ImageWriter broken the partition table?

[birchy]

While using ImageWriter to create a bootable flash drive, it spat out an error (that I didn't note) and then appeared to be blank, despite being formatted as fat32 only minutes before. After re-loading into gparted, it reported that the drive had no partition table. So I did the obvious thing and ran Device -> Create Partition Table. I now have a 4GB stick that according to gparted is TWO physical drives. It mounts as /dev/sdc 1MB and /dev/sdd 3.72GB. It previously mounted as /dev/sdc with a size of 3.82 or 3.83 (can't remember exactly).

The 1MB "drive" cannot be mounted and attempting to format it reports Minimum Size: 1MB, Maximum Size: 0MB with only these formats available: ext2, ext3, ext4, linux-swap, ntfs, unformatted. Attempting to use one of those formats results in an error message: "A partition cannot have a length of -1 sectors".

Oddly, the 3.72GB part (/dev/sdd) works fine and hasn't gone read-only...the tell-tale sign of a faulty stick. I've messed about with testdisk but am not totally sure what I am doing with regards to geometry, etc.

Is the flash drive on its way out or can the partition table be repaired? Any suggestions please...

[DrHu]

Well for a small 4GB flash drive, i don't know that FAT32 is needed, regular FAT would have been OK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat32#FAT32
--however since you decided on FAT32 no real problem with that: and maybe you are right to do so, since you get one volume (fat32)

There could be some issues with the choice though!
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954457
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/install-a- ... sh-device/
--mbr issues, sometimes..
http://rufus.akeo.ie/
--another tool for creating a bootable usb flash drive..

As to the partition issue, 1MB is rather small, I would tend to ignore it, unless you want to try again with imagewriter, since you say the drive works fine..

[birchy]

The main problem was that the drive won't boot due to the 1MB partition that I can't get rid of. Not a major problem, I have other flash drives that DO boot OK. This is more of a curiosity thing as the "partition" appeared magically but even more bizarre is that it is showing as a completely separate DEVICE and not just a device with partitions. I just don't see how that is possible...

[wayne128]

Oh, I have this recently.

I used windows's image writer to write over USB stick with some iso.
then I have many ( really many) partitions with 1M, as many as 4 in front of the proper partition plus some after the partitions. so I ended up with total 9 partitions on the USB stick.
This happened consistently, I thought I did it wrongly, a few weeks later I do it all over and the USB stick would ended up with 8 to 9 partitions..

anyway I just reformat the stick and stop using that software..
perhaps the software I download from did some tricks.

[wayne128]

just for the fun of it

I redo this:
1. format 4G USb flash with fat32
2. run win7
3. eun image writer
4. use it to write an iso file
5. now I try to boot it from USB stick, it won't boot

so boot up Linux OS, run fdisk -l, and found it was written with GPT format!

Code: Select all

# fdisk -l /dev/sdb

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


Disk /dev/sdb: 4012 MB, 4012900352 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 485 cylinders, total 7837696 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/sdb1               1     4005922     2002961   ee  GPT

lets see what else I can display

Code: Select all

# sfdisk -l

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


Disk /dev/sdb: 1019 cylinders, 124 heads, 62 sectors/track
sfdisk: Warning: The partition table looks like it was made
  for C/H/S=*/256/63 (instead of 1019/124/62).
For this listing I'll assume that geometry.

Units = cylinders of 8257536 bytes, blocks of 1024 bytes, counting from 0

   Device Boot Start     End   #cyls    #blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1          0+    248-    249-   2002961   ee  GPT
sfdisk: 		end: (c,h,s) expected (248,98,5) found (1023,255,63)

/dev/sdb2          0       -       0          0    0  Empty
/dev/sdb3          0       -       0          0    0  Empty
/dev/sdb4          0       -       0          0    0  Empty

parted -l shows details..

# parted -l

Model: SanDisk Cruzer Blade (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 4013MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
11 32.8kB 8421kB 8389kB RWFW
6 8421kB 8422kB 512B KERN-C
7 8422kB 8422kB 512B ROOT-C
9 8422kB 8423kB 512B reserved
10 8423kB 8423kB 512B reserved
2 10.5MB 27.3MB 16.8MB KERN-A
3 27.3MB 927MB 900MB ext2 ROOT-A
1 927MB 2001MB 1074MB ext4 STATE
8 2001MB 2017MB 16.8MB OEM
12 2017MB 2034MB 16.8MB fat16 EFI-SYSTEM boot
4 2034MB 2051MB 16.8MB KERN-B
5 2051MB 2051MB 512B ROOT-B

so I attached image from gparted, just to show how it graphically look like




hmm, better go back to school and start learning GPT...

to the OP, sorry to borrow your post...