Multiple partitions on USB stick problem
by kimdino from LinuxQuestions.org on (#5H7B6)
Hi folks,
For several years I have been carrying around on my keyring a 64Gb USB stick set up in the following way. The first partition (most of sticks capacity) is formatted into FAT32, while a second partition is set to bootable and carries a Linux installation kitted out with rescue tools along with other useful applications.
Thus, when plugged into a running MS-Windows box it behave as a normal USB memory stick with no complications as Windows is unable to see any but the first partition on a USB stick. However, almost any PC can be booted on this stick to a running Linux system useful for fixing the PC or other things. It proved a useful little tool as I'm sure others have discovered.
But, woe..., it broke about a year ago. I've been trying to replace it and have bought several USB sticks but have been unable to setup a good working 2nd partition. My latest attempt is a 2Tb stick on which both 'cfdisk' & 'GParted' can both create a 2nd partition, but this partition cannot be formatted. I could buy yet another USB stick and try again, but it seems a good time to seek advice before spending any more.
I have tried several different formats (ext2, ext, fat32, vfat, NTFS) using 'mkfs' and it's different incarnations. The format appears to go ok, but very slowly. But, on checking afterwards, the space is shown as allocated but the filesystem is reported as 'unknown'. Attempting to mount gives a failure with the report "The device /dev/sdd2' doesn't seem to have a valid NTFS.... etc".
Where am I going wrong, or is this a feature of modern USB sticks? I realise that the vast majority of computer users cannot conceive of a multi-partition USB stick as MS-Windoze can only see one. So, possibly manufacturers have responded by not bothering with the ability to carry a second?
Any comments or suggestion would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance, Kimdino
For several years I have been carrying around on my keyring a 64Gb USB stick set up in the following way. The first partition (most of sticks capacity) is formatted into FAT32, while a second partition is set to bootable and carries a Linux installation kitted out with rescue tools along with other useful applications.
Thus, when plugged into a running MS-Windows box it behave as a normal USB memory stick with no complications as Windows is unable to see any but the first partition on a USB stick. However, almost any PC can be booted on this stick to a running Linux system useful for fixing the PC or other things. It proved a useful little tool as I'm sure others have discovered.
But, woe..., it broke about a year ago. I've been trying to replace it and have bought several USB sticks but have been unable to setup a good working 2nd partition. My latest attempt is a 2Tb stick on which both 'cfdisk' & 'GParted' can both create a 2nd partition, but this partition cannot be formatted. I could buy yet another USB stick and try again, but it seems a good time to seek advice before spending any more.
I have tried several different formats (ext2, ext, fat32, vfat, NTFS) using 'mkfs' and it's different incarnations. The format appears to go ok, but very slowly. But, on checking afterwards, the space is shown as allocated but the filesystem is reported as 'unknown'. Attempting to mount gives a failure with the report "The device /dev/sdd2' doesn't seem to have a valid NTFS.... etc".
Where am I going wrong, or is this a feature of modern USB sticks? I realise that the vast majority of computer users cannot conceive of a multi-partition USB stick as MS-Windoze can only see one. So, possibly manufacturers have responded by not bothering with the ability to carry a second?
Any comments or suggestion would be very welcome.
Thanks in advance, Kimdino