Sharing Files Between Windows and Linux
This tutorial covers the process of creating a shared fat32 partition on your USB flash drive. This partition can be used to share files between your Windows Operating System and Linux. By default, flash drives contain a removable media bit (RMB) that tells Windows XP/Vista that the flash drive is removable media. In order for Windows to see more than one partition on the flash drive, we must flip the removable media bit on the flash drive to off. Then the flash drive will be seen by any Windows XP/Vista system as a fixed disk (just like an external USB hard drive).
How to make Windows detect a flash drive as a fixed disk:
Warning: Backup all files on your flash drive before proceeding. The Lexar tool will not work on all flash drives. In fact it may not work at all on your device. We have seen about a 50% effective rate.
Absolutely no warranty is being offered, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
- Insert your USB flash drive
- Download the lexar zip file and extract it's contents to your PC
- Run BootIt.exe from the extracted folder
- Select the option to Flip Removable Bit:
- After Flipping the Removable Bit, you'll be prompted to remove and reinsert your flash drive. If the process worked, the flash drive will be detected by Windows as a fixed disk (not a removable disk). You can check this by right clicking the drive letter in Windows and checking the properties of the device.
Creating Partitions on a USB flash drive in Windows:
- Go to Start -> Run and type diskmgmt.msc in the box and click Ok
- From the Disk Management window, right click your flash drive and select the option to Delete Partition:
- Right Click your flash drive again and select the New Partition option:
- Follow the New Partition Wizard creating a "Primary Partition". Once you get to the option to set the Partition Size, be sure to set the Size to be smaller than the drives capacity to leave free space for the next partition:
- Continue through the Wizard, giving your device a drive letter and formating the partition as a Fat32 partition
- Next, create the second partition using step 3-5 on the remaining unallocated space:
There should now be two fat32 partitions on your flash drive that are detected by Windows as separate drive letters.
Note: Once the flash drive (removable media bit) is set to a fixed disk and multiple partitions have been added, syslinux will not install through windows. To allow syslinux to install, you must flip the removable media bit back, allowing the flash drive to be detected as removable media. Once syslinux has been installed, you can flip it back again.
Installing Linux to the USB flash drive:
Tested compatible with the following distro's: Pendrivelinux 08, MiniMe 2008, MCNLive, Backtrack, Ubuntu 8, gOS
- Run the BootIt tool again and "Flip the Removable Bit" back (this should revert the flash drive back to a removable disk)
- Reinsert the flash drive and ensure that Windows detects it as removable
- Proceed to install "one of the following" Linux versions to the flash drive: Pendrivelinux 08, MiniMe 2008, MCNLive, Backtrack, Ubuntu 8, gOS
Flipping the Removable Media Bit back to allow Windows to see both partitions:
- Once you have finished installing Linux to the flash drive, run the BooIt tool once more and Flip the Removable Bit
- Windows should now see both partitions again and the second partition should be detected and usable when booted from the stick in Linux as well
Enjoy 
Let us know if the BootIt tool worked on your flash drive. We will use this information to put together a compatibility list. Please, only contact us to let us know which USB flash device DID work.
We used an OCZ Rally2 Turbo flash drive in this tutorial and it worked well as a fixed disk once the removable bit was flipped.
