How to Remove Write Protected USB Drive? Get Solution

Sometimes, due to the protection enabled in the USB drives, many of us face the issue of getting stuck with some USB drives. Which cannot be formatted and we cannot even copy any of our files. Here are some easy methods that one can try to remove write protected USB drive. Some USB drives have write protection enabled. When it is enabled, it prevents your files from being erased or deleted, or at times, you cannot even write any new files to that device.

Sometimes, this even stops you from formatting the drive. More often than not, you are stuck with a USB drive that refuses to format your Windows OS tells you that this drive is write-protected. Now, typically, the problem lies in the situation where you are able to read your files that exist on the USB drive but cannot really delete them. Also, sometimes it happens that when you try deleting the files, they seem to be deleted fine, but next time when you check, those files are again seen.

Why is My Write Protected USB Drive?

There are several reasons why a USB drive might be write protected and we have listed them below:

• Some USB flash drives have a write-protect switch. If this switch is enabled, write protection is enabled.
• If your USB drive has file system problems, you can write to protect it to prevent further damage.
• When your USB drive runs out of space, a write-protect message may appear, preventing you from writing further data.
• If your USB drive has a virus or malware, it may be locked or encrypted.

Also read: How to Fix a USB Device Not Recognized Error?

Remove Write Protected USB Drive With Manual Process

For formatting a write-protected USB drive, you first have to remove its write protection, which can only be done through tweaking commands that are in the Windows Registry. Here is a step-by-step guide for removing write protection from USB.

Erasing Write Protected Flash Drive Using Regedit.exe

This is the process that involves removing a write-protected USB drive using Regedit.exe in the registry.

• In any of the versions of MS Windows (Windows XP onwards), you can run Regedit.exe (when you search for regedit, it will mostly show the program at the top of the list).
• Now, you can navigate to this key: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
• Then, in the right-side pane of Regedit.exe, double-click on the WriteProtect value
• Now, change that Value data from 1 to 0
• After that, click OK to save the changes made. and close Regedit and then restart your system
• Now again, try connecting your USB drive. It is likely that you will find that your USB drive is not write-protected any longer
• In the end, you can easily format your drive by right-clicking on the drive in My Computer and then choosing Format

Read More: How to Fix a Pen Drive Shows Empty Even When Data?

Erasing Write Protected USB (StorageDevicePolicies)

• If you are unable to find StorageDevicePolicies, then try to create a key in the Control folder by right-clicking over the white space and, after that, choosing New -> Key;
• And thereafter, vigilantly entering the name and then double-clicking over the new key (folder),
• Now, right-click once again. Then, choose New -> DWORD
• For naming it WriteProtect and then setting its value to 0,
• Finally, click OK, then exit Regedit and reboot the system

Remove Write Protection from Pen Drive Using Diskpart

• With the USB drive plugged in, launch command prompt

1. For this, got to Start the menu
2. Search for cmd.exe on the Start screen, as in Windows 8 OS
3. In MS Windows XP, however, you can click Start >> Run and then type cmd.exe in that box

Note: You might need to run Cmd.exe using administrator privileges if you are seeing the message “access is denied.”

To do this, you have to:

1. First, right-click on the shortcut
2. Then, choose Run as administrator
3. And now, in Windows 8, choose Command prompt (admin) simply

• And now, type the required disk part commands and press Enter after every command

Format the USB Flash Drive

If the above-mentioned method is not able to resolve your issue,. Then do one thing: visit the pen drive data recovery service center for 100% data recovery. Make a backup of your important documents and store them on another storage device. After that, perform the below-mentioned steps.

• Go to Window Explorer >> My PC >> USB drive >> Right-click on it >> Properties >> Close the Window
• Hit on the pen drive, then choose the Format option. When formatted, the USB drive failed to complete. It means there are bad sectors on the drive.

Also read:- Fix USB Drive 0 Bytes Error

Conclusion

In the write-up, we have a few methods and one automated solution to remove write protected USB drives. Select the solution wisely according to your knowledge.

Also read: USB Ports Not Working in Windows 10?