Any drive, be it SD cards, microSD and USB flash drives, are subject to such an error as the inability to work with saved files, or rather a notification "The 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 solutions, but basically everyone can deal with them.
Removing write protection on the phone and memory card
Below we will present all the relevant methods and solutions that you can apply on your device. Choose the easiest one for you and go for it.
SD cards and microSD
A solution with microSD will mean Android phones (Samsung, Nokia, Xiaomi, etc.), so feel free to apply the described unlock 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 deal with this issue. For example, Total Commander will present a dialog to remove protection.
Here Video instruction with clear explanations, on formatting memory through the command line.
USB flash drives
Although the described actions can still be applied to any memory cards, it is still better to refer them to a USB flash drive to a greater extent.
- Some manufacturers have decided to personally deal with 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. Can be cited as an example Hard Disk Low Level Format Tool but other programs exist. There is nothing complicated in them, any user will understand.
- Another option is to try your luck through "Local Group Policy Editor". Drive in a team gpedit.msc in the menu called up with WIN+R. The multi-step editor will open. The first item will be "Computer Configuration". Click on the triangle next to it. Move forward the following options. Choose a system and then "Access to Removable Storage Devices". In the right window we find "Removable drives: Deny reading." It should be “Not set”, if not, then turn on such a combination by clicking on the parameter.
Conclusion
After all, the "Storage is write-protected" notice may indicate a technical failure of the media, which indicates its replacement. You can check the performance of the memory at the service center, however, you should make sure that you cannot remove the protection using the methods described above.
Good day.
Recently, several users have contacted me with the same type of problem - when copying information to a USB flash drive, an error occurred, something like the following: The disk is write protected. Remove protection or use another disc«.
This can happen for various reasons and there is no one-type solution. In this article, I will give the main reasons due to which this error appears and their solution. In most cases, the recommendations in the article will return your drive to normal operation. Let's get started...
1) Mechanical write protection on the flash drive is enabled
The most common reason for a protection-related error to appear is the switch on the flash drive itself (Lock). Previously, something similar was on floppy disks: you wrote down something you needed, switched it to read-only mode - and you don’t worry that you will forget and accidentally erase the data. Such switches are usually found on MicroSD flash drives.
On fig. 1 shows such a flash drive, if the switch is set to Lock mode, then it will only be possible to copy files from the flash drive, it will be impossible to write or format it!
Rice. 1. MicroSD with write protection.
By the way, sometimes you can also find such a switch on some USB flash drives (see Fig. 2). It is worth noting that it is extremely rare and only in little-known Chinese firms.
Fig.2. Write-protected RiData flash drive.
In general, by default, Windows does not prohibit copying and writing information to flash drives. But in case of virus activity (and indeed, any malware), or, for example, when using and installing all kinds of assemblies from different authors, it is possible that some settings in the registry have been changed.
Therefore, the advice is simple:
- first check your PC (laptop) for viruses ();
- next check registry settings And local access policies(more on this later in the article).
1. Check registry settings
How to enter the registry:
- press the combination of buttons WIN + R;
- then in the Run box that appears, type regedit;
- press Enter (see fig. 3.).
By the way, in Windows 7 you can open the registry editor through the Start menu.
Note. Chapter control you will have, and here is the section StorageDevicePolicies- may not be... If it doesn't exist, you need to create it, just right-click on the section control and in the drop-down menu, select the section, then give it a name - StorageDevicePolicies. Working with partitions resembles the most common work with folders in Explorer (see Figure 4).
Further in the section StorageDevicePolicies create a parameter DWORD 32 bits: to do this, simply click on the section StorageDevicePolicies right-click and select the appropriate item from the drop-down menu.
By the way, such a 32-bit DWORD parameter can already be created in this section (if you had one, of course).
Rice. 5. Registry - creating a DWORD 32 value (clickable).
Now open this parameter and set its value to 0 (as in Figure 6). If you have an option DWORD 32 bits has already been created, change its value to 0 . Next, close the editor and restart your computer.
Rice. 6. Set the parameter
After restarting the computer, if the reason was in the registry, you can easily write the necessary files to the USB flash drive.
2. Local access policies
Also, in local access policies, writing information to connected drives (including flash drives) can be limited. In order to open local access policy editor- just press the buttons Win+R and in the execute line enter gpedit.msc , then the Enter key (see Figure 7).
Then, on the right, pay attention to the parameter " Removable drives: disable recording". Open this setting and disable it (or set it to "Not configured").
Actually, after the specified parameters, restart the computer and try to write the files to the USB flash drive.
3) Low-level formatting of a flash drive / disk
In some cases, for example, with certain types of viruses, there is nothing left but to format the drive in order to completely get rid of malware. Low-level formatting will destroy absolutely ALL DATA on the flash drive (you can no longer recover them with various utilities), and at the same time, it helps to bring the flash drive (or hard drive) back to life, on which many have already given up…
What utilities can be used.
In general, there are more than enough utilities for low-level formatting (besides, on the website of the flash drive manufacturer, you can also find 1-2 utilities for "resuscitating" the device). Nevertheless, by experience, I came to the conclusion that it is better to use one of the 2 following utilities:
- HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. A simple, installation-free utility for formatting USB-Flash drives (the following file systems are supported: NTFS, FAT, FAT32). Works with devices via USB 2.0 port. Developer: http://www.hp.com/
- HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool. An excellent utility with unique algorithms that allows you to easily and quickly format (including problem drives that other utilities and Windows do not see) HDD and Flash cards. The free version has a speed limit of 50 MB/s (not critical for flash drives). Below, I will show my example in this utility. Official website: http://hddguru.com/software/HDD-LLF-Low-Level-Format-Tool/
An example of low-level formatting (in HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool)
1. First, copy ALL NECESSARY files from the flash drive to the hard drive of the computer ( i.e. make a backup copy. After formatting, you will not be able to recover anything from this flash drive!).
3. You should see a list of all connected drives and flash drives. Find yours in the list (be guided by the device model and its volume).
Rice. 9. Choosing a flash drive
4. Then open the LOW-LEVE FORMAT tab and click the Format This Device button. The program will ask you again and warn you about deleting everything on the flash drive - just answer in the affirmative.
Rice. 10. Start formatting
5. Next, wait until the formatting is done. The time will depend on the state of the media being formatted and the version of the program (the paid one works faster). When the operation is completed, the green progress bar will turn yellow. Now you can close the utility and start high-level formatting.
Rice. 11. Formatting completed
6. The easiest way is to just go to " This computer" (or " My computer"), select the connected flash drive in the list of devices and right-click on it: select the format function in the drop-down list. Next, give the name of the flash drive and specify the file system (for example, NTFS, because it supports files larger than 4 GB. See Fig. 12).
Rice. 12. My computer / flash drive formatting
That's all. After a similar procedure, your flash drive (in most cases, ~ 97%) will start working as expected ( the exception is cases when software methods will not help the flash drive ...).
Why does this error occur, what should I do to avoid it again?
And finally, I will give a few reasons why a write protection error appears (using the tips listed below will significantly increase the life of your flash drive).
- First, always use safe shutdown: Right-click in the tray next to the clock on the icon of the connected flash drive and select - disable from the menu. According to my personal observations, many users never do this. And at the same time, such shutdowns can damage the file system (for example);
- Secondly, install an antivirus on the computer with which you work with a flash drive. Of course, I understand that it is impossible to insert a flash drive into a PC with an antivirus everywhere and everywhere - but after coming from a friend where they copied files to it (from an educational institution, etc.), when connecting a flash drive to your PC - just check it ;
- Try not to drop or throw the flash drive. Many, for example, attach a flash drive to the keys, like a keychain. There is nothing like that - but often the keys are thrown on the table (bedside table) upon arrival home (there will be nothing for the keys, but the flash drive flies and hits with them);
I bow out on this, if there is something to add - I will be grateful. Good luck and less mistakes!
Hello friends. Today, I want to tell you about how to remove write protection from a flash drive as soon as possible and without much difficulty. The fact is that the other day, as usual, I wanted to copy a certain file to a USB flash drive, but in response I saw a message of a similar nature: “The disk is write-protected. Remove protection or use another disk." What kind of things are these? After all, there had never been such cases before and everything worked perfectly. As a result, I began to look for ways to solve this problem, which I will discuss in this article.
First, let's look at the main reasons why write protection may appear:
- The integrity of the file system was violated, for example, due to improper use of the flash drive (for example, at the end of work with the flash drive, the function is not used - safely remove the device)
- The flash drive was attacked and infected with viruses. The most common reason.
- Banal damage to the flash drive itself. Somewhere fell, or was subject to a strong blow.
- A special switch has been installed on the flash drive, which prevents infection with viruses and puts write protection on the flash drive.
We figured out the reasons, now I'll tell you how to remove write protection from a flash drive by software and mechanical means.
Mechanical way to remove protection from a flash drive
As for the mechanics, everything is very simple here. Carefully inspect your flash drive for the presence of the so-called switch, which mechanically sets the protection on the flash drive. Below, I have given several examples of flash drives with such a switch. If yours has such a switch, just move it to the other side and everything will work.
If the situation with the switch did not solve anything, we turn to software methods for removing protection from the flash drive.
Removing protection using the OS registry
1) In order to remove protection from a flash drive using the registry of the operating system, we need to click the Start button and enter in the search field - regedit (command for editing the registry). After that, right-click (right-click) on the icon that appears and select the item - Run as administrator.
2) Now we need to find a special section called - StorageDevicePolicies, which is responsible for prohibiting writing to a USB flash drive.
It should be located in the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
Important! If you did not find this section in the specified path, then you need to create it manually. To do this, go to the parent section Control, right-click on it and select - Create - Section. Give it a name - StorageDevicePolicies.
3) Go to the StorageDevicePolicies section we created and right-click in the right area of the registry. Select the menu item - New - DWORD Value (32 bits). We call it an arbitrary name, for example, WriteProtect.
4) Now it remains for us to make sure that the value of the WriteProtect parameter is 0. To do this, double-click on this parameter with the mouse or right-click on WriteProtect and select the menu item - Change.
Important! If the value in this parameter is set to 1, then change it to 0 and press the OK button.
5) Close the registry editor window, remove our flash drive from the device, and reboot it. After the reboot, insert the flash drive and check the ability to write files to it.
Removing protection from a flash drive using Diskpart
If the option to remove protection using the registry did not work, let's try to carry out this operation through the command line interface.
For this:
1) Click the Start button, enter the diskpart command, then right-click on the icon that appears and select the item - Run as administrator.
2) In the window that appears, enter the command - list disk and press the Enter key. We will see a list of drives in which you need to determine the serial number of your flash drive.
This is easy to do with the size of your flash drive. For example, my flash drive has a size of 8 GB, so in the list of media, I can easily determine it. If you do not know the size of your flash drive, then double-click on the My Computer icon (usually located on the desktop) and see what size your flash drive is (RMB - Properties).
After you have selected the desired media, enter the command select disk your media number(I have it 1). Press Enter and an inscription with the selected disk should appear.
3) Enter the command - attributes disk clear readonly, which clears the read-only attributes for the flash drive and removes write protection from it.
Press Enter and if everything is done correctly, then you will see an inscription - Disk attributes have been successfully cleared.
Close the diskpart utility window.
Removing protection using the Local Group Policy Editor
Sometimes there are cases that the prohibition on writing is enabled through the group policy editor in the OS itself. Let's check it out:
1) Press the Start button and in the search bar enter the command gpedit.msc, then press the Enter button.
2) In the window that appears, follow the path: Computer Configuration - Administrative Templates - System - Access to removable storage devices and in the right area of the window select the item - Removable drives: Deny recording.
At this point, we pay attention to the state that stands next to the inscription. If the status is set there - Enabled, then click 2 times LMB on it and select the Disable item in the new window. Click Apply and OK.
List of programs for removing protection from a flash drive
HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool- a universal program that fits almost any flash drive and allows you to quickly remove protection. program, run the exe-file (this program does not require installation) which is in the archive and the program will automatically detect your USB flash drive. After that, you need to select the type of file system into which the program will format, and click the Start button.
JetFlash Recovery Tool - This program is only suitable for flash drives from the following manufacturers: JetFlash, A-DATA and Transcend. program, carry out a simple installation, and after launching it, press the Start button.
Apacer Repair - this program only works with Apacer flash drives. If you have just such a flash drive, then the program and in order to remove from the flash drive just run it and follow the instructions on the screen.
AlcorMP is one of the best programs for carrying out such actions. It works with AlcorMP controllers. archive, unpack it and run the AlcorMP.exe file already in the folder itself. In the event that your flash drive works on the AlcorMP controller, then the inscription in line G will be black and this means that everything is in order and you can work. If the inscription is red, then work with this flash drive is impossible. In order to remove write protection from a flash drive, simply press the Start button (A) after setting the switch to Russian.
An important nuance. All programs for working with flash drives must be run with administrator rights. To do this, right-click on the program launch shortcut or on the program itself and select Run as administrator from the context menu.
A couple of moments. Before using the above programs, I recommend that you take preliminary steps and if they do not help, only then resort to the help of software tools. What is it connected with? If you use software tools, then all your files will be deleted, as the flash drive will be formatted. To prevent this from happening, use the methods below, and if they no longer help, then you can already start working with programs.
1) If your flash drive is infected with viruses (suspicious files on it), then scan it and remove all viruses found.
2) There are times when it is enough to change the USB port and the data from the flash drive is perfectly readable.
3) Be sure to check for a security switch on the flash drive. If it is in the "Lock" mode, then move it to the other side.
That's all the advice that I wanted to give you on the topic of how to remove write protection from a flash drive. I hope this article will help you solve this problem.
That's all for me. Until we meet again!!!
Despite the active use of "cloud storage", flash drives remain relevant to this day. With their help, it is convenient to transfer information between computers that, for one reason or another, do not have access to the Internet. In order to protect the flash drive from spontaneous copying of malicious files to it, it can be write-protected. This will lead to the fact that when trying to write information to the drive, the user will encounter the error "The disk is write-protected, remove protection or use another disk." The drive can be write-protected both mechanically (hardware) and software. Below we will look at how to remove write protection from a flash drive, SD card, and other similar drives.
Differences between software and hardware write protection of a flash drive
Manufacturers of flash drives not so long ago actively used hardware write protection. To do this, a special adapter was installed on the drive case, by sliding which the user could block the flash drive from writing information to it, or unlock it. This technology has not gained much popularity in USB flash drives, but it is still used on a number of SD cards.
Note: To remove the hardware write protection of the drive, you need to find the switch on the case, near which there is an inscription Lock (or lock), and move it to the open lock state. If the device does not have such a switch, then the write protection is software.
The software method of protecting a flash drive from writing information to it assumes that the Windows operating system, in accordance with the requirements of the drive controller, blocks the ability to write information. In such a situation, there are several ways to remove write protection, and we will consider them below.
How to remove software write protection of a flash drive
Depending on which version of Windows is being used, it is advisable to use one or another method to remove software write protection on flash drives.
Using the Group Policy Editor
In professional versions of the Windows operating system, it is possible to make settings through the Group Policy Editor. In other versions of Windows, this utility is not available, and you will have to use other methods below.
To remove software write protection of a flash drive through the Group Policy Editor, you need to do the following:
After that, the software protection of the flash drive will be disabled, and it will be possible to write the necessary information to it.
By editing the registry
Another way to remove software restrictions on writing data from a flash drive is to use the registry editor. This method is suitable for any version of Windows. Do the following:
Using the command line
In some situations, changes in the registry do not help get rid of the problem with writing information to a USB flash drive. In such cases, it is recommended to perform the following actions on the command line:
After all the steps described above, you can try to write new information to the drive, the protection should no longer work.
