There are situations when, when you try to transfer a file to a flash drive or memory card, Windows displays a message stating that the disk is write-protected.
This is one of the most common problems that can appear during the operation of flash drives. Often occurs when using your own removable media with great regularity during multiple rewrite cycles. However, this also happens with recently purchased flash drives. This means that it is impossible to add or copy any files. How to save the situation in this case?
There may be several reasons why the message appears: hardware or software recording bans, limit by the number of information rewrites, refill disk, incorrect formatting, damage sectors of the disk memory chip or control microcontroller, malicious software, problems with device drivers, incorrect recognition of the flash drive by the system. Therefore, there is no single universal solution.
This instruction will show you several ways to remove protection from a flash drive.
First of all, make sure that you the file is not protected from the entry, after which to solve the problem you should go to the system registry editor. Launch the window Execute(Win+R), where we enter the word “ regedit».
Section in the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and we go through the directory tree as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control.
The parameter we are interested in there is StorageDevicePolicies.
Set the write protection value in zero as shown in the picture. This can solve the write prohibition problem. Save remove removable media and reboot computer.
However, this setting may not be in the registry. Then it's need to create– in the appropriate section, right-click Create, select an option DWORD(depending on the bit depth of the Windows you are using) and name StorageDevicePolicies.
Give the parameter a name WriteProtect and set the value to zero. Perform the steps mentioned earlier (save, remove media, reboot) and check if the problem has disappeared.
The next troubleshooting method involves using the command interpreter as an administrator. In the button Start Right-click on the corresponding field. 
We write there the word “ Diskpart", then " list disk». 
And we look What number disk on our flash drive. In my case, this is disk 2. We write “ select" And number which you see. 
After this we enter the command: attributes disk clear readonly And exit.
This removes the read-only option from the flash drive. We try to copy something onto a flash drive, if this doesn’t help, move on to the next point.
Should be used group policy editor. We launch it in the same window Execute.
Let's go through the guide " Computer configuration» - « Administrative Templates» - « System» - « Access to removable storage devices». Disable write prohibition function for removable drives. That is, switch the property to the status “ Disabled». 
After this, when you try to write, your disk will not generate errors. Otherwise, it may well be that the flash drive is simply faulty.
In a similar situation with a memory card, there is another option locked write protection lever. 
In some SD cards, and even flash drives such are found, it is possible hardware lock records. The switch is usually located on the side of the device. There you will find the inscription Lock and a closed or open padlock icon. 
Move the lever to opposite position and mechanical protection removed. To re-block, do the opposite. As you can see, everything is quite simple.
If the previous tips did not help you, try format your removable media, unless there is a prohibition on this action. 
If you are using a Transend flash drive or memory card, you can use Transcend’s proprietary JetFlash Online Recovery program to recover the recording on the disk.
Companies such as Silicon Power, Adata, Kingston and others have similar programs. Find out if such software exists on the website of the manufacturer of your removable media. Usually their use is not difficult and all actions are intuitive.
Now you have many working methods for solving this problem in your arsenal.
Question from a user
Hello. I'm trying to write one Word document from my hard drive to a flash drive, but an error appears that the drive is write-protected. This has never happened before, I didn’t hit the flash drive, didn’t drop it, didn’t do anything with it...
Interestingly, I tried to delete some file from the flash drive - exactly the same error appeared, no access. Those. in fact, I can only copy previously recorded data from a flash drive. Tell me how to remove this error?
PS Windows 7, 8 GB Kingston USB flash drive (the most common)
Hello.
Such an error can be caused by several reasons: a hardware malfunction of the flash drive (for example, if you accidentally dropped it before), a virus infection, “manual” installation of write protection, etc.
In this article, I will look sequentially at all the popular causes (causing this error) and ways to eliminate them. I think that by presenting the article in a similar format, it will be simpler and easier for you and other users with the same error to solve the problem.
Typical error when deleting a folder from an SD card // example
We will eliminate it consistently!
1) Check if there is a hardware write lock
Experienced users probably remember that floppy disks used to have a small lever, thanks to which it was possible to protect the information on it from unwanted deletion (or modification). And in my opinion, the thing was extremely useful!
Nowadays, most USB flash drives do not have such protection; some manufacturers (mostly Chinese) produce such flash drives. Therefore, some users do not attach much importance to some “locks” on the flash drive body. Meanwhile, if the protection is turned on, then you will not write anything to such a flash drive (see photo below).
Well, SD cards (used in cameras, for example) have a small switch on the side. If you move it to the Lock position, the flash drive becomes read-only.
The moral of the last sentences: first of all, check whether there is mechanical write protection, whether the lever is positioned correctly (and in general, whether your device has one).
2) Is the flash drive (computer) infected with a virus?
I remember my student days... When it was necessary quite often to bring and connect a flash drive to computers “infected” with viruses (and knowingly and knowing about it in advance) - otherwise it would be problematic (if not impossible) to print materials. After such a connection, I had to check the flash drive for viruses and clean the “infection”.
If you do not have an antivirus on your computer, I recommend choosing one from the list:
3) Is there room on the flash drive?
I understand that this question is somewhat banal, but still. If the size of the recorded file is larger than the remaining free space on the flash drive, you may receive a recording error.
To find out how much free space is left on the flash drive: open "My Computer", then right-click on the flash drive and open it properties. In the tab are common- it will be indicated how much space is occupied and how much is free.
4) Isn't it worth writing protection in the registry?
First you need to open the Registry Editor as an administrator. This can be done, for example, through the task manager: to launch it, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc(or Ctrl+Alt+Del ).
Next click file/new task and to the line open enter the command regedit(note that the task will be performed as an administrator).
By the way, you might find the article on how to open the Registry Editor useful.-
(for Windows XP branch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR )
Important! If the branches StorageDevicePolicies will not be in the registry - it means you do not have a blocking entry in the registry. Just in case, you can create a branch (a branch in the registry is analogous to a folder in Explorer) and then the Write Protect string parameter with the value "0". Creating branches and parameters resembles working in a regular Explorer, the same as creating a simple folder.
5) Check the file system of the flash drive for errors
A similar error can also appear due to errors in the file system of the flash drive. For example, in the process of copying a file, you removed the flash drive from the USB port or simply turned off the light - errors could well appear on it (by the way, the file system may be marked in such cases as RAW).
To check the flash drive for errors, open "My computer", then open properties flash drives, and in the section service click the button (check the disk for errors, see screenshot below).
6) Is there a Read-Only attribute on the flash drive?
Another reason why Windows may give an error when writing a file to a USB flash drive is read-only attribute (if it is installed on a flash drive). There is nothing wrong with this attribute, it only tells the system that this disk is read-only, so it does not write data to it.
By the way, this happens quite often if you have picked up certain types of viruses, or, for example, downloaded something from torrents (the uTorrent program often creates files with a read-only attribute).
And so, let's remove this attribute.
7) Check if there is any protection in the Group Policy Editor
Writing to a flash drive can be disabled through the Group Policy Editor. Therefore, I also recommend checking if the treasured parameter is there...
Note: users of Windows entry-level and home versions will not be able to open the Group Policy Editor.
To open the Group Policy Editor:
It should have the option "Removable drives: disable writing". Open it and see if it's turned on...
By default, the parameter should be set to “Not set” (see screenshot below). If this is not the case for you, switch it to this position, save the settings and restart the computer.
Parameter responsible for prohibiting recording
8) Formatting a flash drive
Perhaps this is the last thing you can do if all other advice has been in vain and led nowhere. Formatting the media helps in many cases, including with our error, discussed in this article.
Note: copy all the necessary data from the flash drive; when formatting, everything will be deleted from the flash drive (just in case, I warn you ☺)!
In most cases, to format a flash drive, just go to "My computer", select the flash drive among the disks, right-click on it and select the command in the context menu "Format" .
If you fail to format the media: errors appear, the computer freezes, etc., then you need to use special utilities to format it. One of these that I recommend is HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool.
HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool
A small utility used for low-level formatting of disks and flash drives. Helps in the most difficult situations when it is impossible to format the media through Windows. Interfaces supported: S-ATA (SATA), IDE (E-IDE), SCSI, USB, Firewire.
The utility is distributed in several versions: there is also a portable version that does not require installation.
Because There is no Russian in the program, I will show with an example how the media is formatted.
After launching the utility, click the button "Continue for Free".
When it ends, Windows will prompt you to format the flash drive (you can format it in the usual way through “My Computer”). As a rule, after low-level formatting, a flash drive can be formatted easily and without errors in Windows.
By the way, if your flash drive still doesn’t work, I recommend trying to restore it. Here is another way described in this article:
That's all I wanted to say! I would be grateful for any additions on the topic.
This problem occurs at the most inopportune moment. During an urgent copying of information, a reading error alert suddenly appears, since the flash drive is protected. You can find a quick solution, within 5 minutes, to this problem from our article.
The instructions will describe several ways to unlocking protection of a USB flash drive, if the disk has write protection, as well as possible reasons for its occurrence.
What causes the “Disk is write protected” message to appear?
This issue is resolved mechanically in a couple of seconds.
Carefully inspect the flash drive or SD card for the presence of a small switch. Perhaps the toggle switch is located at the end of the device.
If the switch is in the right position, then the device is write-locked, and to remove the protection, return the toggle switch to the left position, and options with the opposite function are also possible - open on the right side, locked on the left. Typically, positions are marked with padlocks or the signature Lock/UnLocked.
Advice! Try file transfer options with different toggle switch positions.
If you do not see a line in the right column named “StorageDevicePolicies”, then you should follow the steps below:
One way to remove the USB device error when trying to write is to use the “Command Line” to enable recording.
This method may also have an effect on fixing a disk write error.
Step 1. To launch the “Policy Editor” menu, use two keys “Win + R” and enter “gpedit .msc”, activate the command with the Enter key or the “OK” button.
Step 2. In “Local Computer” you should enable “Computer Configuration” and select “Administrative Templates”.
Step 4. On the right side of the editor, select all the “Removable drives” sections one by one and activate the “Disable” value:
Close the Local Group Policy Editor window and restart your PC.
You can download the program if you follow the link: https://www.transcend-info.com/Support/Software-3/ and install it on your computer. This free version is available for download with USB device recovery functions. The utility's interface will be understandable even to an inexperienced PC user, and in a short time, within 5 minutes, you can fix the error that appears when starting a USB flash drive.
In the example, the transcend jetflash v30 2Gb flash drive will be used.
If fatal, a window will appear warning that your flash drive cannot be repaired using the program.
| Photo | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| JetFlash Recovery | The program supports flash drive manufacturers A-DATA, JetFlash, Transcend. System resources are practically not used, due to the simple interface and basic functions of the undemanding utility. Brings significant fixes to restore working functionality of flash drives | |
| USB Flash Drive Online Recovery | A free utility designed to recover a flash drive. The English version has a simple and intuitive interface. Without an Internet connection, it refuses to scan and correct errors. Requires user registration | |
| Kingston Format Utility | Fixes all common errors with protection and other bugs. During diagnostics, it permanently clears all files. Supports FAT32 system only. No separate installation of the utility is required, no registration, does not contain advertising and is absolutely free | |
| HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool | A simple, universal utility with a simple English interface for removing protection from a flash drive. Designed to format a wide range of USB device manufacturers. With the provided application, bootable flash media with MS-DOS OS are created | |
| AlcorMP | A program for “resurrecting” flash drives from the microchip manufacturer Alcor is more suitable for experienced PC users. The utility analyzes the memory of a USB drive and can be used to reflash the device controller. The developers stopped developing their program, but the released version continues to stably and confidently treat and also restore flash drives, correcting write errors |
In many companies, specialists install write protection on removable media. This is dictated by the need to protect yourself from information leakage to competitors. But there is another situation when a flash drive is used on several computers, and the best way to protect the information on it from users and viruses is to set a write ban. We will look at several ways to complete this task.
This can be done using the Windows operating system itself, using special software or the hardware capabilities of a USB drive. Let's consider these methods.
Not every user can confidently work with the registry or operating system utilities (which we'll talk about later). Therefore, for convenience, special software has been created that helps you cope with the described methods by pressing one or two buttons. For example, there is a utility called USB Port Locked, which is designed to block the computer port itself.
The program is easy to use. Moreover, it does not require installation. To use it, do the following:
This utility helps protect against copying confidential data from your computer to USB drives. But it has a low level of security and is only suitable for ordinary users.
This utility will reliably protect the data on the flash drive from being changed or deleted. It is considered effective because it works at the hardware level. The usage in this case is as follows:
The necessary changes to the system have been made. The program has additional convenient functions, which you can find in the menu "Options".
Another very convenient program for providing write protection on a flash drive is called ToolsPlus USB KEY.
When using a flash drive on a computer, the program asks for a password. And if it is not correct, then the flash drive is turned off. 
The utility runs without installation. For write protection you only need to press one button “OK (minimize to tray)”. When the button is pressed "Settings" you can set up a password and add startup to startup. Write protection is possible with just one press of a button. This program hides in the tray when launched and the average user will not notice it.
The software reviewed is the best protection option for the average user.
This method is suitable for a USB drive formatted in NTFS. Read our tutorial on how to make a flash drive with such a file system.
After such an operation, it will be impossible to write to a flash drive.
Are you afraid that your information may be stolen from your work computer and taken away on a flash drive? Or, on the contrary, are you afraid of losing data stored on a flash drive because it can be easily deleted? How to protect files from being copied to removable media without prohibiting its use in the system? How can I protect what I copied from being deleted?
Write protection of a flash drive can be implemented in several ways, depending on the goals being pursued. Some of them prohibit writing to a removable disk using the system itself, which makes it impossible to write files to any flash drive on your computer, while others allow you to prohibit writing to a specific medium, regardless of which computer it is connected to. Let's look at them in more detail:
Small changes made to the registry will allow you to prohibit writing to any removable drives. In order to make the necessary settings, open the “Run” window using the Win/R key combination and launch the registry editor (to do this, enter the “regedit” command in the window and press the Ok or Enter button):
In the editor we are interested in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section,
in which we will sequentially open /SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/
In the Control subsection we need to find the StorageDevicePolicies folder (and if it doesn’t exist, create a new one) and in the WriteProtect parameter replace the value zero with one:
To do this, double-click to open the parameter and edit its value:
If we created StorageDevicePolicies ourselves, we need to create the WriteProtect parameter in it, for which we need to right-click to open the context menu, select “32-bit DWORD parameter” and assign the name WriteProtect to the new parameter, then change its value to one , in the manner indicated above.
After closing Registry Editor, restart your computer to apply the changes. Writing to removable disks is no longer available, nothing can be copied to a flash drive, and existing files on it cannot be deleted or renamed:
To disable write prohibition, you must return the WriteProtect parameter to zero.
Another way to achieve similar results is to make changes to Local Group Policy. Open the editor using the familiar Win/R keys and entering the gpedit.msc command in the Run window:
Let's sequentially follow the path Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / Access to removable storage devices:
Here we are interested in the “Removable drives: disable writing” parameter, which must be set to enabled:
This method is good because it does not require a system reboot to apply the settings - after clicking the “Apply” button, the prohibition of writing to disks is activated immediately.
Also, recording is immediately disabled and turned off; just set the “Removable drives: write prohibit” parameter to “Not set” or “Disable”.
Both methods are good for prohibiting writing on your computer, but they are not capable of protecting important data on a flash drive when used to transfer files to another computer. This requires a completely different approach:
To use this method, you need to format your flash drive using standard Windows tools into the NTFS file system:
All data will be destroyed, so if you have important documents on it, first copy them to your hard drive, and after formatting, return them to the flash drive.
In “Properties” we are interested in the “Security” tab, where we can make changes to the file system access rights:
Set the “Everyone” group to write prohibited, apply the changes:
Now, regardless of the computer to which your flash drive will be connected, no user will have rights to write (and, accordingly, to delete files). Moreover, you can restore rights only on the computer where the initial changes were made by returning the checkbox for the “Record” item to the “Allow” position.
If you wish, you can experiment with different user groups, for example by only allowing a group with administrative rights to write. However, please note that these settings will only be valid for administrators on the computer where the changes are made and not on any other.
How to remove such write protection if there is no access to the original computer, or if the operating system was reinstalled on this computer? In this case, only formatting the flash drive again will help you. Don’t be alarmed if you store important documents on it - copy them to a folder on your computer’s hard drive, and then feel free to format your storage medium. After formatting, the file system will return to its original state; to be sure, you can select the FAT system as the new file system.
Don’t forget that some manufacturers provide a switch that allows you to block recording on a flash drive. This applies mainly to memory cards and adapters for them, however, USB drives can also be equipped with it:
If your media has such a switch, just switch it - and until you return it to the reverse position, it will be impossible to write anything or accidentally delete files. The main thing is that you yourself do not forget that you have enabled write locking on the flash drive, otherwise you are guaranteed unpleasant emotions when you will not be able to submit a report to your boss due to the fact that you will not be able to copy files to the flash drive, which is now protected.
