stored in there that you need to delete? And whats the point, as soon as you connect that device again the key will just be re-created?

 

[TVeblen]

Gents- I think he wants to uninstall the driver for the usb device, which would be of interest just for geeky curiosity.

He may be thinking that if he deletes the registry keys he can remove the drivers (NO).

Say someone is visiting and wants to show you some pics on her camera. She hooks it up to your PC, it loads drivers for her camera. You look at the pics - you laugh - you cry, then she goes back to France for a swimsuit photo shoot. So now you got this driver for a camera on your computer that you will never use again. Can you remove it? How?

 

[Layback Bear]

This might be what the OP is looking for. Start and type in device, go to device manager, Human Interface, right click on your desired driver for the camera and select remove driver.

 

[stormy13]

Close Layback,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/77614-device-manager-hidden-devices.html

Should find it/them under either Disk Drives or Portable Devices.

What exactly do you think is stored in there that you need to delete?

That and all that is there is what kind of device was connected, nothing about what was on the device.

 

[yxq]

Please view the software below
View any installed/connected USB device on your system
How to it uninstall the usb driver to delete the used USB history?

 

[Bill2]

The Nirsoft program shows all instances of USB usage on the system, including phones, Webcams, cameras, mouse etc. Double clicking on the .exe will open up a window showing you all the devices ever used. From there, you can locate the device, right-click on it and select "Open in reg-edit". From there you can see where the information is stored.

You can choose to delete the particular registry entry you wish. Just be careful which entries you delete as certain bits of required hardware will need to retain the registry values and may stop working if removed. Make a backup of any key you plan to delete before doing this, and create a restore point first.

Though, all this seems a pretty fruitless exercise.

 

[stormy13]

Because i want to protect my privacy, thank you.

What privacy? There is nothing to protect unless you're worried that someone may see that you connected a MP3 player or an external hard drive at some point in time. Other than that there is no information stored anywhere as to what was on said device.

 

[WindowsStar]

Because i want to protect my privacy, thank you.

This seems quite rude; especially when I am here to help. My question was merely to gather more information on your problem or to understand the goal. If I can understand what you need then I may be able to give you a solution that is simple/safe or point you in the right direction.

 

[yxq]

I only want to know the working principle of USBDeview, how it uninstall the USB drivers? why i can not delete the sub key located on "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR" in Windows 7 OS? Do not ask why please, because i only want to study computer knowledge! Thank you.

 

[WindowsStar]

I only want to know the working principle of USBDeview, how it uninstall the USB drivers? why i can not delete the sub key located on "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR" in Windows 7 OS? Do not ask why please, because i only want to study computer knowledge! Thank you.

Please post a message on NirSoft.net about USBDeview. Very nice person he will help you to understand USBDeview.

 

[yxq]

I know how to get all the installed usb devices from Registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR

but how to get the created date and last plug/unplug date of usb devices like USBDeview
View any installed/connected USB device on your system

Thank you

 

[chirpychippy]

the reason why

Folks did you know that if you plug a USB drive into your PC at work the ID of that drive is recorded and your employer, or ex employer may demand that you produce said drive to him before you leave the company (or even after you leave) I can 100% that this is true as I have spent the last 7 months in legal battles over a $10 item with court costs running close to $100000 all because I can not produce this drive. Obviously there is a reason they want the drive related to IP and confidential info but bottom line is; I dont have it they want it and can show it was in my machine.

So either clean the drive to make sure they never see it was in there or keep it to hand in, at the least offer it on leaving.

 

[jumanji]

Hi yxq,

An easy way to do it is to use the drivecleanup tool from Drive Tools for Windows

Have a look at my post here .

 

[pincushion]

https://code.google.com/p/usboblivion/

Not sure if the OP wants this - have not tried it.

 

[jumanji]

^ That seems to be an interesting application. Downloads - usboblivion - An utility designed to erase all traces of USB drives from Windows registry - Google Project Hosting

"USBOblivion is a small (portable) utility that will erase all traces of USB-connected storage devices (including iPods) and CD-ROMs from the Windows registry. The registry data stores details including drive manufacturer, last connected date various other details which will be completely removed after running USBOblivion. By default, the program starts in a simulation mode, allowing you to preview the results of the cleaning. If you want to proceed, you can run the process again, this time checking the "Real clean" option.USBOblivion also comes with an option to create a registry backup file of the removed entries, so that in case you run into problems, you can undo the cleaning operation. The app will only remove entries for Mass Storage devices, it will not interfere with your USB mouse, keyboard, wireless adapters etc."


After doing a drivecleanup, which is my favourite tool, I ran USB oblivion in the simulation mode.


Oops.... it showed a few hundred registry entries pertaining to almost all the USB devices I had used, atleast the names like Transcend jetflash, HP v220w etc.,

A screenshot:





On the face of it, it does seem to do a thorough forensic cleaning that will suit those who are likely to be liable to corporate espionage investigations rightly or wrongly - as faced by mate chirpychippy.


For ordinary users though who want to avoid USB problems, the drive cleanup tool should be sufficient. Extreme scrubbing and registry manipulation - that can create problems (and that is why USB Oblivion provides a backup option, just in case ) may not be neceaasry.


That said, nice catch @pincushion.

 

[pincushion]

In my more paranoid moments I seem to download lots of useful little apps after following links but usually don't end up using them. I think the forensics people would still be able to recover data unless further measures were taken since this stuff is probably just deleted from the registry and probably recoverable however.

 

[jumanji]

Recovering the deleted registry entries is definitely possible (with the software like YARU Yet Another Registry Utility ) but as with any recovery, the success depends upon how fast one acts to recover. With hours and days passing with the computer being used, these can easily be overwritten and recovery may be impossible.