How to Partition a Thumbdrive
Most computer hard drives are divided into partitions. Partitions allow a single drive to be perceived as multiple drives. Each individual partition is assigned a disk drive letter of its own. This is useful for installing multiple operating systems onto the same hard disk. Partitioning can also be used on a thumb drive. Because the file structure of a thumb drive is different, you need third-party software to partition it.
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Instructions
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1
Download and install BootIt (see Resources). BootIt is a partitioning tool that will change the structure of thumb drives to allow partitioning.
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2
Insert the thumb drive into a USB port on your computer.
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3
Open the BootIt program. Click the "Flip Removable Bit" button in the bottom left portion of the program window. The thumb drive can now be partitioned in Windows as a normal hard disk.
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4
Eject the flash drive from your computer. Re-insert the flash drive and allow it to be recognized.
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5
Click the "Start" menu and select the "Run" option from the menu. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users can click the "Start" menu and simply enter "Run" into the search box at the bottom to access the command area.
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Enter "diskmgmt.msc" into the box and click the "OK" button. The Disk Management window will appear on your screen.
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7
Locate your thumb drive in the list of drives. Right-click on the drive and select "Delete Partition" from the pop-up menu. Once completed, right-click again and select "New Partition" from the pop-up menu. Select "Primary Partition" from the options and click "Next". Specify a size, name and type of file system for the drive, then click "Finish" to create a primary partition.
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Add more partitions by repeating the process in Step 7.
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Tips & Warnings
Back up all data from your thumb drive because it will be lost when partitioning.
References
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