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I was given a free 1GB USB at an event a few months ago - however, when I plug it in to my Ubuntu laptop, the USB shows up as two drives (/dev/sdb and /dev/sdc). I have checked it isn't just partitions - it isn't, since GParted also shows the USB as two drives.

Is it possible to merge the two drives using fdisk or GParted?

The USB was free, so I really don't care if the thing ends up broken. I just want to experiment and see if it is possible to merge the two drives and have a working 1 GB USB.:)

lsusb output:

Bus 002 Device 006: ID 058f:6387 Alcor Micro Corp. Transcend JetFlash Flash Drive

Output of 'sudo fdisk -l'

(precise)kida@localhost:~$ sudo fdisk -l

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes 256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38761 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 1 625142447 312571223+ ee GPT Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary. Note: sector size is 4096 (not 512)

Disk /dev/mapper/vboot: 1090 MB, 1090519040 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 16 cylinders, total 266240 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/mapper/vboot doesn't contain a valid partition table Note: sector size is 4096 (not 512)

Disk /dev/mapper/vroot: 1073 MB, 1073741824 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 16 cylinders, total 262144 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 4096 = 4096 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/mapper/vroot doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/mapper/encstateful: 94.6 GB, 94571528192 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 11497 cylinders, total 184710016 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/mapper/encstateful doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/sdb: 1021 MB, 1021575168 bytes 23 heads, 54 sectors/track, 1606 cylinders, total 1995264 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x56e57c2b

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdb1 496 1995263 997384 6 FAT16

Disk /dev/sdc: 7 MB, 7077888 bytes 256 heads, 32 sectors/track, 1 cylinders, total 13824 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdc1 64 13823 6880 1 FAT12

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  • That's really weird, can you add the output of sudo fdisk -l to your post?
    – Anake
    Jan 25, 2014 at 15:53
  • Partition tools like fdisk and GParted do not assign the device names. You can learn the device names that are assigned to a USB device by plugging in the device and issuing the command "dmesg". The device name assigned will be listed at the tail end of this output. In my experience, only one device name is ever assigned so the situation you describe seems abnormal.
    – Curtis Gedak
    Jan 26, 2014 at 20:33
  • @Anake Output of 'sudo fdisk -l' added. :)
    – user196969
    Jan 26, 2014 at 22:13
  • Ok it's still really weird, but just pretend you only have sdb. sdc is only 7 MB so I think ignoring it is appropriate enough
    – Anake
    Jan 26, 2014 at 22:29
  • Ah, ok. It's a little annoying, having it pop up all the time, but since it's only small I'll leave it. Thanks for your help~ :)
    – user196969
    Jan 27, 2014 at 18:44

2 Answers 2

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Suggest you use Gparted to delete the FAT12 and FAT16 partitions and then create one FAT32 partition. Pick your USB device from the spin box at upper right http://www.zimagez.com/zimage/screenshot-01262014-025522pm.php then delete the old partitions http://www.zimagez.com/zimage/screenshot-01262014-025931pm.php by right-clicking on each partition and selecting Delete. Then reformat it as the current preferred FAT32 partition type for maximum utility.

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  • 1
    Unfortunately, the USB shows up in Gparted as two separate drives, and it doesn't seem possible to do what you suggested.
    – user196969
    Jan 27, 2014 at 18:45
  • Well, then that's how the USB hardware works and there's no easy fix. I have seen other flash memory devices (such as the drive chips soldered into netwooks) configured that way.
    – K7AAY
    Jan 29, 2014 at 21:43
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You just need to remove a partition. You can use GPART for this.

Here is a guide to help you with that, https://askubuntu.com/questions/824880/how-to-remove-a-partition-on-a-hard-disk#:~:text=If%20you%20right%2Dclick%20on,the%20partition%20as%20you%20wish.

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