How to utilize unallocated space on a thumb drive


  1. Posts : 50
    windows 10
       #1

    How to utilize unallocated space on a thumb drive


    Hi,

    I dont know why this happened, but my USB drive (64 GB Transcend) ended up with half its storage capacity being unallocated. I have tried Windows Disk Manager to have it allocated again in order to partition it, but to no avail. When I right-click, all the options are greyed out. Is there anything I can I do to reclaim the lost space or do I simply have to come to terms with the fact that the thumb drive is beyond repair. I mean, there is still 32 GB left, but it is annoying to know I could have had double that.

    My system is running Windows 10. By the way, is Easeus Partition Master a good choice for the job. I came across this software while browsing for a solution.

    Edwin
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 15,024
    Windows 10 IoT
       #2

    If the Disk Management "Extend Partition" option is greyed out you'll need to repartition/reformat it. Copy your files to another drive, delete the current partition, then create a new one that uses the whole drive. If Disk management won't do it, you'll have to use diskpart. Option two here, just skip the "active" command. http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials...e-windows.html If you want NTFS instead of fat32, format fs=NTFS quick
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #3

    Hi there

    1) Insert the USB stick into USB slot and type the following commands from admin cmd prompt

    2) DISKPART
    3) LIST DISK
    4) SELECT DISK 4 (assume it's Disk nr 4)
    5) CLEAN <=============================== Do not Miss this command
    6) CREATE PARITION PRIMARY
    7) ACTIVE (Optional but use this if you want to create a BOOTABLE USB)
    8) FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 2,799
    Linux Mint 20.1 Win10Prox64
       #4

    For flash drive. You can either format with NTFS or ExFat. However, NTFS on flash memory has been known to be inefficient for quite some time. exFAT’s smaller footprint/overhead
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 2,935
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #5

    ExFAT is real nice for USB thumbdrives but it seems to be lesser accepted/widespreaded than NTFS. You could have issues running an ExFAT USB drive under WinXP for instance.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2,799
    Linux Mint 20.1 Win10Prox64
       #6

    eLPuSHeR said:
    ExFAT is real nice for USB thumbdrives but it seems to be lesser accepted/widespreaded than NTFS. You could have issues running an ExFAT USB drive under WinXP for instance.
    @eLPuSHeR
    For XP. You need: Download Update for Windows XP (KB955704) to support ExFat
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 2,935
    Windows 10 Home x64
       #7

    Thanks. I already have that patch downloaded.

    Best regards.
      My Computer


 

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