Partition a Thumb Drive

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As USB drives get larger and larger, you may find it useful to partition them into distinct drives. This can make it easier to organize your files, or allow you to boot from one partition and keep essential tools on another. If you want to create a multi-partition in Windows, you'll need some special tools and there are some major restrictions. On Mac or Linux, you can create a multi-partition USB drive using the built-in utilities.

Steps

Windows

  1. Know the limitations imposed by Windows. While you can use third-party tools to make a multi-partition thumb drive, Windows will only ever be able to read from the first partition. You can use the same tools to change which partition is visible, but only one will be visible at a time. There is no way around this in Windows.
    • There is no way to create multiple partitions on a USB drive using the Disk Management tool. You must use a third-party utility.
    • If you plug the USB drive into a Linux or Mac computer, all of the partitions will be visible.
  2. Back up any important files on the thumb drive. When you partition the drive, you will lose all the data stored on it, so move any important files to your computer's hard drive before beginning.
  3. Download Bootice. This utility will allow you to create multiple partitions on the USB drive, as well as switch the active partition in Windows.
    • You can download Bootice from majorgeeks.com/files/details/bootice.html
  4. Extract the Bootice file. You'll need a program that can open RAR files in order to extract Bootice.
    • 7-Zip is a free archive program that can extract RAR files. You can download it from 7-zip.org. Once you've installed 7-Zip, right-click on the downloaded RAR file and select "7-Zip" → "Extract Here."
    • The free version of WinRAR rarlabs.com can open RAR files as well, but the program has a trial period.
  5. Run the Bootice program. You'll find this in the folder that was created when you extracted the file. You'll likely be prompted by Windows to confirm that you want to run the program.
  6. Ensure your USB drive is selected. Click the "Destination Disk" menu and select your USB drive. Make sure your computer's hard drive is not selected, or you could lose all of your data. Use the size and the drive letter to determine that you've selected the correct drive.
  7. Click the "Parts Manage" button in Bootice. This will open the Partition Manager section of the program.
  8. Click the "Re-Partitioning" button. This will open the "Removable disk repartitioning" window.
  9. Select "USB-HDD Mode (Multi-Partitions)" and click "OK." This will open the Partition Settings window.
  10. Set the size of each of the partitions. By default, the available space will be split evenly between four partitions. You can appropriate this however you'd like. If you want less than four partitions, set the ones you don't want to "0."
  11. Give the partitions labels. These labels will help you identify the different partitions. Remember, Windows will only show one partition at a time, so having unique labels can be helpful.
  12. Set the partition table type. At the bottom of the window, you can choose between MBR and GPT table types. MBR is fine if you're just planning on using the partitions for data, or to boot older systems. Select GPT if you want to boot computers with UEFI or want to use the more modern system.
    • If you plan on booting from the GPT USB drive, check the "Create ESP partition" box.
  13. Click "OK" to begin the format. You'll be warned that all data will be deleted on the drive. The format process should only take a few moments to complete.
  14. Start using your active partition. Once the format is complete, the first partition will appear in Windows as a removable drive. You can use this partition just like you would a USB drive.
  15. Set your active partition in Bootice. Since Windows will only ever show one partition on the USB drive, you can use Bootice to change which partition is displayed. This won't affect any of the data on the partitions, and you can switch whenever you'd like.[1]
    • Select the partition you want to make active in the Partition Manager section of Bootice.
    • Click the "Set Accessible" button. After a moment, the active partition will switch and Windows will show the new partition.

Mac

  1. Back up any important data on the USB drive. Partitioning your drive will erase everything on it, so make sure you've saved important files elsewhere before proceeding.
  2. Open Disk Utility. You can find this in the Utilities folder, located in your Applications folder.
  3. Select your USB drive. You'll find this listed in the left frame.
  4. Click the "Erase" button. This will open a new window.
  5. Select "GUID Partition Map" from the "Scheme" menu. This will enable partitioning on your USB drive.[2]
    • Ensure that "OS X Extended (Journaled)" is selected from the "Format" menu. This will make changing the partition sizes easier, but the drive will only work with Mac computers.
  6. Click "Erase" to format the drive. The new partition map will be applied, and the "Partition" button at the top of Disk Utility will become active.
  7. Click the "Partition" button. This will open a new partitioning window.
  8. Click the "+" button to add additional partitions. You can add as many partitions as you would like.
  9. Drag the edges of the pie chart to resize your partitions. You can adjust each partition to be as big or small as you would like. neighboring partitions will be resized accordingly.
  10. Select a partition to give it a label. You can give each partition a unique label, which can be useful for telling them apart.
  11. Click "Apply" to set your new partitions. The drive will format, which will take a few moments.[3]
  12. Start using your new partitions. You'll be able to see and access all of your partitions while your USB drive is plugged in, just as if each one was an individual USB drive.
    • Because the format is "OS X Extended (Journaled)," the drive will only work on OS X computers. Windows doesn't support multiple partitions on USB drives without special tools.

Linux

  1. Back up any important data on the USB drive. Changing the partitions on your USB drive will erase all of the data on it, so make sure everything important is saved to another location.
  2. Launch GParted Partition Editor. This guide will use Ubuntu, which comes with GParted Partition Editor already installed. If your Linux distribution doesn't have GParted installed, you can install it from gparted.org/ or your distribution's package manager.
    • In Ubuntu, open the Dash and type "gparted," or click "System" → "Administration" → "GParted Partition Editor."
  3. Select your USB drive from the menu in the upper-right corner. You can identify your USB drive by the size. Make sure you don't proceed with your hard drive selected, or you could lose all of your data.
  4. Right-click on the display and select "Unmount." Right-click the visual display of the USB drive and select "Unmount" to deactivate it and prepare it for partitioning.
  5. Right-click on the display and select "Delete." This will delete the current partition on the USB drive.
  6. Right-click on the display again (it will say "Unallocated") and select "New." This will open the "Create new Partition" window.
  7. Set the size of your first partition. Use the slider or the text fields to set the size of your first partition. Make sure to leave enough space for additional partitions.
  8. Give the partition a label. The partition labels will be the easiest way to differentiate between your partitions.
  9. Set the file system. If you intend to use the drive with just Linux, select "ext2." If you want to boot Windows from the first partition select "ntfs" (this will only work on the first partition on the drive). To use the partition for general storage between different computers, select "fat32" or "exfat."
  10. Click "Add." This will create the new partition from the unallocated space.
  11. Repeat the process for additional partitions by right-clicking the remaining unallocated space. You can continue to create new partitions from the unallocated space that remains after creating the other partitions.
  12. Click the green checkmark button in GParted when you're finished configuring. Click "Apply" to confirm. All of your changes will be applied to the USB drive. This may take a little while to complete.[4]
  13. Access your new partitions. You'll be able to access all of the partitions as if they were individual USB drives.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://agnipulse.com/2011/11/partition-usb-flash-drive/
  2. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/osx/comments/3nv23v/cant_partition_usb_flash_drive_with_el_capitan/
  3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/kb/PH22240?locale=en_US
  4. ↑ http://www.howtogeek.com/97177/how-to-put-ubuntu-linux-on-a-usb-thumb-drive-without-the-mess/
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