Having a problem with your write-protected stick? Don't know how to unlock a USB flash drive, make it readable? You are trying to write a file to a usb-drive or sd-card, and in response you receive the message: "flash drive is write-protected." If you urgently need to copy files to a disk or flash drive, I will show you how to remove protection and format (or clear) the storage medium - for further work, familiar and correct.

We use programs to format memory cards and usb-flash drives

Some flash drives are equipped with proprietary software. It performs better than the standard Windows formatting tools. These programs - not always, but nevertheless - will help remove protection. The disadvantage of this approach is that you lose all data on the media. Therefore, if this is unacceptable to you, proceed to the next chapter.

2. A more universal way to forcefully format a USB flash drive / sd card is to use formatting utilities like Hp Disk Format Tool. You can choose the file system and formatting type.

Restoring access to a USB flash drive through the Registry

The method of removing write protection is quite simple, but it requires minimal skill and careful handling of the registry editor. If you are not 100% sure of your actions, make a backup copy of the Windows Registry using the RegOrganizer program.

1. Open the Registry Editor (Start - regedit).

2. Change to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SYSTEM \\ CurrentControlSet \\ Control \\ directory. If there is no StorageDevicePolicies folder inside this directory, create it. For this:

3. Right click on the current Control directory

4. From the menu, select New - Section and name it StorageDevicePolicies.

5. Right-click on StorageDevicePolicies and select a new value for DWORD (32-bit) for 32-bit OS or DWORD (64-bit) for 64-bit, respectively.

6. Rename the dword parameter to WriteProtect, double-click on the line, set the value to 0 (HEX).

7. Safely remove the USB flash drive and restart your computer.

8. Connect the USB flash drive. Format it if necessary.

Video version of the instruction:

Another solution, how to remove protection from a disk: using the diskpart utility

diskpart is a console utility included in Windows XP and above that allows flexible management of hard disks, file volumes and partitions at a deep level of access.

We will try to access the problematic flash drive through the console, and then format the write-protected flash drive.

1. Open a command prompt (cmd.exe). Enter "diskpart" to open the utility.

2. Enter "list disk" to display a list of available disks on the system.

3. Determine where your USB drive is listed. Enter "SELECT DISK n", where n is your USB stick with a write protected disk.

Be very careful! Choosing the wrong media will result in you losing all data on the selected drive.

4. Enter "clean" (you may need to repeat this command twice or thrice). If all else fails, try other ways to unlock your flash drive.

5. Enter "create partition primary" to create a new partition on the usb stick.

6. Enter "select partition" to select a partition on the disk

7. Enter "active" to make the disk active

8. Enter "format fs \u003d ntfs" for formatting to NTFS (before formatting the flash drive, make sure to select the correct storage medium!).

By the way, the option with diskpart is one of the best methods to format a write-protected flash drive without resorting to third-party tools.

Another way to remove protection from a memory card / flash drive. Diskmgmt.msc utility

The method of removing the protection is suitable for both sd memory cards and usb flash drives. To implement it, we need a standard Windows component for disk management - diskmgmt.msc.

1. Start - Run. Enter diskmgmt.msc into the text line and press Enter
2. Right button on the section you want to format (letter and section will help you identify)
3. Select "Delete volume ..." and confirm the operation
4. In the context menu, select the "Create volume" command
5. Select primary partition
6. Leave all parameters by default
7. Click ok

Remove protection from a flash drive through the Windows Group Policy Editor

In some cases, access to the USB flash drive is limited by the rights of Windows local group policy. We will tell you how to remove protection in a similar situation:

1. Start - Run -.
2. In the panel that opens, go to the next section: "Computer configuration - Administrative templates - System - Access to removable storage devices".
3. Next, you need to deactivate the option "Removable drives: Deny reading" by switching to the "Disable" state.

Other working methods for removing write protection of files

If none of the above recipes helped - well, other methods will probably work, how to remove protection from the flash drive (the list will be updated over time).

1. Check your flash drive for viruses. Some malicious applications establish their own control over files, as a result, the flash drive is protected from writing data belonging to viruses. How to remove protection in this case? We recommend using the best antivirus software for scanning.
2. Check if there is a hardware button on the flash drive that allows you to physically unlock it (there is a switch on the side that needs to be pushed towards the open lock). However, today such usb flash drives and sd cards are very rare - mostly old models of devices.
3. Update the flash drive firmware, you can find the exact model on Google by the chip vendor and chip vendor model, see Device Manager.

Conclusion... Although it is not always possible to determine why the flash drive is write-protected, of the many described methods, at least one is working. If none of the ways to remove the protection from the flash drive helped you, it remains to replace the usb drive - in other words, buy a new one.

However, ask questions about the topic - you can do this through the sidebar on our website. We will try to help.

The media is write protected: what to do? FAQ

32 gig WANSENDA flash drive when formatting. When you try to delete a file, it asks you to remove the write protection from the disk or use another. What to do, how to remove write protection? I can not delete or upload files to the USB flash drive.

Answer... Try to remove protection from your flash drive through the Registry, using the diskpart or diskmgmt.msc utilities (included with Windows). Format the USB flash drive with special programs - Low level format or Disk format tool (see the beginning of the guide).

All formatting attempts give one result to me: remove protection, the card is write-protected. I took off the protection in all sorts of ways, but it comes back, I can't do anything. The phone gives information about a malfunction of the card and cannot format it in any way. The computer and laptop are accepted, but formatting fails.

Can you tell me what to do, how to remove protection from the sd card? Other phones and a digital camera didn't help.

Answer... Try to reset the protection using the methods described in the article and immediately format the memory card to FAT32. Check if there is a switch on the sd card (it may be in the wrong position, so the memory card is write-protected).

I can not format a SONY 64GB flash drive, copy and delete files on it. The system says the disc is write protected. What to do? I tried everything that you have. Does not help. Flash bought in mvideo, about 3 months ago, it worked properly before.

Answer... For some users, the proprietary JetFlash Recovery utility helps to remove protection. It allows you to format a flash drive at a low access level. If that doesn't work, try removing write protection from the disk through the registry or command line. Then restart your computer.

I have a Samsung S3600 phone, I stopped writing files to the card. The most interesting thing is that there are two photos and one video left on the map - you can't delete them at all. They are deleted from the computer, but then appear again on the map. I can’t write anything to the card - at first it’s as if everything is there, but in the phone there’s nothing ... just like not. I didn’t drop the phone, didn’t heat it, it was just that the card suddenly stopped working, and even so bizarrely. He sees the card, but does not write anything on it and does not delete anything from it ... How to remove the write protection on a USB flash drive?

Answer... You can remove write protection on a flash drive through forced formatting. This can be done through the console utility diskpart for Windows or all sorts of graphical utilities like SDFormatter or Hp disk format tool.

Files may not be deleted due to read errors in the sectors on which non-deleted files are written. You can check the flash drive for errors through Properties - Service - Check in Explorer.

After navigator with ADRplayer, I cannot delete files (including write-protected ones) from SD-card. In Windows it is recognized as a 118MB disk with ADRplayer on it. Files are all played by this program. Windows formatting is not possible.

Answer... Since the sd card's disk is write-protected, you need to format it to NTFS via the command line (using the diskpart utility) or using the diskmgmt.msc system utility. In addition, there is a wonderful program for sd cards called SDFormatter - it removes write protection.

it is not clear what happened to the flash card, when the card is connected to the computer, it is issued "To use the disk in drive J, first format it." You start formatting in FAT32 format without cleaning it quickly and tried it quickly, it writes the disk write-protected. the options did not help.

The way through diskmgmt.msc after right-clicking on the flash drive does not allow "delete volume" and other actions are simply not active. The file system of the flash card is Raw, and the system says that it is working properly. What to do, how to remove write protection from a flash drive, reanimate it?

Answer... In addition to diskmgmt.msc, try removing the write protection on the flash drive through the Registry or using the diskpart console utility. For formatting, use not standard Windows tools, but, for example, Low level format. If, after these manipulations, the disk is still write-protected, try opening the USB flash drive in a different operating system, use third-party software to manage the disks on the flash drive - for example, Acronis Disk Director.

I bought a mini sd for a 128GB SanDisk phone. I insert it into the phone Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016), it will work for a while and then it blocks the recording on it. whatever I did: both formatted through the PC, and through the phone - everything was useless, it would work for a while, then it again blocks the recording. How to format a protected USB flash drive?

Answer... The file table on the memory card may be damaged, making it impossible to write new data. In such cases, it is recommended to check the disk for errors using the standard chkdsk tool (Start - Run - chkdsk). If doesn't help, please format the sd card via sd formatter desktop app. Judging by the reviews, the utility has helped many users when formatting a USB flash drive. You can also format the sd card through the Recovery menu by restarting the phone in the appropriate mode and selecting the Wipe cache partition option.

I ordered a USB flash memory from the Internet. I initially formatted, but I did not like that she did not read and see all formats. I decided to format it completely, without a tick, only (table of contents). now a laptop with Windows 10 OS sees it, but requires to format it. I format, but the flash drive is not formatted - the disk is write protected. I already tried to do something (download programs), but I don't understand, I am still far from this.

Answer... In your case, it is desirable to format a USB flash drive not using standard Windows tools, I do it through specialized software - fortunately, the choice is wide. First of all, look for programs specifically for your flash drive on the manufacturer's website. If not, use the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool or any disk manager like Acronis Disk Director. Specify NTFS or exFAT as the file system.

1) 16 GB Sandisk ultra USB 3.0 flash drive. Tried everything from letter renaming to registry cleaning. As soon as you start formatting (including through partition management), a message pops up that Windows cannot do this and the flash drive disappears from the field of view. I also tried HDD Low Level Format Tool v4.40 Final - the same thing happens as described above. How to format a write-protected flash drive?

2) I cannot format the micro SD card. Writes: "Windows could not complete formatting." Already tried different programs, and the command line. It is still not formatted. I just can not delete the files. I click "delete", removed the USB flash drive and put it back. The file that I deleted is again there I can neither delete nor format.

Answer... Try other formatting programs: SDFormatter or software available on the developer's website (sometimes they can be used to format a USB flash drive bypassing system errors). Besides Disk Management, you can use any disk manager like Partition Magic or Acronis Disk Director.

It can also be assumed that the problem is with Windows or the computer's configuration. Try to format the USB flash drive on another computer or in another OS environment (Windows / Mac OS / Linux).

Problems with flash drives have been known since their appearance, including the impossibility of formatting, blocking writing to the drive, the appearance of incomprehensible errors. Today we will analyze the case when the flash drive is write protected, by the way, this solution can later help with.

Let's say you want to drop something on a USB flash drive, that is, write down information, when you try to do this, a message like this may appear: "The disc is write protected, remove protection or use another disc", or simply that the disc is write protected. This problem is solved in several ways, which we will now do.

Flash drive is write protected how to remove protection - options?

In general, there are two ways to remove protection, software and hardware. The hardware method can be used not on all drives, but only on those with a special switch. For example, it is on the side of SD card readers, there will be an inscription "Lock"... As you can see, everything is simple, you just need to switch the lever.

Programmatic way. 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 USB flash drive using the registry?

Let's move on to the main process. We use the first option. To enter it, we open a window "Run" by pressing keys Win + R and enter the command there regedit ... Another option, in the search, enter "regedit" and in the results open the registry as administrator.

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 said how to quickly switch to this or that branch.

If you did not find this section there, then create it. To do this, click on the previous section "Control" and choose "Create", later "Section" and call 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, change it to zero and save.

After that, you need to exit the registry, remove the flash drive and restart the computer. When the system boots, we insert the flash drive again. Now you can write any information to a USB flash drive, since protection is disabled.

If this option did not work out, move on to the next one.

Remove protection from a flash drive using the command line

Another programmatic solution to the problem is to use the diskpart command on the command line.

We open the command line as administrator, for 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.

As soon as you figured out which number belongs to the desired flash drive, you need to enter the command in 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 required disk, then we clear the attributes, for this we enter the command attributes disk clear readonly .

If your task is to format the drive, then first enter these commands:

• clean- cleaning
• create partition primary - create a section
• format fs \u003d ntfs - we format in NTFS format
• If you format in FAT format, then the command will be like this: format fs \u003d fat

The reading attribute is described in the article -. If you are wondering how to use it for disks and partitions, then read on.

Remove protection using the local group policy editor

I must say right away that this utility is contained only in professional versions of Windows, for example, in 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 should go to the next section: Computer configuration - Administrative Templates - System - Access to removable storage devices. We find there the parameter "Removable drives: Deny 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 the position "Disable", and then click "OK".

That's all. Of course, I do not guarantee that these methods can help, if this happens, I can recommend that you go to the official website of the manufacturer of your flash drive and look for utilities there for working with drives. And the very last moment - any flash drive has a write limit, that is, the number of rewrites may have exceeded the limit, then all that remains is to purchase a new flash drive.

Reading time: 45 min

Using the drive for editing information on it does not always proceed successfully, sometimes flash drive is not formatted write-protected... Formatting and any other manipulations associated with changing information on the media will be blocked, and the flash drive turns into a regular CD / DVD disc. The problem has been known for a long time, so the solutions have already been worked out and are reliable.

Note that the only worthy application of flash drive protection from writing is its protection against viruses that, without the user's knowledge, migrate through the system and infect new areas.

Flash drive is not formatted: what to do?

The very first step in solving a situation when a USB flash drive is not formatted by Windows is to check the physical condition of the drive. Some flash drives have a lock with a movable latch, the same applies to microSD cards. The toggle switch can be located on one of the edges of the carrier. To eliminate the prohibition for recording, it is necessary to move the lock to the Open or Lock position, this is done with something hard or with a fingernail, since the toggle switch is small enough.

Most likely, the lock was turned on by accident, so before connecting the drive further, you should check that it was installed correctly.

Another common problem is software write blocking, which is set at the microcontroller level of the drive. For normal operation, you need to unlock the USB flash drive, which can be done with built-in Windows tools.

The flash drive is not formatted - the disk is write protected. Unlocking via registry

The more common reason a flash drive won't format is in the software realm. To remove the ban, you need to perform some manipulations with the registry.

1. Press Win + R and enter regedit in the window that opens, the editor will be called with administrator rights;

1. Then you need to go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE branch and select the SYSTEM folder;
2. The CurrentControlSet - Control section contains the required StorageDevicePolicies folder. In some systems, the item may be absent, in this case you just have to create it by clicking on "Edit", activate "Create" and select the "Section" item. It is important to name the folder exactly StorageDevicePolicies;
3. Further, in the selected section (in the window on the right), you need to right-click and "Create", then select "DWORD Parameter (32 bits)" and name WriteProtect;
4. Next, double-click to open the created parameter and check the value, it should be 0, if a unit is set, you need to replace it and save the changes;

1. At the end, you need to close the registry, remove the drive and reboot the PC. After reconnecting, everything will work correctly.

Removing protection with Diskpart

The next way to format a USB flash drive if it is not formatting is to use the command function Diskpart. This interpreter is used to configure and obtain information about sections.

In our case, you need to use it like this:

1. Click on "Start";
2. Enter the combination cmd into the search bar;
3. PKM on the result and run with higher rights;
4. Then enter diskpart in the console and press enter;
5. Then enter list disk and press Enter. Here you need to determine the number of the drive with which we will interact, that is, the flash drive. The easiest way to determine the desired partition is to look at a size that is slightly smaller than the volume indicated on the flash drive;

1. Now you need to select the disk using the select disk 2 command, where the number is indicated by the individual, just identified;
2. To clear an attribute that blocks writing, enter the command "attributes disk clear readonly";
3. Then the flash drive needs to be formatted using the standard "clean" command;
4. You need to create a partition using the "create partition primary" command;
5. At the end, you should install the standard NTFS / FAT file system, which is performed by the "format fs \u003d ntfs" command; for editing in FAT, you need to replace ntfs with fat in the command.

Removing protection using the Group Policy Editor

An alternative method to solve the problem with unavailable formatting is as follows:

1. You must press the combination Win + R and enter the name of the service gpedit.msc, then Enter;
2. Next, you need to open a branch called "Computer Configuration";
3. Then select "Administrative Templates";
4. Then open the "System" category;
5. The ultimate goal is "Access to removable devices";
6. It is necessary to deactivate the parameter "Removable disks: Deny recording", to do this, double-click on the option and set the Disable position in the new window on the left.

Additional options

If the problem was not fixed by one of the listed methods, it is worth trying to find software from the official manufacturer, it is likely that it has some specific function. It is not difficult to do this simply by going to the website of the product manufacturer.

Some users confuse the situation of a protected drive and a separate file. Probably, the problem is not in the flash drive itself, but some separate file is blocking formatting. It is worth taking a closer look at the error window, if a specific file is indicated there, you need to remove protection from it. Performing an action is quite simple - right-click on it and select "Properties", then click on the "Security" tab and deselect the "Read Only" item.

Important! Before formatting, you need to correctly install the file system into which the flash drive will be transferred. The most common types are FAT and NTFS, in the first case the volume of the drive will not exceed 4 GB, regardless of its actual size, and in the second case the set volume will be supported.

After all, you need to choose fast or full formatting, the first option is faster and shows errors less often, and the second is more high-quality.

Sometimes it is not possible to fix the problem at all, since the flash drive simply cannot be used anymore due to the fact that the resource is exhausted. Each device has a limited number of rewriting cycles, when this resource is exhausted, the flash drive automatically becomes read-only.

If you still have questions on the topic "How to format a USB flash drive if it is write-protected?", You can ask them in the comment

Sooner or later, each user of additional memory cards needs to format the microSD card.

There are several ways to do this effectively and efficiently. But first you need to figure it out what is microSD and how is formatting?

What is microSD?

Read also: TOP-12 Best memory cards for smartphones, cameras and video recorders | Review of popular models + Reviews

Micro SD is a small-sized flash drive designed for portable equipment (digital cameras, MP3 players, etc.).

There is a type of equipment to which only an SD card can be connected. Often in this case, bundled or separately, special adapter soldallowing you to make the transition from microSD to SD.

There are already four generations of cards:

• SD0 - from 8Mb to 2 Gb;
• SD 1.1 - up to 4 Gb;
• SDHC - up to 32 Gb;
• SDXC - up to 2 Tb.

MicroSD development history

Read also: TOP 12 Best USB flash drives for all occasions: for music, movies and data backup

This memory card format was developed in 1999 by a joint work of companies such as Panasonic, SanDisk and Toshiba.

Later, in order to "promote the idea", a separate company was created to develop and improve this format of cards - SD Association.

Despite such an early appearance, microSD cards only came into use in 2004. It was then that the company SanDisk introduced the standard for such cards, which was originally named TransFlash.

A year later, the name TransFlash was officially changed to MicroSD.

The device was initially doomed to great popularity, and they were right, especially now that it has very compact dimensions (20 * 21.5 * 14 mm and weighs 1 gram) and can store up to 128 GB of data, inclusive, while having excellent processing speed.

Areas of use

Read also: TOP 11 Best Hard Drives (HDD) for Your Computer, Laptop or Network Attached Storage (NAS) | Overview of current models in 2019

As mentioned above, cards of this format are used mainly for portable equipment. There are only three types of SD cards: microSD, miniSD and regular format SD cards.

Regular and miniSD cards used most often in photo and video cameras... They store the filmed material.

The third kind used in more compact technology -, communicators, MP3 players and others.

Such devices are equipped with a special connector that supports this format. In this case, the memory card stores photos and videos, music and even many applications.

SD cards are used not only for use in portable technology, but also in a PC as a storage medium. In the modern world, more and more laptops have a connector for connecting conventional SD cards.

You can connect the device to desktop computers via a card reader. For a microSD card, in this case, a special adapter is used, which is exactly the same size as a regular SD card.

Why should you format

Read also: TOP 10 Best Network Attached Storage (NAS) for Home and Work | Rating of current models in 2019

Firstly, formatting allows you to completely free the memory card from the files in it... The second reason is the presence of viruses.

It is impossible to completely get rid of viruses by simply deleting virus files, so you need to format the microSD.

And finally, the third reason is the slow operation of the card. Performing a full drive cleaning can speed up its performance.

Formatting using standard Windows tools

Read also: TOP 10 Best SSD drives for your laptop or computer. Choosing which one is better: SATAIII, M.2 or PCIe in 2018

You can format the card using standard means, but will this give the desired effect? After all, microSD cards often have write protection.

Therefore, it will not be possible to delete files either. To check this, you can try to format the USB flash drive without using programs.

To do this, insert the card into the card reader and wait for the computer to "see" it.

Then go to "My Computer", find the desired removable disk and right-click on it.

In the context menu that opens, select the item "Format".

In the opened window change the file system to FAT... If it is the default, then we do not change it. Then we press the button "Start".

After the process completes, your card remains blank. But not always completely.

After "filling" of new files and safely removing the removable disk, when reconnecting, it may turn out that the old files that were on the microSD before formatting and the new ones overlapped.

In this case, self-formatting without third-party software will no longer help you. We'll have to seek help from various kinds of programs.

Let's take a look below what programs can help us free our SD card.

AutoFormat Tool

Read also: Transferring the system to an SSD disk: transferring data and operating system Windows 7/10

Download

This program is very easy to use. It has a very small volume and is completely free. To use it, you need to download a downloadable archive.

This can be done on any site where it has. You just need to enter its name in the browser search bar.

After downloading and installing, click on the shortcut using the right mouse button, in the context menu that opens, select the item "Run as administrator».

After the program itself opens, in the utility window, select the arrow in the Disk Drive line and find the letter of your device.

Then we put a marker on the SD item and press the "Format" button to start formatting.

After pressing the start formatting button, another window will appear asking you to confirm the deletion of all files. Click "Yes" and start the formatting process.

When finished, your card will be fully formatted and ready to use. If you cannot format the card by means, then this program will help you 100%.

Read also:

Download

This program is just as easy to use as the previous one. With her help you can format not only SD cards, but also USB media and even RW disks.

The program is capable of low-level formatting, so it is used to clean up any removable media.

This program also has a drawback - after formatting with it, the data can no longer be recovered.

The program can be downloaded for free on any site that has a similar one.

After downloading the program easy to install and does not take up a lot of hard disk space, which is also a big plus. To format, proceed to the following steps:

1 Run the program as administrator by right-clicking on the shortcut. In the window that opens, select the media that needs cleaning and press the "Continue" button.

2 In the next window, open the "LOW-LEVEL FORMAT" section and complete the action by pressing the "FORMAT THIS DEVISE" button. After that we are waiting for the end of formatting. This program has a slight delay in the cleaning process, so you have to wait a bit.

SDFormatter utility

Download

With this program you can do better cleaning of the microSD card or any other removable media. It is more efficient than standard Windows tools.

The developers of this utility are confident that this is the best formatting program.

To get started with this program, you must download and install it. You can download it from any site where it is available.

The program also absolutely free and does not take up a lot of hard disk space... After downloading, the program should be installed as usual and run as administrator.

After starting the program, a window opens in front of you, in which, in the "Drive" field, select the desired device for formatting.

After we have completed all the steps described above, you just need to click the "Format" button and wait for the formatting to complete.

This method is quite simple, the program is easy to use and does not take up much space. It also doesn't use much RAM. Therefore, this method is very well suited for such purposes.

Miniature USB flash drives are our reliable electronic custodians of various data. With their help, information can be easily "carried" in your pocket.

USB flash is convenient, compact, mobile, has a stylish design and makes it possible to connect to any modern device with a USB connector for reading and writing information.

How flash drives work

The USB Flash Drive uses non-volatile NAND flash memory controlled by a microcontroller. The controller microcircuit contains information about the manufacturer, available memory and service information necessary for the operation of the device. The storage time of information in memory cells is long enough, but limited. The number of overwriting data on a USB flash drive ranges from five to ten thousand cycles.

Typically, flash media with a small amount of memory use the FAT file system (FAT 16, FAT 32, ex FAT), and for Flash larger than 64 GB, NTFS or ex FAT systems are used.

Protecting information on flash drives

To ensure the safety of storing confidential information and to prevent viruses from entering flash drives, various protection methods are used. It:

In this case, when you try to change the data on the connected flash drive, for example, when formatting, copying, transferring, deleting information, messages about the write protection of the disk appear on the monitor screen.

This review provides several options for removing protection with mechanical and software blocking of a flash drive.

Within the framework of this article, we will also consider the possible causes of failures in the operation of a flash drive or software that cause a ban on overwriting, as well as ways to eliminate such malfunctions.

Malfunctions of flash drives associated with system messages that the disk is write-protected

Blocking a flash drive from overwriting can be caused by:

• By special actions of the user to protect confidential information during mechanical blocking and encryption of data;
• By software write inhibit installed in the operating system;
• PC hardware settings that prohibit writing to USB devices;
• By limiting rewrite cycles when the flash drive has exhausted its resources. In this case, Flash is placed in read-only mode;
• Disk overflow and lack of free space for data recording;
• Malfunction and disconnection of computer USB ports;
• Incorrect formatting;
• File system errors;
• Damaged (Bad) blocks (sectors) of the memory chip caused by wear;
• Removal or absence of a special program - "driver", designed to correctly recognize devices by the operating system;
• Unsafe removal of a device from a USB connector during running processes of writing, moving, renaming, deleting, downloading, reading open files;
• Running (hung) system processes to access the disk;
• Using flash drives in devices with various types of operating and hardware systems. For example, after watching movies on a TV and recording video data from it, the flash is not detected or read by the computer. In these cases, each operating system changes the file structure of the flash drive, while writing data under its own unique scheme;

  Malfunctions of the main hardware components: memory microcircuits and microcontroller (including failures of its program);

• Low-quality manufacturing when buying "fakes" of leading brands;
• With thermal and electrical influences. For example, with discharges of static electricity and overheating;
• Mechanical damage as a result of fractures, cracks, scratches, desoldering and impacts during falls;
• Exposure to moisture and electromagnetic radiation;
• Unstable power supply;
• Malicious software - viruses.

The main ways to remove protection from overwriting information from a flash drive

Hardware method

Some manufacturers of USB-drives implement mechanical protection against changes in the form of a switch (Lock), allowing or disabling recording. Usually, it is located on the side of the media and is marked with a lock icon.

To remove the mechanical blocking, it is necessary to move the lever in the opposite direction.

Software ways to unlock flash media using standard Windows tools

Removing Overwrite Protection Using Windows Registry Editor

The registry is a hierarchical database of settings, hardware and software settings, and information about Windows user profiles.

Registry Editor is a special program included in the standard set of Windows operating systems. It allows you to add, edit registry keys and settings, set default values, import or export keys to save and restore the registry file from a backup in case of system failures.

There are three options to enter the Registry Editor:

Using the software utility "Run". For this:

After the registry editor has been launched, namely, the following window has opened

you need to find the registry branch

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SYSTEM \\ CurrentControlSet \\ Control \\

Color: # 008000; "\u003e Control and then the StorageDevicePolicies subsection, if any, and on the right side of the program interface pay attention to the WriteProtect (Reg_Dword) binary parameter, the value of which can be (0) or (1).

If this parameter is present and equal to (1) - this is the reason for blocking the flash disk.

To remove protection, you must:

• double click on the WriteProtect (Reg_Dword) parameter;
• manually change its value from (1) to (0);
• confirm changes with OK;
• close the registry editor;
• to restart a computer;
• check the removal of protection from the device.

If the registry key is missing HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SYSTEM \\ CurrentControlSet \\ Control \\ StorageDevicePolicies, it must be created using the "Editor" described above in this way:

Removing flash drive overwrite protection using the Windows command line

For advanced users, the Windows operating system provides the ability to text input computer and MS-DOS commands using the command line shell.

The Command Console can be run as a regular user or administrator.

To remove the overwrite protection or the read-only attribute from USB drives, it is recommended to work in the console with administrator rights.

There are several ways to launch the CLI:

Running Command Prompt in Windows 7

Using the software utility "Run".

For this:

Via Search in the Start Menu. For this:

Running Command Prompt in Windows 8

Running Command Prompt in Windows 10

Similarly, you can find the console application " Command line (cmd)"Via the Start menu and launch it via the context menu" As administrator»

Any of the above methods will open the next console window.

Using the text command interface, do the following:

Removing Overwrite Protection Using the Local Group Policy Editor

Group Policy is a set of rules that allow you to control user preferences and policy settings in Windows operating systems.

Group Policy Editor is a Microsoft Management Console snap-in available in the standard set of utilities for operating systems starting with Windows Server 2008R2 and Professional versions for Windows 7 and Windows 8.

With this tool you can:

• configure various parameters of a personal computer,
• set some restrictions for individual users or their groups on the launch and installation of programs, services, processes,
• prohibit changing information on any media, including removable drives, etc.

There are several ways to launch the editor:

After opening the local group policy editor, to remove the write protection from removable USB drives, you need to go to the following console tabs:

Software methods for unlocking flash media using special software

If the standard tools of the Windows operating system described above did not lead to the desired result and the flash drive remains locked, you can use special software (hereinafter, abbreviated software) from various manufacturers to remove protection and restore functionality.

In most cases, such software formats a flash drive, deleting all data on it.

Choosing software to restore the performance of Flash media

The choice of utilities for servicing the USB Flash Drive is based on the correspondence of the flash drive model, its memory chip and controller.

All well-known USB Flash manufacturers develop special utilities for their products that restore the operability of devices and correct possible flaws. Such programs can be found on the official websites and downloaded.

When choosing software for a particular Flash device model, it is advisable to know such values \u200b\u200bas:

• Vendor - manufacturer;
• Product - model;
• VID - Vendor Identifier, manufacturer identifier;
• PID - Product Identifier, product identifier, that is, a specific device model;
• Serial Number - serial number;
• Controller Model - controller model, etc.

If the determination of the model (Product) and manufacturer (Vendor) does not cause special difficulties, then to find other information, you will need to use third-party programs or built-in operating system tools.

In order to find out the VID and PID of a USB device through the built-in tools of the system, you must do the following:

To establish information about a flash drive, you can also use the ChipGenius program from Chinese developers, which displays a report on the following data: Vendor, Product, VID, PID, SerialNumber, ControllerModel, FlashID, Channel, etc. This program is compatible with various controller models. You can download ChipGenius for free from the developer's official website at this link.

Below is the ChipGenius interface with a sample report of scanning a 32GB USB Flash device and defining values \u200b\u200bsuch as:

1. Device Vendor, Product Model (Innostor);
2. Device Name (PenDrive);
3. VID (1F75);
4. PID (0903);
5. Serial Number;
6. controller manufacturer (Vendor Innostor);
7. Controller Part-Number and other parameters.

ChipGenius interface with USB flash drive scan report

When the necessary parameters are set, then with the help of special sites with extensive databases of known flash drives (for example, http://flashboot.ru/iflash/), it is easy to find a utility to restore them or even "flash" the controller.

Below we will consider popular programs that will help remove protection from a flash drive and restore its performance.

Users should remember that during the operation of such software, data from flash media will be permanently deleted.

AlcorMP

AlcorMP is a flash drive recovery program with controllers manufactured by Alcor. It allows you not only to remove protection from a flash drive, but also to restore its performance, "flashing" the controller and create protected partitions on the disk.

When using AlcorMP, all data on the USB drive is permanently erased by formatting.

Therefore, if the data on the media is important to you, then try to recover deleted files from the flash drive first. Since the official developer no longer supports this utility, our site recommends downloading AlcorMP for free from this link.

After downloading the program, you need to unpack it and run the executable file AlcorMP.exe as administrator and then connect the USB flash drive.

Press the Refresh (R) button to recognize the device. After reading the data, the data about the medium will appear in the program window, marked with a letter or a black number (in the example, the letter G). If the letter is red, then you need to use another software, since the flash drive cannot be processed in AlcorMP.

Optionally, you can configure the utility for deep analysis of flash memory. To do this, go to Settings (Setup S) and set the scan speed value.

To start formatting, press Start (Start A) and wait for the process of removing the attributes from the flash. Depending on the volume, speed of the medium, the state of the memory, this process takes from two minutes to an hour.

Upon completion of the process, first disconnect the drive from the USB connector, and then close the program, check the operability of the flash drive and the success of removing the "read-only" attribute.

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is a freeware program designed to format any type of flash media. With its help, you can partially restore inoperative flash drives and format disks even in cases where this is not possible with the standard means of the operating system. You can download the Russian version of the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool for free on the official website.

The functionality of the utility allows you to unlock any USB device, select a file system (NTFS, FAT32), a quick format option, assign a label to a disk, enable data compression for NTFS.

There is also an additional option HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool - creating a bootable flash drive using MS - DOS files located on the hard disk.

The program does not require installation. After downloading, the executable file HPUSBDisk.exe (as administrator) is launched from the archive, the disk is selected, the necessary values \u200b\u200bfor the file system, label and formatting method are set, and the Start button is pressed. At the end of the process - closing the Close interface and checking the unlocking of the flash drive

JetFlash Recovery Tool

JetFlash Recovery Tool is a free-use software designed to recover flash drives manufactured by Transcend (JetFlash) and A-Data. You can read an overview of the program on our website.

Functionality:

• Correction of errors of reading blocks of writing at high data processing speed;
• Unlocking in case of impossibility of recording;
• Recognition of media with a RAW file system with a damaged structure;
• Formatting with the ability to pre-save data.

Download the JetFlash Recovery Tool from the developer's official website at this link.

After downloading the program, you need to run the JetFlash Recovery Tool.exe application file as administrator and wait for the installation to be installed on the hard disk

Then run the JFRecoveryTool.exe executable file to download the application, connect a non-working or locked USB flash drive and click Start. At the end of the work, check the normalization of the media state

Apacer Repair

Apacer Repair is a small program designed specifically for flash media by Apacer Technology Inc. With it, you can make quick formatting, if other options did not help, as well as repair USB Flash. As a result of program processing, you can remove overwrite protection and correct errors in memory blocks.

You can download the Apacer Repair utility for free from the developer's official website at this link.

After downloading the program and connecting the flash drive to the USB connector, launch the utility and follow the instructions on the screen.

Disk formatting begins with a warning: "" ( This will destroy all data on the USB stick, do you want to continue?)

Pressing the Format button starts quick formatting. A successful wipe operation will remove the write protection from the flash drive.

Other reasons for blocking USB devices from overwriting and how to fix them

Viruses blocked a USB flash drive for writing

Computer viruses are malicious software that disrupts the operation of operating systems, file structure, deletes information, blocks media, unauthorized encrypts data.

The term viruses includes such types of malware as Trojans, downloaders - droppers, phishing sites, worms, spambots, spiders, etc.

These programs are able to create their own copies and be introduced through communication channels into systems, boot sectors of computers. They bring a lot of trouble to users, stealing confidential information and disrupting entire computer systems.

According to statistics, the most common cause of USB media malfunctions is malware or viruses.

When you connect an external media to an unprotected computer, there is a high probability of infection, i.e. copying viruses to flash media.

Many viruses are designed to block access to a flash drive and prohibit any operations to change data on it in order to "protect themselves" from forced deletion or movement.

For example, such a common virus as Autorun writes itself to the computer's system file Autorun.inf, which allows applications to run from removable media. When connecting a flash drive, Autorun copies files of the type: Autorun.exe **, Autorun.inf __ and others. The signs of infection with this virus are as follows:

• The USB disk does not open at all, or when trying to access it suddenly appears in another explorer window;
• it is impossible to delete or open suspicious files, and the system may display a message about write protection or the inability to access the file;
• task Manager and Registry Editor do not start;
• the USB flash drive contains a hidden RECYCLER folder, which contains the virus executable file.

To fight against viruses of this type, special Anti-Autorun programs have been developed.

In cases of infection of a flash drive with a virus that blocks any action related to changing information, you must do the following:

1. Install anti-virus software on your computer.
2. When connecting a USB disk, perform a thorough scan with the installed anti-virus with updated databases. It is advisable to check the flash with several programs.
3. If possible, format the USB flash drive using the built-in tools of the operating system or additional utilities described in this article.
4. If it is impossible to format in normal mode, try to perform this operation in the safe boot mode of the operating system (diagnostic mode, using only the main files and drivers). Why reboot the system while holding down the F8 key and select " Safe mode».
5. It is imperative to check the hard drives of a personal computer for viruses so that they do not spread to other removable drives in the future.

Checking disk fullness and removing protection from files to be copied to disk

To check for free disk space, do the following:

Physical damage to the USB stick

The reason for blocking the flash drive for writing may be mechanical damage.

It usually occurs in the following cases:

• when buying low-quality goods ("fakes");
• when exposed to high temperatures and overheating of parts of the device;
• electrostatic discharge;
• as a result of faults, cracks in the electronics board, chips, scratches and impacts when falling, when the main elements are damaged: a memory chip and a microcontroller;
• improper storage conditions (for example, a humid environment) and violations of operating rules;
• voltage surges when power is applied to the elements of the carrier;
• limited service life while reducing data write-erase cycles;
• loosening the usb connector (interface)

If the integrity of the memory chip is not compromised by physical damage, the data can be saved or restored. Such operations are carried out by specialists in service centers.

Faulty or disconnected USB ports of the PC

Sometimes the reason for the appearance of write protection on a USB flash drive may be a malfunction or disconnection of USB ports of a computer, laptop or other device by software or technical means.

To check for a port fault:

• insert the disk drive into another USB port;
• connect other USB devices to the connector. For example, a camera, mobile phone, printer, tablet. If devices are not recognized by a personal computer, are read in jumps with significant interruptions, system messages about connection errors pop up, then the USB port is not working.

Thus, you can eliminate the possibility of problems with USB ports when you receive messages that the disk is write protected.

Disabling writing to flash devices when software and hardware disconnect USB ports

To restrict access to connected removable media (flash drives, portable hard drives, phones, etc.) or even prohibit their use, administrators of computer systems disable USB ports. The purpose of these measures is to prevent theft of valuable information or infection of computers with malware and spyware through flash drives. This causes system messages to prevent writing to Flash memory devices. If you fell for such a computer, then you need to enable the USB port.

There are several ways to disable (enable) USB ports:

1. Via BIOS.

   This is a small program written in a special chip on the motherboard of the system unit. It is intended for the initial start-up of a computer, testing its main components, performing I / O functions, storing information about the hardware components of the PC and their settings.

   To disable USB ports:

   • enter the BIOS by holding one of the following keys: Del, F2, F10, Esc, F8;
   • find all the values \u200b\u200bassociated with the USB Controller (or Legacy USB Support) and set them to Enabled;
   • press the F10 key to confirm the changes in the settings;
   • to restart a computer.
   
   
2. Using the registry editor.

   This method is convenient in that, unlike the previous one, USB devices such as keyboard, mouse, printers, scanners are not disconnected, but only flash drives.

   This article has already covered the process of loading the Registry Editor as a standard utility of the operating system.

   To disable ports through the editor, you must:

   
   
3. In device manager. For this:
   
4. Uninstall (remove) USB controller drivers.
5. Using special software to establish access levels and prohibit users from connecting USB devices. For example, Microsoft Fix It 50061 and USB Drive Disabler perform these functions.
6. Disconnecting USB from the computer's motherboard. In this case, you can disable only the ports on the front and top of the system case by disconnecting the adapter cables that go to the motherboard.
7. You can also allow / deny access to removable storage devices using the Group Policy Editor. This method was discussed above in the article.
8. In the reverse order, you can check and connect all controllers and USB ports, allowing access to them by PC users.

Thus, by checking all the options for disconnecting USB ports, you can exclude the possibility of blocking flash media for overwriting.

Microcontroller software failures and flash memory wear

Each flash drive includes a controller microcircuit intended for communication between flash memory and a computer. The controller is controlled by the firmware, a part of which is written in the chip. This program is responsible for the memory parameters, the operation of the translator, contains the values \u200b\u200bof the product identifiers and the so-called write inhibit flags.

In cases of improper operation, unsafe removal of the media during running recording and movement processes, power jumps, a software failure of the controller occurs. One of the signs of such a malfunction is the blocking of the device for recording information.

Blocking of the device can also occur due to wear of the memory chip, in which bad blocks appear and the overwrite cycle threshold is exceeded. In this case, the microcontroller marks the blocks as unused, blocks the flash for writing, enters data protection mode to prevent further destruction of the NAND memory.

To eliminate software failures, the microcontroller should be reprogrammed ("reflash") using special software. Firmware programs are selected in accordance with the controller model and flash media identifiers (VID and PID). More details about the selection of such software were described above in the article.

Flash drive file system errors

Damage to the internal structure of the file system is a violation of the order of storing and naming data in the memory of a flash drive. Logic errors can be caused by unsafe removal of the device from the USB connector, power surges, viruses, memory wear, and other reasons. As a result of such failures, the disk is locked for overwriting, there is no access to it, an undefined RAW file structure is displayed in the properties of the USB disk, and a system message is displayed stating that the disk needs to be formatted.

In these cases, it is necessary:

• using special software matched to a specific flash device model, try to recover valuable information;
• perform high-level formatting, which will restore the file system.

The selection of utilities for recovering and formatting Flash USB was described above in the article.

Low-level formatting - as one of the ways to restore the functionality of a locked flash drive

If attempts to recover information on a locked USB device have not led to the desired results and the data stored in memory is not important for the user, it is best to perform a low-level formatting of the flash (Low Level Format), which will fix the damaged memory.

Low Level Format is the basic markup in the data storage area with control information recording, which is usually carried out at the device manufacturers and remains unchanged. However, there are a number of programs that allow users to do the low-level formatting themselves.

The Low Level Format process completely deletes data from device memory and cannot be recovered. This action is taken in order to block the damaged sections of the USB Flash, which will not be recorded during further operation, as well as to prevent theft of confidential information.

The most popular program for carrying out the process of low-level formatting of USB devices is HDD Low Level Format Tool. It allows you to resize your drive. Works with removable drives via USB and Firewire interfaces. During the erase process, the partition table, boot sectors (if any), manufacturer data, and each data byte are cleared. The program is shareware.

The free version (free) has limitations on formatting speed, and there is no access to program updates.

After downloading the program, you need to install it, following the recommendations on the screen.

Choose one of the options for using the program:

Since low-level formatting deletes all bytes of information, to resume working with the device, you need to carry out high-level formatting using the usual standard operating system tools, having decided on the file system of the flash drive.

Outcome

In this article, we examined in detail the possible causes of flash drive malfunctions that cause a ban on overwriting. Were listed the main measures to eliminate such problems.

In some cases, in case of serious mechanical damage and software failures of Flash USB, users are advised to contact the service centers. Specialists use highly specialized software on special equipment to restore and repair USB devices.

If all the methods listed in the article did not help to "save" the flash device, and it still remains inoperative, then you should think about buying a new one.

In order for the acquired flash drive to serve for a long time and be a reliable carrier of important information, you must adhere to the simple rules for using Flash USB:

1. do not subject them to mechanical shock;
2. isolate from moisture, high temperature and exposure to electromagnetic fields;
3. remove only using "Safely Remove Hardware";
4. periodically defragment a memory area;
5. check for errors using the chkdsk system utility (scanning and correcting data errors);
6. be sure to use antivirus software and keep it up to date to protect against virus infection.