OK, well, I decided to upgrade my system to Win 10, went to MS's website, and was given the choice of either burning a DVD or setting it up on a jump drive. In a moment of brain fade, I elected to have it set up the jump drive, only too late realizing it would probably reformat my drive. I had quite a bit of data on the drive, but fortunately none of it was irreplaceable. Only after this did I elect to burn a DVD instead.
But the damage had been done. My 256 GB jump drive had been reformatted to 32 GB. Yep, MS, resized and reformatted the drive's partition. I tried doing a reformat of the jump drive, but it just kept the resized partition. No surprise there, but hey, it was worth a shot.
So my question to those of you who are a lot more geeky or nerdy about this topic than me, is there a relatively painless way I can reclaim my jump drive's lost gigabytes? I tried typing the "format" command into the command prompt, took a look at the various switches, but none of them seemed to do what I wanted.
I have -- around here somewhere, but I don't know where, and I've looked -- a Linux set of utilities that I burned to CD some years back that is a really useful collection. I don't recall the name of this collection of utilities offhand. It uses a slick graphical interface and has such things as disk cloning and partition setting and resizing, plus a good deal more. I've used this utility quite a bit, both for disk cloning and partition setting and resizing. But it's not gonna do me any good unless I can find it. So I'm hopeful I can at least restore my jump drive without it.
But if you're familiar with this set of Linux utilities I'm describing, and you know the name of them, I'd appreciate it if you could pass that name along. It would be a whole lot easier at this point for me just to burn another CD.
I don't use Linux so I'm not familiar with Linux tools. However, a free and dead easy Windows tool to use is +++ Lazesoft Recovery Tool +++. It's free.
What you're wanting to do is remove the drive partition Microsoft installed.
Thanks for the response, Jim. I'll take a look at your link. I did a bit of googling after posting the above message, and found the name of the Linux utility. It's called GParted. A bit more reading reveals that it can clone drives, but that it appears set up primarily to clone Linux partitions. So the clone software I used must have been another Linux utility. That seems to jog my memory correctly (the last time I cloned a disk was probably five years ago).
Actually, I don't really need to remove the partition that MS installed, I just need to stretch it out so that it fills all available space on the jump drive. Which is something that's easy to do with GParted.
I went ahead and dl'd the latest version of GParted, just so I have a copy, and I'll continue to search for that Linux utility that I used to clone drives.
Cloning drives is very useful. Say I want to upgrade the hard drive in my computer to one that is a lot bigger. But I don't want to have to reinstall everything. Well, I can clone the old drive's contents onto the new drive, but what happens is, an exact copy is made, all the way down to the old partition size. That's where GParted comes in. I can take my freshly cloned drive, and using GParted, either stretch the new partition so that it occupies all drive space, or I can create additional partitions to occupy the additional drive space. I frequently do both -- I'll enlarge the existing partition and create one or two additional partitions for the remaining space.
I'm just about at that point on my laptop where I need to get a new, larger hard drive, the main one. It's 1 TB and has only about 100 GB of room left. So time for a 2 TB drive, I'm figuring. When I do the install, I'll have to use both a clone utility and GParted to complete things.
Oh, and by the way, I'm not really a Linux user either, although I have played around with it some. The cool thing about these utilities is you burn them to bootable CDs. They install a basic Linux kernel into system RAM only, from which they performs all their actions.
This might get you back the disk space you require.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Bob, I've been waiting for the price of SSDs to drop before I make a move with them. It's on the "to do" list, just haven't done it yet. But this doesn't have anything to do with reclaiming the lost gigs on my USB jump drive.
VideoTrack, the Disk Management tool stuff you refer to is for Win 10. I'm still running Win 7, and couldn't figure out how to get it to "extend" the partition. I did all the reading up and more, still couldn't get it done.
John, you hit on it. That link on how to use the "diskpart" command was the key. I got my GBs back! Yay!
Michael, great that you got it going. From your opening sentence I understood that you had upgraded to Windows 10. I didn't see a mention of Windows 7 anywhere.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.
Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!
Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.
Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean