What to do if the flash drive has write protection

Despite the growing popularity of cloud storage, flash drives are still the most common storage medium. To protect it from unauthorized deletion, transfer or introduction of new data, there is special software. Sometimes, however, a failure occurs, and an unprotected drive gives an access error. Let’s see how to deal with this.

 

Causes of the error “The disk is write-protected: remove protection or use another disk”

If a window appears with such an error, the disk is not formatted and does not want to copy files, there may be several reasons for this:

• the flash drive is actually faulty, and the inscription “the disk is write-protected” appeared by accident, because the computer could not understand what was wrong with it;
• in the Windows OS itself, a ban on reading from removable media is specified;
  
• you blocked access by accidentally sliding a small slider on the flash drive;
  
• the drive is infected with malware;
  
• the USB socket on the PC is broken / loosened;
• The device driver is not installed correctly or is missing at all;
  
• you always disconnect the flash drive just like that, without using the “Safely Remove” option.
  
• And, of course, a flash drive can really be write-protected. If you are not the only one who owns it, then it is worth checking out the possibility.

Write protection types

There are two types of protection:

• mechanical;
• software.

In the first case, the already mentioned small slider on the drive case is meant, and in the second – special programs.

Mechanical removal of write protection from a flash drive

Examine your drive, especially if you have an SD card. You will see a small slider on the side. If you move it, the data recording is blocked. But in this case, you do not need to think long about how to remove protection from your flash drive and how to format it – just change the position of the button.

But that’s not all you can do: try inserting the USB flash drive into a different port or other device. In stationary PCs, the first thing to loosen is the connectors in front, because they are used most often. Much stronger are those behind the system unit.

Removing write protection programmatically

If the previous step didn’t help you in any way, let’s get down to more complex manipulations. Try the following:

• Open “Computer” and find your device. Press RMB, select “Format” and in the File system section, specify NTFS instead of FAT32, which is used by default to format the flash drive. This way, you will remove the 4 GB limit and be able to process more data. But the method assumes that in the future the disk will be disconnected only through “Safe Removal”.

  

  The default is FAT32, change this to NTFS

• Using a registry editor can also help you. Type in the system search “Run”, right-click on this word and select Run As Administrator. Then type “regedit” into the line and press Enter. On the left, in the list, find the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section, in it a large SYSTEM branch, and in it the folders: CurrentControlSet Control StorageDevicePolicies. Now, in the right margin, notice the WriteProtect. Double-click on it and in the window that appears, notice the number at 0. Restart your computer and check how everything works. If you do not find StorageDevicePolicies, then stop at the Control folder, click Create – Section, give the new section the name of the missing one and leave it open. Now you need to click in it: Create – Parameter DWORD and also set it to a zero value.
  
• Now let’s check out the Local Group Policy Editor. Launch the “Run” window again, only this time paste in: “gpedit.msc” and press Enter. Here you are interested in the path: Computer configuration – Administrative templates – System – Access To Removable Storage Devices. In the last folder, look at the Removable disks: Deny write access option. It must be disabled. Double click and select Disable.
  
• Using the “Command Line” also helps to remove write protection. It is also convenient to search for it through the “Search”: just type in “Command line”, right-click on the name and select Run As Administrator. The last condition is necessary, otherwise the system will resist your commands and answer that you do not have enough rights. So, now in the black field, write each word given here and press Enter, but remember that you will lose all files from the flash drive:
  

  Diskpart
  list disk
  select disk X (where X is the letter denoting your flash drive when it is connected to the PC, it can be “disk G”, “disk E”, etc.);
  detail disk – see if you have selected the right flash drive, the command will show its data;
  attributes disk clear readonly
  clean
  create partition primary
  formatfs = fat32
  exit

If the flash drive does not lend itself to manipulation, you can involve third-party programs in the process that work with locked media and help fix errors. The choice of software depends on the company under whose brand the disc is released. You need to go to the official website and find the software you need. As a rule, although it is called differently, it contains a postscript Recovery or Format Utility.

How to unlock a write-protected USB flash drive is described in the instructions for the program. Installation prompts are also provided. But just remember that all records, files, folders, photos will disappear from the media irrevocably, so do not rush to resort to radical methods – start with something more secure.