Extract text from U3 application information files (U3I)
To convert U3I information files to another format, you need U3 Launchpad or other Settings software.
To convert other file formats to the "Application Metadata File" file type, you need software like U3 Launchpad or a similar tool.
A .u3i file is an application information file created for the discontinued U3 portable software platform. It stores critical metadata - such as the application name, version, creator, and launch parameters - used by the U3 Launchpad to run programs directly from a USB flash drive.
These files were primarily processed by the proprietary U3 environment developed by SanDisk and M-Systems. Because the platform was officially deprecated in 2010, native support does not exist on modern operating systems like Windows 10 or 11.
The main disadvantage of the .u3i format is its absolute obsolescence. Users attempting to resurrect old USB drives often find these files useless without the original U3 ecosystem. Furthermore, as a specialized metadata container, it cannot be run or executed on its own. Standard online converters fail to process it because it belongs to a dead, closed platform.
Converting .u3i files usually means extracting the readable metadata. The best conversion targets are standard text formats like XML or TXT. Converting to these formats preserves the human-readable text but loses the ability to interface with the original U3 Launchpad.
This file format is difficult to open because it relies on outdated, proprietary architecture. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded XML format, viewing or extraction may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your U3I file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MSP, INSTALL and CA0 files.
If you want to convert U3I file to , you can use U3 Launchpad or similar software from the "Portable Application Metadata" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to U3I, try U3 Launchpad or another comparable tool in the "Portable Application Metadata" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our U3I converter.