Everyone above is wrong. I too had this problem. You run the V-safe software to access the "private zone". the software is downloadable from the support website. There are several versions and you have to go through and find the correct version by trial and error. If none of them work then you have a mini paperweight. I work on computers for a living and I have tried every professional tool out there and none of them will work. No the protected partition can not eve be recognized by a Linux boot disk.If you are willing to pay the shipping Verbatim will replace it.

You will have to download the v-safe software again for your flashdrive from manufacturer website. Then you can change the size of the secure area or remove it completely. http://www.verbatim.com/support/support.cfm?open=Manuals
You should be able to find the software here in the downloads section.