USB flash drives cannot be partitioned in the Windows operating if the drive is identified as removable media. The only way to partition the USB flash drive is to flip the removable bit so that it is recognized as fixed media instead which can be partitioned like any normal hard drive.
A tool that can flip the bit and should work with most usb flash drives is Lexar’s USB format tool. It is a portable tool that has been designed for Lexar USB drives but it works with other brands as well. The main interface can not only be used to flip the removable bit but also to format the usb drive, set a volume label and a partition to be bootable. You only need to press the flip removable bit button if you want to prepare the flash drive for use with multiple partitions. The drive has to be removed and connected again to the computer system afterwards.
It should be noted that Lexar USB Format (via Shell City) will not partition the usb flash drive which has to be done with other tools. For that you can use the build in tools in the operating system. Read Joshua’s System Partitioning With Vista article to find out how to do that in Windows Vista. A more universal software is the gParted Live CD which can be booted from any computer system.
Another option to create multiple USB stick partitions has been discussed before at Ghacks. The process involves editing the Windows Registry and has the disadvantage that the add-on partitions are only visible on that computer system.
Related posts:
USB Flash Drives: USB VaccineUSB Flash Drives Cleaner
Backup Hard Drives and Partitions with Self Image
Backup And Restore USB Flash Drives With USB Image Tool
Testdisk – A Free Data Recovery CD
Encrypt USB Drives
Test the Speed of your USB Flash Drives
Transfer Windows Installation DVDs To Flash Drives
16 Responses to “Partition USB Flash Drives”
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[...] Removable Bit’ button if you want to have multiple partitions on your USB drive. According to gHacks you need to remove the drive and connect it again to your [...]
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[...] PenDriveApps dan gHacks, pengguna boleh cuba menggunakan Lexar USB Flip untuk membolehkan Windows mengealpasti USB drive [...]
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[...] However, you will need to set up a multiple USB stick partions discussed at Ghacks to resolve this issue. [via] [...]
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[...] tool found here: http://files.filefront.com/lexar+usb…/fileinfo.html and as described here: http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/17/par…-flash-drives/ Once you have partitioned the USB drive encrypt one of the partitions and then hide it. Install [...]
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Hoi Martin i am keep on having a “You have an invalid session set” answer, do you maybay have a outher adres to download the Lexar USB Format prg.
from? And on schell city i can not find the program.
Here is a mirror: http://uploading.com/files/9HZOTOQ6/lexar_usb_format.zip.html
It doesn’t work for my RiData USB stick (4GB).
Hoi Martin, First off all thanks your your fast answer. And i am sorry to report to you this but i trayed everything with the mirror, your supplied, but this links spring in a loop. Hopefully you have a outher link.
here: http://www.filedropper.com/lexarusbformat
Thanks a mill. Martin. This one works fine. So thank you ferry much here from The Netherlands, i am one verry happy Dutchmen. Speaking of dutchmen Martin i have a question for you because of your surname Brinkmann this is a real Dutch sirname, so are you a Dutchman?
will this work for portable hard drives, sich as transcend or WD and so on
It doesn’t work with my 4th Generation iPod… :((((
Works with my OCZ Rally2 2GB drive but not with my more recent SanDisk Cruzer Micro Skin.
It also reads the capacity wrongly on the SanDisk
this is goo\d