G
Guest
This is being posted for Google's usenet archive, in case anyone needs it..
With the increasing size of USB sticks and SD/CF memory, more and more
users will want (or need) to partition this memory into manageable volumes.
I bought my first USB stick (a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB) thinking I could
partition it into multiple 2GB volumes (one of which I needed to use for a
2GB disk image backup). I was surprised to discover Windows will not
allow one to partition a drive it sees as removable.
So off to the web I went, in search of an easy workaround. And I found
one that doesn't involve any registry edits or other heavy duty hacking.
All one needs to do is replace the driver for their USB stick with one that
ignores the removable drive bit which is set in virtually all USB media.
Here's a detailed procedure:
1. Search the web for "xpfildrvr1224_320.zip". This archive contains a
driver for Hitachi's MicroDrive, which fortunately also works for almost
all USB memory sticks. Also note this driver is identical for both
Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
2. Extract two files, cfadisk.inf and cfadisk.sys to a folder of your choice.
3. Load cfadisk.inf into Notepad.
4. In a separate window, run regedit.exe and navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\USBSTOR
Search the entries under this key for your USB stick. Copy or write down
the exact "HardwareID" string shown for your stick. You may see multiple
entries, but you only need the first one shown. In the case of my 8GB
Cruzer Micro the exact string was:
USBSTOR\DiskSanDisk_Cruzer__________8.01
Note and be sure to include the underscores, if you see any: mine had one
before the "Cruzer" and a set of ten after it.
5. Go back to the cfadisk.inf Notepad screen and find the [cfadisk_device]
section. Add a line at the start of this section for your SanDisk USB stick.
For my Cruzer the exact line was:
%Microdrive_devdesc% = cfadisk_install,USBSTOR\DiskSanDisk_Cruzer__________8.01
6. Go into Device Manager, and under "Disk drives" (category name may
be different in XP) locate the SanDisk stick. Note: ignore all entries under
"USB" or "USB controllers".
7. Double-click on the SanDisk entry, select Update Driver and search
for the new INF file you edited previously.
8. After the new driver is loaded, reboot.
That's it! Once you reboot, your USB stick will be seen as a regular
hard drive. You can partition and format it normally using Windows' Disk
Management, and each volume can be assigned a separate drive letter
according to your preferences.
With the increasing size of USB sticks and SD/CF memory, more and more
users will want (or need) to partition this memory into manageable volumes.
I bought my first USB stick (a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB) thinking I could
partition it into multiple 2GB volumes (one of which I needed to use for a
2GB disk image backup). I was surprised to discover Windows will not
allow one to partition a drive it sees as removable.
So off to the web I went, in search of an easy workaround. And I found
one that doesn't involve any registry edits or other heavy duty hacking.
All one needs to do is replace the driver for their USB stick with one that
ignores the removable drive bit which is set in virtually all USB media.
Here's a detailed procedure:
1. Search the web for "xpfildrvr1224_320.zip". This archive contains a
driver for Hitachi's MicroDrive, which fortunately also works for almost
all USB memory sticks. Also note this driver is identical for both
Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
2. Extract two files, cfadisk.inf and cfadisk.sys to a folder of your choice.
3. Load cfadisk.inf into Notepad.
4. In a separate window, run regedit.exe and navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\USBSTOR
Search the entries under this key for your USB stick. Copy or write down
the exact "HardwareID" string shown for your stick. You may see multiple
entries, but you only need the first one shown. In the case of my 8GB
Cruzer Micro the exact string was:
USBSTOR\DiskSanDisk_Cruzer__________8.01
Note and be sure to include the underscores, if you see any: mine had one
before the "Cruzer" and a set of ten after it.
5. Go back to the cfadisk.inf Notepad screen and find the [cfadisk_device]
section. Add a line at the start of this section for your SanDisk USB stick.
For my Cruzer the exact line was:
%Microdrive_devdesc% = cfadisk_install,USBSTOR\DiskSanDisk_Cruzer__________8.01
6. Go into Device Manager, and under "Disk drives" (category name may
be different in XP) locate the SanDisk stick. Note: ignore all entries under
"USB" or "USB controllers".
7. Double-click on the SanDisk entry, select Update Driver and search
for the new INF file you edited previously.
8. After the new driver is loaded, reboot.
That's it! Once you reboot, your USB stick will be seen as a regular
hard drive. You can partition and format it normally using Windows' Disk
Management, and each volume can be assigned a separate drive letter
according to your preferences.
