Merge partitions or unpartition USB drive in Windows 11/10

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Linda 

Last updated on April 19, 2024

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There are two USB partition issues.

"I have a 16GB Kingston USB drive which was accidentally partitioned. Now my USB drive has two partitions, each is 7.3 GB. I tried to delete one partition or merge the two partitions into one via Disk Management, but failed. How can I solve this problem?"

When you insert a USB drive with several GB of storage into your computer and see two or more partitions in the Windows File Explorer, you may wonder, Can a USB have multiple partitions? The answer is yes, as long as you meet the following two conditions. By the way, share this post to let more users know the prerequisites for creating two or more partitions on a USB drive.

1. Make sure your computer is running Windows 8.1 or later, which supports recognition of multiple partitions on a USB flash drive.

2. Your USB was created by a specific vendor and supports the creation of multiple partitions.

Having multiple partitions on a USB drive will lead to unnecessary memory consumption and is really inconvenient. In this case, you cannot simply reformat it because you can only format each partition separately instead of the entire disk. Then, you have two options to solve this problem: delete partitions on a USB drive or merge USB partitions. First, we'll show you two methods using a simple partition manager and Diskpart to delete partitions on a USB drive. Keep reading for details.

Using a Simpler Partition Manager to Delete Partitions from a USB Drive

Not good at using the Command Prompt? Some technically knowledgeable people avoid using the diskpart tool because of its complexity. More importantly, they fear that typing the wrong command may mess up the disk partitions and result in data loss. Apart from human errors, you may sometimes encounter an error like “The DISKPART failed to delete partition on removable media,” making you give up on using DISKPART. In all these situations, how can you easily delete all partitions from a USB drive/SD card? It's wise to opt for an easy-to-use partition manager as an alternative.

tools Partition Master is more powerful than Diskpart and Disk Management in Windows 11/10, offering extensive disk organization features that allow you to delete partitions, format partitions, hide partitions, wipe partitions, clone/copy partitions, and easily merge/split partitions. It's fully compatible with Windows 11/10 and includes advanced partition management functions not found in the Diskpart tool, such as migrating the operating system to an HDD/SSD.

Video Tutorial - How to Partition a Hard Drive

Now, download and use this partition manager to delete partitions from USB drive effortlessly.

Step 1: Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, on the "Partition Management" interface, right click the partition you want to delete and choose "Delete Partition".

Step 2: Confirm the prompt to delete the selected disk, and click "Yes".

Click Run Task, and then click Apply to start deleting the partitions on the device.

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If you delete one or more partitions but keep the partition where data locates, you can use the unallocated space to extend partition. If you delete all partitions, you can just create partition on USB drive directly.

How to Unpartition a USB Drive in Windows 11/10 Using Diskpart

Sometimes, the Delete Volume option in Disk Management on Windows 11/10 might be grayed out, preventing you from deleting a partition. In such a case, you can seek help from the Diskpart utility to assist you. Follow the guide, and after that, there should be only one partition on the USB flash drive.

Note: Formatting a partition that contains saved files will result in data loss. Back up important files beforehand.

Step 1. Press Windows Key + R simultaneously, type cmd, and click "OK" to open the Command Prompt with administrative privileges.

Step 2: Type diskpart, and press Enter.

3. Type list disk. This will prompt Diskpart to list all of the hard drives on your computer, including any USB flash drives that are connected. Let's say your USB flash drive is listed as "Disk 2".

Step 4. Type select disk G and press Enter.

Step 5: If your USB drive has more than one partition and you want to delete some of them, type list partition and press Enter. This will list all partitions, numbered 0, 1, 2, and so on.

Step 6: Type select partition 0 and press Enter.

Step 7: Type delete partition and press Enter.

Step 8: Repeat Steps 6 and 7 to delete Partition 1 or Partition 2, etc...

Step 9: After deleting all target partitions, type create partition primary and press Enter.

Step 10. Close the Command Prompt. You can now proceed to format the partition from the installer as normal.

How to Merge USB Flash Drive Partitions in Windows 11/10

If all partitions have data, it is recommended to merge partitions instead of deleting for data safety. Then, how can you merge USB partitions on Windows 11/10 without deleting them? Let Partition Master tool help you achieve this goal easily. It supports merging two adjacent partitions with ease.

Step 1: Select the Target Partition

Right-click the partition that you want to merge with more space, and select “Merge.”

Run the partition manager software.

Step 2: Select the adjacent partitions to merge

Merge with a partition adjacent to the previously selected one.

Click “OK” to continue.

Step 3: Perform the merge operation on the partitions

1. Click the "Perform Tasks" button at the top, then click "Apply".
2. The program will merge the drives and add the files from the second partition to the first one.

Select the partitions to merge

Conclusions

If you find that your USB drive has two or more partitions and you want to keep only one, you can selectively delete or merge partitions. However, whichever way you choose, we believe that Partition Master is the best partition management tool out there, thanks to its user-friendly interface and perfect features, as shown in the above tutorial. So, give it a try; you won't be disappointed.