Reading flash drives without mounting

[Emmett]

We make an OEM instrument that contains a hub.
We permanently connect a flash drive to a port inside the instrument to store calibration files.

Now we have a volume customer that prevents all of the computers in their facilities from mounting USB drives.
BTW the computers are MAC.

Is there another way to read a standard USB flash drive?

I started a design using Cypress NX2LP-flex controller, which has a firmware option to do address-based transfers without mounting, but I'd rather not roll a new board just for this.

[Jan Axelson]

I would think that "address-based transfers without mounting" would be the way to do it, so using that controller or emulating what it does would be my suggestion. Or use other memory instead of a flash drive.

[Emmett]

Thanks Jan.
I was hoping you'd know a way to do it with a standard off-the shelf flash drive.

[Jan Axelson]

Nothing I'm aware of. If it were easily possible to get around the mounting requirement, the customer would likely forbid that option also.

[Emmett]

They also control what software is installed.
We'll be communicating with the flash drive through our own software that we are writing exclusively for them, and not through MacOSX programs like Finder.
They basically want to prevent people from copying files.
Anyway, thanks for your help, your books have been very useful, and please let me know if you think of anything.
Emmett

[Tsuneo]

Now we have a volume customer that prevents all of the computers in their facilities from mounting USB drives.
BTW the computers are MAC.

They also control what software is installed.

If they would block auto mouter, your Mac application could mount the drive "manually".
Or it could send SCSI command to the USB drive for direct sector access, without mounting it.

"Accessing SCSI Architecture Model Devices"
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/DeviceDrivers/Conceptual/WorkingWithSAM/WWS_SAMDevInt/WWS_SAM_DevInt.html

If they would disable IOUSBMassStorageClass.kext, your Mac application could still communicate with the USB drive over user-mode driver.

Cypress AN74505 - Developing USB Application on MAC OS X using LIBUSB
http://www.cypress.com/?rID=59674

But I'm not sure, if IT manager in the company would allow such a byway.

Tsuneo

[Emmett]

Thanks Tsuneo,
We are proceeding to make a PCB with the NX2LP-flex.
My main hope was to find a way to read (writing optional) from any flash drive even though the OS has not mounted it.
We'll read the info in your links.
Thanks,
Emmett