USB Flash Drive-Fix Write Protection Error

In today’s digital life, portable storage media devices like USB Flash Drive and Pen Drive play a crucial role in managing data effortlessly, for example, transferring files between devices, backing up data, creating a Windows bootable drive, installing applications, etc. And, when used correctly, a branded pen drive has a lifespan of five years approximately. However, sometimes users may face different issues with their pen drive. While issues are inevitable, most of them can be resolved with little know-how. For instance, in this post, you have been provided 5 workarounds to overcome write protection errors in a pen drive.

About USB Flash Drive or Pen Drive Write Protection

Write protection refers to the ability of a software program or hardware device to prevent information from getting added, modified, or removed. In other words, if your USB Flash drive is write-protected, you will not be able to use it to write or copy data as you normally do.

The “Write Protection” Error could be very frustrating when there is an emergency. Although, for such a situation, you can rely on Data Recovery Vision experts, but before that, below are the workarounds that you should consider and get rid of the issue without our expertise.

Methods to Remove “Write Protection” Error in Pen Drive or USB Flash Drive

The Write Protection error can show one of the following alerts on your PC:

• The disk is write-protected. Remove the write protection or use another disk.
• The disk is write-protected.

In addition to the write-protected error message, if you are seeing a “read-only” error, the following solutions are applicable for getting rid of it too.

1. Is Your USB Flash Drive or Pen Drive Has a Lock Switch?

If your Pen Drive has a lock switch on either side, make sure it is turned off. A lock switch is provided on the pen drive to easily enable/disable the option to read and write. Modern pen drives are usually offered with such lock buttons. If you have an older pen drive model, you may not find this switch on it. In that case, you can skip this workaround and move to the next method.

2. Delete Write-Protection In the USB Flash Drive or Pen Drive Read/Write Properties

Access My Computer/This PC from the Window Explorer panel and locate the name of your Pen Drive. Next, right-click on it and select the Properties option from the menu. In the Properties window, go to the Security tab. Under this tab, you will find an option to deny write protection. Once you are done denying the feature, save the changes and check if the “Write Protection” error is fixed.

3. Use CMD to Disable Write Protection

Another method that you can consider to fix the Write Protection error is using the Windows Command Prompt. The instructions provided below are applicable for Windows 10/8/7.

• Use the Windows Search bar to find the command prompt and open it.
• In the Command Prompt window, type the following command line and press Enter key after each entry.
  • diskpart
  • list disk
  • select disk #
  • attributes disk clear readonly
• Once the write protection would have been removed successfully, your screen will display a message that reads “Disk attribute cleared successfully”.
• Now, simply type exit to close the window.

4. Consider Using a Write Protection Removal Application

In case applying the CMD commands doesn’t help you overcome the problem of “Write Protection”, you may want to go for a Write Protection Removal program. Numerous free and paid “Write Protection” removal applications are available online that you can choose from. Just make sure to install the application from reliable sources.

5. Use Regedit.exe to Fix Write Protection Error

 The Windows Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) is an excellent tool in the Windows operating system (for XP and Vista) that can also help you in fixing the Write Protection error. This tool allows authorized users to view the Windows registry and make desired changes. Although this method is effective in overcoming the error, making changes to Registry Editor might expose your system’s vulnerability to risk. Make sure to consider this method if nothing else works and you have a serious emergency. Here are the steps to follow:

• Connect your Pen Drive to your PC.
• Next, press the Windows + R keys to access the Run box.
• In the Run field, enter “Regedit” and press Enter key.
• Then, access the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” option to get to the “System” section.
• Under the System section, locate the “Current Control Set” option and click “Control“.
• Now, check if there is a “Storage Device Policies” key available.
• When found, replace the digit next to the “DWORD value” box with “0“.
• Finally, tap the “OK” option to save the changes done.

In most cases, following these workarounds should help you fix the Write Protection error in your Pen Drive. However, should you fear losing your important data in Pen Drive, or if these methods don’t yield a favorable outcome, come to Data Recovery Vision. The qualified professionals at our center will ensure that you get your crucial data from Pen Drive at any cost and with zero risk. So, if you need further information on your Pen Drive recovery process, feel free to contact us at [email protected] | +1 (800) 915 5457.