Flip the Removable Bit | Lexar BootIt USB Format

The Lexar Bootit USB format tool created by Janaki of the Lexar support team enabled users to quickly format their jump drive. Additionally, Lexar's format tool included the ability flip the removable bit of a USB drive. A feature not commonly seen with such tools.

Lexar BootIt USB Format Tool | Flip the Removable Bit

Lexar Bootit USB Format and Flip Removable Bit

Flipping the removable bit allowed certain flash drives to be detected as a fixed disk instead of removable media. On older versions of Windows, flipping the hardware bit allowed a USB drive to contain more than one partition.

History on Flipping the Removable Media Bit

Flipping the removable hardware bit used to be necessary if you wanted to partition a USB flash drive from Windows XP, Vista, or 7. This was because the USB drivers Windows used would only allow you to partition local or fixed disks. However, the USB drivers currently used on recent versions of Microsoft Windows, such as Windows 11, 10, or 8 negate the need to flip the removable media hardware bit.

NOTE You can buy a fast 600MB/s SSD USB Flash Drive like this one from AXE memory that is pre-configured from the factory to be detected as a Local or Fixed Hard Disk. Allowing you to partition it from any current or prior version of Windows. Eliminating the need to flip the removable hardware bit.

Lexar's Bootit.exe tool might also work on several other vendors USB drives that use compatible hardware. Though using the tool on an unsupported device could cause unexpected results or even corrupt the drive. So experiment at your own risk!

BootIt Lexar Specifications

  • Authors Website: Project Home Page (no longer active).
  • Developer: Janaki of the Lexar support team.
  • File Size: 408 KB
  • Supported OS: Windows

Download BootIt.exe

If you are still using an old Windows operating system with Lexar Jump Drives, and want to experiment with flipping the removable bit. Here is the original BootIt tool that I used to use:
BootIt.exe Download

WARNING: By downloading and using this tool, you are proceeding at Your Own Risk! All liability for any damage the could result from use of any sort are on you, the user. It is unknown why this tool was removed, or even what it could do if used outside of its originally designed parameters for Lexar Specific Jump Drives.