USB flash drive prompts with "Write Protected" message.

Anonymous
2010-06-25T00:56:28+00:00

I have recently purchased a 32gb usb flash drive. I have been using it ok until 3 days ago. I now get a message saying "Write Protected". There is no write protection switch on the device. How do i remove the write protection.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

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Anonymous
2010-06-25T21:03:53+00:00

Hi,

You can remove write protection from your usb flash drive using the below method:

a. Open start menu, in the search bar type regedit and press enter. This wil open the registry editor.

b. Navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies

Note:

If the registry key StorageDevicePolicies does not exist, you will need to create it manually.

c. Highlight StorageDevicePolicies, and then create a New DWORD (32-bit) Value named as WriteProtect.

d. Double click the key WriteProtect in the right window and set the value to 0 in the Value

Data Box and press OK button

e. Restart your computer and try copying files into your USB drives.

Important Note:

Sometimes this problem is caused by two Windows registry entries that have become corrupted. To fix the problem, you have to use Registry Editor to delete the corrupted registry entries.

However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.

For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, follow the steps as in the KB Article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/

Hope this helps.

Thanks and Regards:

Shekhar S - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-05-20T13:38:46+00:00

    Shekar S (Support Engineer) did point out how to do this in the second postin this thread: 

    Backup the Registry first (see this LINK for instructions). 

    Then press the "Windows" key on your keyboard and type regedit (you don't need to click in the box) and press Return.

    Navigate to CurrentControlSet\Control and right click the panel to create a new key, as described in an earlier post.

    Call the new key StorageDevicePolicies, and then create a New DWORD (32-bit) named as WriteProtect.  Assign it a value of  0

    You should note that this does not work with some damaged drives, where the file system is corrupted, because Windows cannot 'see' the drive.

    If you are not satisfied that you are competent to make changes to the Registry, or back it up, you should ask someone else to do it for you, including perhaps by Remote Assistance. 

    You can see how to use Remote Assistance HERE.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-05-30T12:48:04+00:00

    Well Shekhar, I've tried everything posted on the web, and even a few things that are not, including running Windows Xp SP3 through a Virtual Machine and trying to remove the write protection, and even formatting it using Xp. I've done the registry entry thing in Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit as well as adding it to the Virtual Xp. No luck there. Tried the command prompt thing in 7 and Xp, no luck. Tried several different formatting tools, no luck. Even tried formatting it using Active 7.1 boot disk, no luck.

    So, I've contacted the manufacturer's tech support (Centon DataStickPro 32GB) and handed the problem to them to see if they had any ideas. no response from them as of today, and quite frankly I don't expect any help from them either. The best posting (and the most honest I believe) said that you might as well copy ( which you CAN do on a write protected device ) all the information to your computers hard drive, throw the damn flash drive into the trash, buy a new one, and copy the information that you copied from the original drive to the new drive. So there you have it, problem solved. Unless, that is, you want to spend the next two days looking for a solution that doesn't exist!

                                                                                          Good luck Bro!!

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-06-15T09:22:57+00:00

    Hi Shekhar S-

    Thank you for the comments.

    It really works for me-a BIG thanks!

    Though I noticed something different-when I went to the StorageDevicePolicies, the file named WriteProtect already existed, so I didn't have the need to create a new DWORD (32-bit).

    And I didn't even have the need to reboot the system. I understand that it may work differently for different set ups/computers.

    Thanks.

    Umang

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-06-17T01:24:55+00:00

    For those that don't have  StorageDevicePoliciesyou have to create it manually. Just point to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Controland then right click and chose new > key name it  StorageDevicePolicies and follow instruction from C

    I have the same problem with my Patriot 64gb flash drive and I  did all of this, and nothing works. Creating these manually did absolutely nothing. Any other suggestions before I throw it out, I hope?

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