How to fix the disk is write protected USB error

If the USB is faulty the disk is write protected, then the following solutions of Hosting Viet are useful information for you. We invite you to find out.

What is the error the disk is write protected?

Error “The disk is write protected. Remove the write protection or use another disk” aka “write protected”. This error usually appears when the USB is in a data-preserving state, and it does not allow the data contained inside to be changed. At that time, you cannot copy any data from the USB to the computer and vice versa. 

If you find yourself in this situation, do one of the following to fix it.

Check for viruses to fix the error the disk is write protected

When the USB is infected with a virus, it will appear the message the disk is write protected . Typically, the autorun program included in the USB is the cause of virus infection from the computer to the USB and vice versa. Therefore, using reputable antivirus software such as Kaspersky, AVG, Norton, Avast, Avira, Microsoft Security Essentials ... is an effective solution to fix errors.

These anti-virus software will help protect your computer. By, when the USB is plugged into the computer, the antivirus program automatically scans all data contained in the USB to prevent virus infection to the system.

Fix the disk is write protected error on USB with the lock button 

Some USB lines have a built-in lock / unlock switch on the body to protect the read and write mechanism. If the USB is accidentally activated to lock mode, all write or erase operations are not performed. Therefore, when you see the USB saying the disk is write protected , check what mode this switch is in. In case, it is in lock mode, just switch to unlock mode.

Check the USB memory to fix the error of not being able to format USB the disk is write protected

Although quite simple, it seems that many people often ignore it, it is to check the capacity of the USB memory. When the memory is full, it certainly has no space to store other data. So, after doing the above 2 ways and still not working, please see the free space of the USB. 

Fix the disk is write protected on USB: Check data mode 

This method does not seem to be related to the USB but it is also the cause of the error that cannot transfer data between the USB and the computer. Therefore, before you copy or delete a file, check if it is in Read-only mode.

To remove Read-only mode, right-click the files you want to remove, then select Properties, and then select Attributes. Next, uncheck the Read-only item and click OK to save the settings.

Fix the disk is write protected: Using the DiskPart . command line

You press the Windows + X key combination. At the menu, select Command Prompt., then type diskpart and press the Enter button. 

Next, enter the phrase list disk and press the Enter button. At this point, the system will display a list of drives connected to the computer.

For this simulation example, Hosting Viet uses Disk 4. So, next, Hosting Viet will enter the following command:

select disk 4

Then enter the command:

attributes disk clear readonly

This command will proceed to delete the Read-only attribute of all files on the USB drive.

Fix the disk is write protected error on USB via Registry

You use the Windows + R key combination to open the Run window. Then, you enter the command line Regedit and then press the Enter button.

In the Registry interface, enter the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlStorageDevicePolicies

In the right column of the StorageDevicePolicies window, open the WriteProtect item and change the value from 1 to 0. Then, click the OK button. 

If the WriteProtect entry is not found, right-click, then select Key, then select New and press Dword. Finally, you name it WriteProtect and set the value 0.

The last step, you unplug the USB from the computer and then plug it back in. This way will help you fix write protected error. If the problem is still not resolved, please try the next solution.

Handling the error the disk is write protected by formatting USB 

In case, the above 6 ways cannot completely handle the write protected error, please reformat the USB. This is the last solution that you can apply. However, before doing so, check if the file system is FAT32 or NTFS and then format the mobile device to that format. Besides, do not forget to back up the data contained in the USB because after formatting, all of them will be gone.

To see the format of the file system, press the Windows + E key combination and then click This PC or My PC or Computer (depending on the operating system version). Then, select the USB drive and right-click it, then select Properties. At this point, a window like the following image appears, the system section will display the file system format.

Then, close the Properties window and right-click the USB and select Format. In the format window, the options are File system, Allocation unit size, Volume label and Format options. You can rename the device at the Volume label option. In addition, to ensure the USB does not have any hardware problems, Hosting Viet recommends that you uncheck the Quick format mode. Because this helps the format process will both perform a USB check and erase the data. Therefore, when there are any bad sectors, the format will fail.

Finally, you press the Start button to start the USB format process.

Fix the disk is write protected error on the memory card 

For the write protected error on the memory card, you can also apply the above 7 ways. But you should note, most SD memory cards have a lock button to prevent writing to the memory card. So first you need to turn it off and then proceed to fix the error.

Above are 7 ways to fix the disk is write protected error . Hosting Viet hopes that you will not have any problems when using USB devices and memory cards.