Get Access to all of the partitions of USB in Windows

Question

I partitioned my USB drive into 3 partitions each with FAT32 file system, using gparted software in GNU Linux.

So, after succesfully partitioned my USB Drive, I tried it in a Windows PC, but only one of the 3 partitions was accessible. Is it possible to access to all of the partitions in a Windows PC like I see them all in GNU Linux.

My goal is to use my USB drive as 3 different storage spaces for distinct purposes, e.g. I store only songs in one of them, only videos in the 2nd one, etc. I don't need it for booting purposes.

Solution 1

UPDATE on Windows 10 1703

Microsoft finally did away with this ridiculous limitation. Since Windows 10 1703 (“Creators Update”) you can now access all partitions on removable drives.

Original answer

Windows only supports the first partition on USB thumb drives (specifically, USB Mass Storage devices with the “Removable” bit set). There is nothing you can do about this.

Update

For the sake of demonstration, I created a USB thumb drive with the following layout using Linux:

Device     Boot   Start     End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1          2048 2099199 2097152   1G  6 FAT16
/dev/sdb2       2099200 4196351 2097152   1G  6 FAT16
/dev/sdb3       4196352 6293503 2097152   1G  6 FAT16
/dev/sdb4       6293504 8390655 2097152   1G  6 FAT16

When plugging it in, Windows tells me to format the first partition, as expected. diskpart’s list partition yields a rather disturbing output:

Partition ###  Type              Size     Offset
-------------  ----------------  -------  -------
Partition 1    Primary           1024 MB  1024 KB
Partition 0    Primary           1024 MB  1025 MB
Partition 0    Primary           1024 MB  2049 MB
Partition 0    Primary           1024 MB  3073 MB

list volume confirms that Windows won’t ever work on those partitions:

Volume ###  Ltr  Label        Fs     Type        Size     Status     Info
----------  ---  -----------  -----  ----------  -------  ---------  --------
[...]
Volume 16    J                RAW    Removable   1024 MB  Healthy

Because if it isn’t recognized as a volume, you can’t format it or assign drive letters. It’s simply not possible.

Disk Management just spits out incorrect error messages:

When trying to format a partition except the first...

...or when trying to open the drive letter or properties dialog.

These tests were performed on Windows 8.1

Solution 2

I think so. Using disk management, you should see 3 separate partitions Right-click the ones without disk letters and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Use it to assign a drive letter. It should show up now.

Follow this steps for adding a drive letter.

Try formatting the drive as NTFS and then partitioning.

Comments

[davidgo]

More information is required to answer this - like what the partitioning looks like and how you did it. You should find its as simple as ensuring the partition type is correctly set and (if using Linux) you might want to mkfs.vfat /dev/sdxX for each partition to create a filesystem for it.

[Tetsujin]

Sounds like way too much effort for what is essentially a temporary storage medium that could break at any time with no notice. Why not just put stuff in different folders instead & do the whole thing as one ExFAT volume.

[Mokubai]

Please do not use the "flag" button for simply getting attention. Flags are meant to inform moderators that you require their intervention due to problems with the site such as problem users and needing content deleted. It is not to be used for telling us you want answers. If you need answers then you can edit your question to make it clearer.

[tony Stark]

@Mokubai edited the question, can someone help on this issue

[Daniel B]

So what is “your USB”? Mouse? Keyboard? Fan? Oh, it’s a thumb drive. ;) Next time, please state the nature of the device from the start. It’s vital information.

[tony Stark]

Thanks.... i could see them in Disk management.. Is there any way i can use them all in Windows.

[TheKB]

Use the 'Change Drive Letters and Paths...' option and in the dialogue box that pops up choose a letter. Do that for each partition that doesn't have a drive letter. That should work. What version of Windows are you using?

[tony Stark]

XP ...Is the option 'Change Drive Letters and Paths' is in Disk management?

[TheKB]

It's in the right click menu when you right click a partition without a drive letter. Could you tell me what you see when you open up disk management?

[tony Stark]

I can see my USB with total space of 7gb on extreme right and my 3 partitions on the other side. I have named "m", "n" , "p" as my 3 partitions in Linux. But i can see only the Useable drive in my Windows "m" here and the with others with no name.

[TheKB]

Is the 'Change Drive Letters and Paths...' option available in the right click menu on n or p? If so click on it and assign it a letter (ie - n:, p:).

[tony Stark]

I tried and iam getting this " the operation did not complete because the partition or volume is not enabled. to enable, restart the computer" and even after restart it says the same. Iam confused.

[tony Stark]

please help, to solve this

[tony Stark]

Thanks...Can u tell me how to do it in FAT32.... and not through NTFS

[tony Stark]

But from Disk management , isnt it possible to seperate the partitions. Like "Change Drive Letter and Paths..." & assigning a drive letter. And in my case , it says restart.

[Daniel B]

@mastermind I can’t check that now that I’m at work, but I’ll get back to you later. I think you are mistaken or confusing something, however. This is a well-known limitation in Windows.

[tony Stark]

i will wait as i would like to know the reason also...& thank you so much for your consideration.

[Daniel B]

@mastermind There’s no reason, really. It’s a design decision made by Microsoft. As Linux shows, it’s no technical limitation.

[Daniel B]

@mastermind I’ve updated my answer with an in-depth report on how exactly it doesn’t work.

[tony Stark]

Thanks... and you mention about the removable bit , been set on these devices. Is there any way can we make the storage device one among the internal drives by modifying that

[Daniel B]

@mastermind It’s part of the device descriptor. As such, it cannot be modified directly. You’d have to modify the thumb drive’s firmware, which might be impossible. Just give it up, partitions suck anyway. ;)

[TheKB]

Why can't you do it through ntfs?