[SOLVED] 16gb usb drive shows only 8mb space

A

andydas1947

New Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2022
Messages
11
Reaction score
2
Credits
106
I have a 16GB pendrive. I installed Ventoy tool to make it bootable. But somehow it got corrupted.
It is not showing in file explorer. But gparted recognizes that it is connected.
It shows only shows 8MB space in gaparted.

I perform following commands

cat /sys/block/sdd/size
fdisk -l /dev/sdd
parted /dev/sdd p

ANDY@mx:~ $ cat /sys/block/sdd/size 16384 ANDY@mx:~ $ fdisk -l /dev/sdd fdisk: cannot open /dev/sdd: Permission denied ANDY@mx:~ $ parted /dev/sdd p WARNING: You are not superuser. Watch out for permissions. Error: Error opening /dev/sdd: Permission denied Retry/Cancel? c ANDY@mx:~ $ sudo parted /dev/sdd p Error: /dev/sdd: unrecognised disk label Model: Kingston DataTraveler G3 (scsi) Disk /dev/sdd: 8389kB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: unknown Disk Flags:

What could have happened and how to fix it?
 


Try lsblk:
Code: 
[flip@flop ~] $ lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
<snip>
sdb      8:16   1   3.7G  0 disk
├─sdb1   8:17   1   664M  0 part
└─sdb2   8:18   1   3.1G  0 part
<snip>
Here it shows a 4gig usb which has a knoppix iso on the second partition, which suggests that any isos such as ventoy on the usb shouldn't disturb the output showing the size of the usb.
 
It looks like you have filesystems on this disk. How were they created?

If you use something like Rufus, Etcher, or dd to "burn" an iso to a USB, it will only make the
filsystem the original size of the iso. For example if you burn a 3.7GB iso to a 32GB USB drive,
the drive effectively becomes a 3.7GB drive.

I'm pretty sure, you re-created the partition table in gParted and then created a new partition,
it would get pretty close to 16GB. You always lose a little, my 16GB drives are closer 15.7GB.
Depending on what filesystem you use (exfat, ext4, xfs, etc.. )
 
I think I use Puppy Linux booted from a different USB to solve these cases. Use Gparted in Puppy to create new partition table, will wipe the problematic one, and Puppys have no problem with permission.
 
Mixing ISOs with USB drives is always something of a minefield. Especially given that most "USB installer" utilities tend to use "dd" as the backend. If you create a bootable USB from an ISO using dd, it not only copies the contents byte-for-byte, it also faithfully re-creates the underlying file-system.

ISO9660 is "read-only".....and the file-system has all sorts of other peculiarities (like 'fixing' file-system sizes). Its continued use is rather odd, given that the optical drives for which it was developed have largely disappeared by now. The first commercially successful implementation of the 'tech' HAS, after all, just celebrated its 40th birthday:-

en.wikipedia.org

History of optical storage media - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

If "dd" is going to continue to be the preferred system backend for these installer utilities, my thought for long enough has been that IMG files would be a far better way to go.

(And I have to agree with @dos2unix ; just formatting doesn't 'fix' it. The partition table - that first 512 bytes of the drive - also needs to be re-created. This last bit is way more important than the actual formatting, TBH....


Mike. ;)
 
Last edited:
dos2unix said:
It looks like you have filesystems on this disk. How were they created?

If you use something like Rufus, Ether, or dd to "burn" an iso to a USB, it will only make the
filsystem the original size of the iso. For example if you burn a 3.7GB iso to a 32GB USB drive,
the drive effectively becomes a 3.7GB drive.

I'm pretty sure, you re-created the partition table in gParted and then created a new partition,
it would get pretty close to 16GB. You always lose a little, my 16GB drives are closer 15.7GB.
Depending on what filesystem you use (exfat, ext4, xfs, etc.. )
Click to expand...
fdisk normally shows the usb disk size by comment, if not in the device table it outputs, and lsblk normally outputs that size as well. If they don't, then one consideration is that the usb may have a problem. The following output is for a 16G usb which has had a rescue disk of 730M written to it with dd, nothing else. The EFI partition appeared after the dd was run:
Code: 
[root@fen ~]# fdisk /dev/sdb

Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.38.1).
Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.
Be careful before using the write command.

The device contains 'iso9660' signature and it will be removed by a write command. See fdisk(8) man page and --wipe option for more details.

Command (m for help): p

Disk /dev/sdb: 14.91 GiB, 16005464064 bytes, 31260672 sectors      [<- SIZE COMMENT]
Disk model: Cruzer Facet
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x4a43e927

Device     Boot Start     End Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sdb1  *        0 1495039 1495040  730M  0 Empty
/dev/sdb2         244    3123    2880  1.4M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)

Command (m for help): q

[root@fen ~]# lsblk
NAME   MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
<snip>
sdb      8:16   1  14.9G  0 disk
├─sdb1   8:17   1   730M  0 part
└─sdb2   8:18   1   1.4M  0 part
<snip>

The normal finding displayed here is that despite there only being an iso on the usb of 730M, and that being shown in the device table, fdisk and lsblk can still see the size of the whole usb.
 
Last edited:
Input from someone who uses Ventoy regularly.

G'day @andydas1947 and welcome to linux.org :)

Here's my relevant output from

lsblk

from my 64 GB Kingston, has 22 Linux isos on it

Code: 
sdd       8:48   1  57.7G  0 disk
├─sdd1    8:49   1  57.7G  0 part /media/chris/Ventoy
└─sdd2    8:50   1    32M  0 part

and from my 32 GB Kingston, which has 11 Linux isos on it

Code: 
sdd       8:48   1  28.9G  0 disk
├─sdd1    8:49   1  28.8G  0 part /media/chris/Ventoy
└─sdd2    8:50   1    32M  0 part

...so it is as is mentioned

dos2unix said:
If you use something like Rufus, Etcher, or dd to "burn" an iso to a USB, it will only make the
filsystem the original size of the iso. For example if you burn a 3.7GB iso to a 32GB USB drive,
the drive effectively becomes a 3.7GB drive.
Click to expand...

that Ventoy, too will appear to use the entire USB stick, but there is still free space, which can be used appropriately to add more isos to the limit of the stick's true capacity.

Ventoy, though, as you can see in my output, makes 2 partitions, which may or may not show up in the left pane of your File Manager, depending on which one you are using. Both partitions will show up in GParted.

Conclusion, then, is that either Ventoy has not been installed completely and correctly, or the USB stick is damaged, or both.

Our Staff Writer, Jarret, has an article on Ventoy here

https://www.linux.org/threads/usb-linux-boot-ventoy.29944/

so if you reformat your USB stick as described above, and use the article, you have a good chance of success.

Let us know how you go.

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
wizardfromoz wrote:
...so it is as is mentioned


dos2unix said:
If you use something like Rufus, Etcher, or dd to "burn" an iso to a USB, it will only make the
filsystem the original size of the iso. For example if you burn a 3.7GB iso to a 32GB USB drive,
the drive effectively becomes a 3.7GB drive.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

My reading of this is that it depends on how one interprets what dos2unix wrote.

Given that the context of this thread is that the OP cannot see the full size of the 16G usb, then one interpretation of the statement:
if you burn a 3.7GB iso to a 32GB USB drive, the drive effectively becomes a 3.7GB drive.
Click to expand...
is that an iso of just 3.7G will be all that one can see of the usb when looking for the full size of that usb. That means that a reading of its size will only show that iso size as the size of the whole usb, and not the actual full size of the usb which is 16G.

Have regard to the fact that the statement under interpretation was made in relation to the action:
"burn" an iso to a USB
Click to expand...
without any reference to ventoy.

If this is the interpretation made, that is, that the size of the iso, 3.7G in this case, will be all that one can see of the usb and will consequently appear as the size of the usb, then that is incorrect. Post #9 shows that to be the case.

If on the other hand, one interprets the statement:
if you burn a 3.7GB iso to a 32GB USB drive, the drive effectively becomes a 3.7GB drive.
Click to expand...
as meaning that if the usb has only a 3.7G iso on it, then its effectiveness as a usb is limited to that iso, that is, limited to what that iso can produce, and that, by inference, the rest of the size of the usb is ineffective or irrelevant, so to speak, then, the statement can be seen to be quite correct.
 
Last edited:
Hi, I tried gparted using puppy linux but nothing new happed. It gave same results as I has mentioned in my earlier posts.

It only shows 1 partition after lsblk in terminal. After using cat command system is able recognise that usb has 16384 blocks.


I am new with linux and not a tech savy person. So I could not digest the information in below mentioned thread.
https://www.linux.org/threads/usb-linux-boot-ventoy.29944/


Please guide me what should I do next?
 
Yes I did.
sudo parted /dev/sde p [sudo] password for ANDY: Model: Kingston DataTraveler G3 (scsi) Disk /dev/sde: 8389kB Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B Partition Table: msdos Disk Flags: Number Start End Size Type File system Flags 1 1049kB 8389kB 7340kB primary ext4
 
Last edited:
[sudo] password for ANDY:
Click to expand...

Puppy run as root - I am lost looking at your screen above. By the way what Puppy did you install ?
Use Gparted in Puppy click on "Device", then "Create Partition Table"

Screenshot(1).png
.
 
I ran puppy os (fossapup64-9.5.iso) live using another ventoy installed usb.
opened gparted and created partition table, ran following commands

cat /sys/block/sdd/size
fdisk -l /dev/sdd
parted /dev/sdd p

It gave the same results. I wanted to copy those results, but somehow linux.org just kept loading. Other websites opened easily. So I rebooted in with MX linux, which my main os.

Here I opened the terminal and did the above commands and copy-pasted the results, hence it asked me root password.
 
ML_113 said:
Maybe your USB is gone...
I have better luck with Sandisk.
Click to expand...
Yeah, another satisfied SanDisk user here; been running 'em for years. Had a whole bunch of USB 2.0 Cruzer 'Blades' at one time, but those all-plastic port shields just break too easy along the corners.

Had a couple of USB 2.0 Cruzer 'Fit's' (the tiny wee ones). Several Cruzer Ultra 'Fits' - the USB 3.0 models, although a couple of these ran so hot the plastic caps actually melted right off! Currently trialling the present-gen Cruzer Ultra 'Fit' USB 3.1/3.2-gen types; all-plastic construction - like the Blades - though the port shield seems tougher (so hasn't yet cracked) AND they don't seem to run anywhere NEAR as hot as their immediate predecessors. Guess the NAND flash must be built on a smaller process; SanDisk use a lot of Samsung & Hynix silicon, and their NAND flash is down to somewhere between 3 and 5 nm ATM.....

Mike. ;)
 
You can't really close threads. You can just stop responding if you want. At the top of the thread, to the right, you might see an 'unwatch' option to stop getting notifications.

I can lock the thread if there's a good reason for it. I tend to treat that with caution and care, as once people are responding to a thread it no longer really belongs to just the person who started it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Staff online

Members online

Total: 773 (members: 1, guests: 772)

Latest posts

Top