Hello guys. Welcome ones again. Today I am going to show you something interesting. I am going to show you how to remove write protection on USB Flash Drive. Removing write protection has proved to be a challenge to many people. I inclusive. But until I discovered how to remove write protection on USB Flash disks. I have not tried this method on other external storage drives like SD cards but you can try if it works, then you are good to go. If you are well versed with using computers, then this should not worry you. If you are new, it might be a challenge to you.
There are many tales about how to remove right protection on external storage. Many people say it is not possible. I used to believe so too. Personally, I have never stumbled upon working software that can remover write protection on external drives. But this method on how to remove write protection on USB Flash Drive should work like magic. You can also check my other article on how to factory reset HP Spectre X360 laptop computer. Otherwise, proceed.
Why do external drives have write protection?
Write protection is a menace to remove. But not anymore. External drives are set to have write protection in order to secure the data from being changed or copied and also to prevent data being added on the flash drive. In short, setting a write protection on an external flash drive has got its own pros and cons. If you want to secure your data without encryption with a password, then setting a write protection on your flash drive is the best way to do so. But if you do, make sure that you really need to because it might be tricky if you want to edit or share your data. Now, let us look at how to remove write protection on USB Flash Drive.
How To Remove Write Protection On USB Flash Drive Using Command Prompt.
Now, if you want to learn how to remove write protection on USB Flash Drive, then read with me through the remaining section. Make sure you follow the steps keenly. This method requires that you use command line or CMD on your Windows computer. I am now going to show you how to remove write protection on USB Flash Disk using CMD. Follow the next step.
Step 1
The first thing you need to do is that you need to have a Windows computer and a write protected flash disk with you. If you don’t have a write protected flash disk, then you can use any flash disk for we shall set a write protection on it and now remove the write protection again. Now, insert your flash drive into the computer’s USB port and proceed to step 2. You can also check How to fix Resolution too low to run this app, Change your screen resolution in windows 8
Step 2
Now, on your computer, open CMD and run it as administrator.
Now, type in this command: DISKPART. Diskpart will show just below.
Step 3
Now in DISKPART, enter the following command: LIST DISK then press the ENTER button. You will see all the disks connected on your computer. To know what your disk number is, see the storage capacity shown in the details under SIZE.
Now, since Disk 1 is the disk we want to use, we shall enter this command: SELECT DISK 1 then press the ENTER button. Disk 1 will be selected. Now, remember I am using a USB flash disk that is not write protected. For us to remove write protection, then we need to make it write protected. So, we will check if it is write protected. So, in the DISKPART, enter this command: DETAIL DISK. This will show you all the details pertaining your flash drive. Notice that the current read-only state is indicated NO. Meaning the drive is not write protected.
Now, to set write protection, enter the following command: LIST DISK then SELECT DISK 1. When Disk 1 is selected, to set write protection on the disk, enter: ATTRIBUTES DISK SET READONLY. This will set your flash drive to a read only state meaning it is now write protected.
You can verify by checking if the disk is write protected, enter this command: DETAIL DISK. This will show you all the details pertaining your flash drive. Notice that the current read-only state is indicated YES. Meaning the drive is not write protected.
Step 4
Now that you have set the write protection, you can try to copy data in and out of your flash disk. You can try to even format it. You will see that it is not possible because the flash drive is write protected.
Even formatting will not work as shown below
Step 5
Now, having made sure that your external flash drive is write protected, now it is time to learn how to remove write protection on USB Flash Drive. The process is almost the same. To remove write protection, close CMD and again follow steps 1, and 2. Now on the DISKPART, enter these commands: LIST DISK, SELECT DISK 1, this will select the flash drive you want to remove write protection. After that, enter this command: ATTRIBUTES DISK CLEAR READONLY then hit the enter button. This will now remove the readonly state of your flash drive.
To check the state of your disk, enter this command in diskpart: SELECT DISK 1 then after disk 1 is selected, enter: DETAIL DISK. This will display the details of your flash drive. Current read only state will display as ‘NO’.
Step 6
Now, after the above step, now again, follow these sequences of commands in diskpart as done earlier: SELECT DISK 1, CLEAN, CREATE PART PRIMARY, ACTIVE. Now your flash drive is ready to format. To format it, enter this command. FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK. This will start formatting your flash drive. Wait until it is done.
Then after formatting, use the following commands:
ASSIGN
DETAIL DISK
SELECT VOLUME (assigned number)
SELECT VOLUME (assigned)
FORMAT RECOMMENDED OVERRIDE
…wait until formatting is done…
After this is done, you can now enter EXIT into DISKPART and exit CMD. Your flash drive should be write protection free.
Conclusion
Make sure that when you are doing this, you are dealing with a write protected flash drive. This process will not repair damaged flash drives. It is specifically for Write protected external flash drives. Make sure you select the correct disk number. If you are not careful, you might format your internal hard drives.
WARNING!!!
Formatting your flash drive will erase all your data on the flash drive!
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