Causes and possible solutions to the problem when the disk is write-protected. Programs for eliminating recording errors and formatting protected flash drives. Mechanical write protection mode is enabled
With the development of information technology, floppy disks went out of use. They have been replaced by USB drives. It should be noted that flash drives have become more popular even than CDs and DVDs. Removable media allows you to record information repeatedly.
Unfortunately, when users try to add new documents to the media, they may see the following message on the screen: “USB media is write protected.” Before you start eliminating the blocking, you need to figure out why the write protection of the flash drive worked.
Reasons for enabling protection
Before removing write protection from a flash drive, users are advised to consider the reasons for installing a protective function on the media. Protection is enabled for the following reasons:
- The OS security policy has been configured. Thus, the system protects the user from loss of confidential information;
- Computer infection by viruses;
- Changing the volume attributes to “Read Only”;
- Hardware write prohibition;
- Firmware corruption.
Most of the reasons can be eliminated using the operating system. It is important to carefully familiarize yourself with the methods, and only then apply them.
Mechanical protection
Having discovered that the disk is write-protected, newcomers begin to panic. You need to calm down and try to correct the situation. First of all, it is recommended to inspect the appearance of the USB drive. Many flash drives have a miniature jumper, which serves as protection.
Having discovered a miniature “lever” on the body of a removable disk, users are advised to move it in the opposite direction. After this, you need to check the media by inserting it into the system unit. It is best not to use the ports located on the front side, as they may have poor contact and the drive will not be detected.
If physical switching does not help, it is best to return the “lever” to its place and then move on to other methods. Some flash drives have writing on them. The jumper must be installed opposite “Unlock”. The same applies to the memory card used in cameras.
The registry as a means to disable protection
The Windows platform has a tool called the registry, which contains settings for programs and the entire OS as a whole. Sometimes there are situations when malware changes the registry value, as a result of which protection appears on the flash drive that prevents the writing of any types of files.
To change the setting, you must activate the system registry editor. To do this, open the Start menu, and then type “regedit” in the search bar.
It should be noted that the system registry can be launched using the task utility. To call it, press the combination of two keys Win + R. In the form that launches, type the word “regedit” and then click on the “OK” button.
After opening the system registry, users should open the branch: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->SYSTEM->CurrentControlSet->Control”.
The next step is to find the “StorageDevicePolicies” subsection in the “Control” section. If such a directory does not exist, it should be added. It is recommended to press the right button of the manipulator under the “Control” section. As soon as the menu opens, you will need to select the “create” item, and then click on the “Section” inscription. The new section should be called “StorageDevicePolicies”.
Now we need to add a parameter. In the window located on the right side, you need to right-click and then select “Create”. When the submenu opens, it is recommended to select “DWORD Value (32 bits).”
It should be noted that the “StorageDevicePolicies” section with the “WriteProtect” parameter can be created, but its value will be “1”. To remove write protection, you need to set the value to “0”, after which it is better to restart the computer.
Working with CMD
Many users do not know how to remove protection from a flash drive using CMD commands. To launch the console, you need to launch the task execution utility, or open Start, and then type “cmd” in the search bar.
After starting the console, you need to use the Diskpart command. Immediately after this, another console will appear in which all actions will be performed.
Before removing protection, you need to decide on the disk. To do this, enter the command “list volume” in the console and then press Enter. After this, a table with all devices will appear. The last volume will be removable media. It is of a removable type, and its size will also be indicated (for flash drives, the size can be indicated in megabytes, i.e. for 8 GB it will be written 7788 MB).
The next step requires entering the command “Select volume #”, where instead of “#” the volume number corresponding to the removable media is indicated.
When the volume is selected, you need to use the “Attributes volume clear readonly” command. After that, just press Enter.
After the operation is completed, all parameters will be cleared and the write protection will be removed. To check, it is recommended to reinsert the USB flash drive and then send the files to the media.
Changing the security policy
If the disk is write-protected, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the security policy. First, you should call the “Run” utility, and then enter “gpedit.msc” in the field. In the application that opens, you need to enter the computer configuration, and then expand administrative templates. In the list that opens, find the system, and then select “Access to removable storage devices.”
A list will be displayed in the right window. The user will need to find the “Removable drives: Prohibit writing” option. To start editing a policy, you need to “click” on the entry with the right button of the manipulator, and then select “Edit”.
Now remove the write protection by checking the box that says “Disabled”. You can get rid of a protected recording by checking the box that says: “Not specified.” After this, all that remains is to click on the “Apply” button and “OK”.
Application of specialized software
Users often have to deal with the fact that a USB drive is write-protected, but they do not know how to remove the protection. If manipulations with OS utilities do not produce a positive result, you should seek help from specialized software.
- HP USB Disk;
- JetFlash Recovery;
- Apaser Repair.
Each program is unique and released by developers to recover specific flash drives. It is best to check with the manufacturer which program is best suited.
HP USB Disk Utility
If the flash drive does not allow the user to move or add files, and the manufacturer of the USB device is unknown, we recommend using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. The utility is distributed completely free of charge. Thanks to the program, it is possible to completely restore the operation of a removable disk. The only thing worth remembering is that all information on the media will be deleted.
After downloading the file, the program is launched as an administrator. The next step requires you to select the media and then format the flash drive. In this case, all parameters will be restored.
JetFlash Recovery program
This program is capable of correcting errors in USB drives manufactured under the Transcend brand, as well as A-data. The advantage of the utility is that it can:
- Remove recording protection;
- Correct block reading errors;
- Recognize RAW file system;
- Format the media without deleting data.
It is best to download the application from the manufacturer's official website. After downloading the utility, you must run it as an administrator. After this, you can begin to resuscitate the host, remove the protection or select any appropriate action.
Application from Apaser
The utility is designed to resuscitate flash drives produced by Apacer Technology Inc. The application allows you to:
- Format the device;
- Eliminate the protective function;
- Fix block reading errors.
After downloading and launching the program, a form with a “Format” button will appear. After clicking it, the disk will be formatted. The data will of course be deleted, but the write protection will be eliminated.
The program can be downloaded from the official Internet resource. Even a beginner can handle managing the program.
Other ways to “treat” the carrier
If all of the above methods do not help, all that remains is to infect the host with viruses. First of all, you should check USB drives for viruses. This can be done with any antivirus programs. It is also recommended to check the media with Anti-Autorun utilities.
Even if antivirus software detects Trojans and other malware, it is recommended to format the flash drive. This can be done using Windows. If all else fails, your best bet is to boot into Safe Mode and then repeat the procedure. To do this, you need to restart the computer, and when it turns on, press F8. After this, you need to select a download method. When the computer turns on, you just need to format it.
It is important to note that before performing any procedure, it is recommended to check how full the disk is. Perhaps the disk space is simply full, so a new file cannot be written. This can be done by opening the media properties and first opening “My Computer”.
Conclusion
Faced with blocking the recording of information on removable media, many users despair. There is no need to be upset, because in 90% of cases, the methods described above allow you to restore the functionality of the flash drive. There's no need to rush. It is necessary to gradually test each of the existing methods.
If nothing helps, then physical damage to the media has occurred. Of course, in this case, you can restore everything, but you will have to contact the experts. It should be noted that this is not profitable. The cost of repairs may be more expensive than the cost of new removable media.
How to remove write protection from a flash drive
Problems with flash drives have been known since their inception, including the impossibility of formatting, blocking of writing to the drive, and the appearance of incomprehensible errors. Today we will look at the case when the flash drive is write-protected; by the way, this solution can later help with.
Let’s say you wanted to put something on a flash drive, that is, write down information, when you try to do this, a message like this may appear: “The disk is write protected, remove the protection or use another disk”, or simply that the disk is write-protected. This problem can be solved in several ways, which is what we will do now.
The flash drive is write protected, how to remove the protection - options?
In general, there are two ways to remove protection, software and hardware. The hardware method cannot be used on all drives, but only on those with a special switch. For example, it is on SD card readers on the side, there will be an inscription "Lock". As you can see, everything is simple, you just need to switch the lever.
Software method. I think you are clear too. To unlock the flash drive, we will use standard Windows tools, for example, the command line, or third-party programs.
How to remove write protection from a flash drive using the registry?
Let's move on to the main process. The first option is to use . To enter it we open a window "Run" by pressing keys Win+R and enter the command there regedit. Another option is to enter “regedit” in the search and open the registry as administrator in the results.
Now we need to go to the StorageDevicePolicies section. It is located along the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
By the way, I have already talked about how to quickly go to this or that branch.
If you do not find this section there, then create it. To do this, click on the previous section "Control" and choose "Create", Then "Chapter" and name it StorageDevicePolicies.
Now, in this section we must create a parameter DWORD (32 bits), we do exactly the same. Name this parameter WriteProtect.
Click on the created parameter twice and make sure that its value is 0, if not, then change it to zero and save.
After this, you need to exit the registry, remove the flash drive and restart the computer. When the system boots, insert the flash drive again. Now you can write any information to the flash drive, since the protection is disabled.
If this option does not work, move on to the next one.
Unprotect a flash drive using the command line
Another software option to solve the problem is to use the diskpart command on the command line.
Open the command prompt as an administrator; to do this in Windows 10, you can right-click on and select the appropriate item, or enter cmd in the search and open as administrator.
The next step is to enter the command on the command line diskpart and then enter list disk .
Now you need to understand what number the flash drive has. The easiest way to understand this is by volume.
Once you have figured out which number belongs to the desired flash drive, you need to enter the command on the command line select disk"flash drive number » , that is, if the flash drive had number 1, then the command would look like this: select disk 1.
Thus, we have selected the desired disk, then we clear the attributes by entering the command attributes disk clear readonly .
If you have a task to format the drive, then first enter these commands:
- clean– cleaning
- create partition primary– create a section
- format fs = ntfs– format to NTFS format
- If you format in FAT format, the command will be like this: format fs = fat
The reading attribute is described in the article -. If you are interested in how to use it for disks and partitions, then read on.
Removing protection using the Local Group Policy Editor
I’ll say right away that this utility is only available in professional versions of Windows, for example, Windows 10 Pro or Windows 8 Pro. You won't see this in home editions.
To enter the Group Policy Editor you need to press the combination Win+R and in the window that opens enter the command gpedit.msc.
In the editor window we must go to the following section: Computer configuration - Administrative Templates - System - Access to removable storage devices. We find there the parameter “Removable drives: Prohibit recording”; if it is in the “Enabled” state, then disable it.
To do this, you need to double-click on this parameter, a window will open where we put the checkbox in position "Disable", and then press "OK".
The era of floppy disks is long gone, but sometimes when trying to write to a flash drive, the user may encounter a situation known since the days of using floppy media - it is blocked and cannot be used.
We will look at how to solve this problem in detail in our article today.
So, you need to write some information to a flash drive, you insert it and receive a message like “The disk is write-protected, remove the protection or use another one.”
This problem can be solved quite quickly, and we will talk about this a little later, but now we should say a few words about the purpose of installing protection from downloading on .
Note! This operation is performed for only one purpose - which can spontaneously be copied to removable media without the user’s knowledge.
Methods for removing write protection from a flash drive
There are 2 key ways to remove protection from a flash drive: hardware and software.
The hardware solution is to install a lock switch, which is present in some drive models, as well as SD cards.
Most often, the toggle switch is located on the side edge of the drive.
Carefully inspect your existing drive and look for an open/closed lock icon or the word Lock on it.
Note! Removing the lock is very simple - just move the lock lever in the opposite direction. That's all. Insert the media into the appropriate slot and repeat the file writing operation again.
The software solution involves the interaction of a flash drive controller, which is responsible for the ability to record information.
You can remove write protection using this method using the command line of the Registry Editor or Local Group Policy.
Learn more about all of the above methods.
Removing protection using regedit
1. Click “Start” and enter - in the search field. Right-click (RMB) on the program and in the context menu go to the “Run as administrator” item.
2. Go to the StorageDevicePolicies section:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
Important! Important! If there is no such thing, you will have to create it. To do this, click on the section Control - New - Section. We call it “StorageDevicePolicies” without quotes. If there is no such section, you need to create it.
Create (RMB in the right column of the registry) a DWORD parameter (32 bits) in the created branch. For convenience, let's call the element WriteProtect.
3. Make sure that the WriteProtect value is 0. Right-click on WriteProtect and select “Change”. If the value is “1” you need to change it to “0” and click “Ok”.
4. Close the registry editor, remove the media and restart the computer. Insert the flash drive. Now the flash drive works as usual, allowing you to write files.
Removing protection using Diskpart
If we were unable to unlock using regedit, let's try to do it using the Diskpart command interpreter, which allows you to manage the commands that the user enters into the command line when working with partitions and disks.
1. “Start”, enter the name - cmd - in the search field. Right-click in the program and select “Run as administrator” in the context menu.
2. Now you should enter the commands: diskpart and list disk, and after entering each of them, press the Enter key.
3. In the list above, determine what serial number in the name the flash drive has.
This can be done based on the specified size, in our case an 8 GB flash drive, presented in the table as “Disk 1” with a capacity of 7441 MB.
4. Select the disk with the “select” command, clear the attributes that allow only reading “attributes disk clear readonly”.
If, you should enter the following commands: “clean”, create a partition “create partition primary”, format it in NTFS “format fs = ntfs” or FAT “format fs = fat”.
Any storage device, be it SD cards, microSD or USB flash drives, is subject to such an error as the inability to work with saved files, or rather a notification "Storage is write protected". The question of how to remove this protection on a phone or computer is becoming relevant among thousands of users. Next, you will be presented with easy and more complex solution options, but basically everyone can figure them out.
Removing recording protection on your phone and memory card
Below we will present all the current methods and solutions that you can apply on your device. Choose the easiest one for yourself and act.
SD cards and microSD
The solution with microSD will mean Android phones (Samsung, Nokia, Xiaomi, etc.), so feel free to apply the described unlocking methods to your smartphone.
If the "Storage is write-protected" notification appears when deleting through the Gallery, try opening folder from the photo and remove files from there. Most file managers also solve this issue. For example, Total Commander will present a dialog to remove protection.
Here Video instruction with clear explanations on formatting memory via the command line.
USB flash drives
Although the described steps can still be applied to any memory cards, it is still better to relate them more to a USB flash drive.
- Some manufacturers have decided to personally address the issue of simply removing protection from a flash drive. All this resulted in the creation of utilities for unlocking data. Most of them restore functionality through formatting. An example can be given Hard Disk Low Level Format Tool, but there are other programs. There is nothing complicated about them; any user can understand them.
- Another option is to try your luck through "Local Group Policy Editor". Enter the command gpedit.msc in the menu called up using WIN+R. A multi-step editor will open. The first point will be "Computer Configuration". Click on the triangle next to it. Come up with the following options. Select the system and continue "Access to removable storage devices". In the right window we find “Removable drives: Deny reading”. It should be “Not set”, if not, then enable this combination by clicking on the parameter.
Conclusion
After all, the "Storage is write-protected" notification may indicate a technical failure of the media, which indicates its replacement. You can check the performance of the memory at a service center, however, you should make sure that you cannot remove the protection using the methods described above.
When trying to write data to a flash drive, users are faced with disk write protection, so they are faced with the question of how to remove write protection from a flash drive. A message appears on the computer screen: “The disc is write-protected. Remove protection or use another disk."
It is necessary to remove write protection from a USB flash drive, because it is impossible to copy or add files on the device, or, conversely, delete files from the disk in the Windows operating system. In this case, you will not be able to use a flash drive to perform your tasks.
Such an unexpected situation occurs, which, as usual, arose at the most inopportune moment. The user expects to use a USB flash drive or flash memory card of various types (SD, xD, MS, CF, etc.), but here is this error.
The reasons for the error may be different: due to a hardware malfunction, or the problem is caused by software actions. It happens that the flash memory device simply malfunctions, for example, the electronic filling burned out, so there is nothing you can do to help here.
Sometimes you cannot use a flash drive due to viruses. Checking the flash drive using an antivirus program and removing malicious software from the disk will help you get out of the situation.
The main reasons for blocking writes to flash memory devices:
- hardware failure of the drive;
- write protection using physical locking;
- virus infection;
- changing the disk attribute to read-only mode.
If the flash drive is write-protected, what should I do, how to remove the protection? In this guide, we will look at 5 methods that help remove write protection on a flash drive. In most cases, this problem is solved successfully.
How to remove write protection from a flash drive physically
On SD cards and some USB flash drives there is a switch that serves to disable/enable the drive's recording mode. In this case, the flash drive or micro flash drive (memory card) is write-protected mechanically.
On the body of a flash drive or memory card there is a special switch marked with the word “Lock” with a picture of a lock. Move the switch to a different position, and then check the operation of the flash drive on your computer.
How to remove write protection from a flash drive on the command line
If the flash drive says: remove write protection, you can use the command line to remove the read-only attribute from the disk.
Follow these steps:
- Run Command Prompt as an administrator (read how to run Command Prompt in Windows 10).
- In the command line interpreter window, enter (after entering the appropriate command, press the Enter key):
- Next, enter the command to display all drives on your computer:
- The Command Prompt window will display all drives connected to the computer. We need to choose a flash drive number, which can be easily determined by the size of the disk.
- On this computer, the flash drive has a size of 8 GB (7712 MB), so I should select the number “1”; on your computer, the flash drive may have a different disk serial number.
- Enter the command to select a volume (disk):
- Next, run a command that clears the attributes of the selected drive:
Close the command line interpreter. Check the operation of the flash drive on your computer.
How to disable write protection of a flash drive in Registry Editor
By changing the Windows registry, you can disable write protection for flash drives.
To do this, do the following:
- Press the “Win” + “R” keys on your keyboard at the same time, and in the “Run” window, enter the command “regedit” (without quotes).
- In the Registry Editor window, follow the path:
- In the “StorageDevicePolicies” section, right-click on the “WriteProtect” parameter, and in the context menu click “Edit...”.
- In the "Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value" window, in the "Value" field, enter the value "0" (without quotes), and then click on the "OK" button.
- Restart your computer.
If the "StorageDevicePolicies" key is not in the registry, create it. To do this, right-click on the “Control” section, select “New” => “Section”.
In the "StorageDevicePolicies" section, create a DWORD value (32 bits) named "WriteProtect", set the value to "0". Reboot your system.
How to remove the write ban on a flash drive in the Local Group Policy Editor
A write ban on a removable drive can be set in the Windows Local Group Policy Editor. In this case, you need to disable the ban in the following way:
- Press the “Win” + “R” keyboard keys, in the “Run” window that opens, enter the command “gpedit.msc”, and then click on the “OK” button.
- In the Local Group Policy Editor window, go to: “Computer Configuration” => “Administrative Templates” => “System” => “Access to Removable Storage Devices”.
- Right-click on the "Removable drives: Deny writing" policy, in the "Removable drives: Deny writing" window, set the option to "Disabled", and then click on the "OK" button.
Check for a problem with the removable drive.
Troubleshooting by formatting a flash drive
If the flash drive has the FAT32 file system (FAT16, FAT, exFAT), then you will not be able to move files larger than 4 GB to the USB drive. To support the use of large files on a flash drive, you need a drive in the NTFS file system.
In other cases, formatting to the default file system sometimes helps to restore functionality to a problematic flash drive.
Using utilities to recover flash drives
Specialized utilities from device manufacturers will help you cope with many problems that arise in the operation of USB flash drives. Well-known manufacturers: Transcend, Silicon Power, ADATA, Kingston, etc., have created software to restore the functionality of their devices.
Using the programs: JetFlash Online Recovery, USB Flash Drive Recovery, USB Flash Drive Online Recovery, Kingston Format Utility, solve problems that arise when working with flash drives.
If these utilities do not help, use more advanced programs: HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool, AlcorMP, D-Soft Flash Doctor.
Conclusions of the article
If a problem occurs with the write protection of the disk, the user cannot use the flash drive. Using various tools, you can try to solve the problem that has arisen: remove write protection from the flash drive.
