Reformatting a 2 partition Thumb Drive

lessthansix · 09-09-2006, 01:34 AM

I have an edge diskgo thumb drive. It came with 2 partitions. A large one for storage and a small one the size of a floppy disk for utilities.

My question is if it's possible to reformat the drive so that it will have only one partition. I don't think it can be done thru Windows "disk management" because it only lets me format them individually.

**The_Other_One** · 09-09-2006, 01:55 AM

Remove the partitions and recreate one large one.

**DCIScouts** · 09-09-2006, 06:25 AM

I believe you'll have to remove the partitions when reinstalling Windows in the bios. Or, if you're not putting Windows on the drive, you can just reformat and change the partitions in the bios.

**The_Other_One** · 09-09-2006, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCIScouts

I believe you'll have to remove the partitions when reinstalling Windows in the bios. Or, if you're not putting Windows on the drive, you can just reformat and change the partitions in the bios.

Partitioning has nothing to do with going into the bios...

**Archangel** · 09-09-2006, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Other_One

Partitioning has nothing to do with going into the bios...

partially.. without a bios you couldnt create partitions

but you're right ofc, to remove partitions you dont have to be at the bios, but in the booted windows setup. altough.. i dont think you can format the external HD with it.
a better option to the windows setup would be Partition Magic ( thats the name of the program) its also a bootdisk, but im pretty sure it can do USB HD's too.

altough.. i really wonder.. is it worth the effort? like you said.. its just the size of a floppy

**The_Other_One** · 09-09-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel

partially.. without a bios you couldnt create partitions

Eh, but that's beside the point

As for paritioning in the setup, I beleive it is possible with some computers as they now can use removable drives(harddrives or flash drives) as harddrives. However, Computer Management or some 3rd party app as Archangel mentioned would be a much better option.

**DCIScouts** · 09-10-2006, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Other_One

Partitioning has nothing to do with going into the bios...

You're right..., I was tired and missed the thumb drive part of the post. Thought it was a normal hard drive, whoops. Thanks for the catch, man.

lessthansix · 09-10-2006, 09:47 PM

ok I'll be a bit more specific... I want to use the thumb drive to play mp3's on my JVC cd player (it has a usb port). The problem is that when the diskgo is inserted into the cd player as well as my computer, the smaller "floppy" drive is recognized first. The computer can ofcourse recognize both partitions whereas the cd player can only recognize the first one it sees.

I need a way other than thru windows to reformat the thumb drive so that I can give it one partition. I tried changing the bios to boot to my thumb drive, which I know is possible because my bios is the latest version of phoenix-award. However it doesn't recognize the t.d. when I reboot the computer.

I was hoping there was a way to reformat without going thru bios and dos. But I know for sure that it can't be done with disk management because windows lists the 2 partitions as if they're separate drives.

Ofcourse there's also the possibility that the diskgo has 2 separate drives rather than 2 partitions. On the Edgetech website they have an FAQ that states: "The smaller 1.44 MB partition on our pen drives holds the security software you can use to unlock the DiskGo on computers that don't have the software installed. This partition is separate from the main space on the DiskGo"

If that's the case then there's probably nothing I can do, but I hoped there was some software or some method that would let me atleast find out if it can be formatted.

**DCIScouts** · 09-10-2006, 09:57 PM

Some of the SanDisk drives have the same thing. I've tried to get rid of that extra crap myself and haven't had much success, I'd suggest going out and getting another brand, I know Memorex ones don't have that on it. (I have both a SanDisk and Memorex...)

09-09-2006, 01:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
lessthansix New Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3	Reformatting a 2 partition Thumb Drive I have an edge diskgo thumb drive. It came with 2 partitions. A large one for storage and a small one the size of a floppy disk for utilities. My question is if it's possible to reformat the drive so that it will have only one partition. I don't think it can be done thru Windows "disk management" because it only lets me format them individually.

09-09-2006, 01:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,368	Remove the partitions and recreate one large one. __________________ Desktop * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT Laptop1 * C2D T5550 \| 3G RAM \| 120G HD \| Intel x3100 Laptop2 * C2D T5250 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100

09-09-2006, 06:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
DCIScouts Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Age: 26 Posts: 5,089	I believe you'll have to remove the partitions when reinstalling Windows in the bios. Or, if you're not putting Windows on the drive, you can just reformat and change the partitions in the bios. __________________ In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. -Martin Luther King Jr. The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a little. -Joe Martin FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358 Posting and you - CF Edition Cheers CF

09-10-2006, 09:57 PM	#9 (permalink)
DCIScouts Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Age: 26 Posts: 5,089	Some of the SanDisk drives have the same thing. I've tried to get rid of that extra crap myself and haven't had much success, I'd suggest going out and getting another brand, I know Memorex ones don't have that on it. (I have both a SanDisk and Memorex...) __________________ In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. -Martin Luther King Jr. The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a little. -Joe Martin FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358 Posting and you - CF Edition Cheers CF

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09-10-2006, 09:47 PM	#8 (permalink)
lessthansix New Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3	ok I'll be a bit more specific... I want to use the thumb drive to play mp3's on my JVC cd player (it has a usb port). The problem is that when the diskgo is inserted into the cd player as well as my computer, the smaller "floppy" drive is recognized first. The computer can ofcourse recognize both partitions whereas the cd player can only recognize the first one it sees. I need a way other than thru windows to reformat the thumb drive so that I can give it one partition. I tried changing the bios to boot to my thumb drive, which I know is possible because my bios is the latest version of phoenix-award. However it doesn't recognize the t.d. when I reboot the computer. I was hoping there was a way to reformat without going thru bios and dos. But I know for sure that it can't be done with disk management because windows lists the 2 partitions as if they're separate drives. Ofcourse there's also the possibility that the diskgo has 2 separate drives rather than 2 partitions. On the Edgetech website they have an FAQ that states: "The smaller 1.44 MB partition on our pen drives holds the security software you can use to unlock the DiskGo on computers that don't have the software installed. This partition is separate from the main space on the DiskGo" If that's the case then there's probably nothing I can do, but I hoped there was some software or some method that would let me atleast find out if it can be formatted.

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