How to enable or disable write protection on a USB flash bulldoze

Updated: 10/11/2021 past Computer Promise

USB thumb drive protection.

There are several ways to enable or disable write protection of your USB flash drive. Depending on your device, you can use a hardware switch to toggle write protection or modify the read-simply settings for the device through the operating organisation.

Write-protection hardware switch

Some USB flash drives accept a write protection switch on the side or bottom. The write protection switch is useful for keeping the contents of your drive safe from malware when you demand to view them on a public computer. If your device has this switch, motility it to the "Lock" position. This activeness effectively sets all files, and the device itself, to read-only mode.

Using DiskPart to alter read-only settings

Yous can use the Windows DiskPart command-line utility to enable or disable read-only fashion on your USB wink drive.

  1. Press Windows fundamental+R to open the Run box. Type diskpart and press Enter.

Run diskpart from the Windows run box.

  1. If y'all receive a User Business relationship Control prompt asking yous for permission to continue, click Yes.
  2. At the DISKPART> prompt, type list disk and printing Enter.

Using Windows diskpart to list disks

Employ the size of the disk to make up one's mind which one is your USB flash bulldoze. In this example, we know that Deejay 1 is our USB flash drive considering its size is listed as 14 GB.

  1. Select your USB flash drive with the select deejay command. In this instance, nosotros want to work with deejay i, so the command is select disk 1.

Using Windows DiskPart to select disk

  1. You lot can listing the attributes of the disk with the command attributes disk.

Using Windows DiskPart to list disk attributes

  1. To clear the read-simply attribute (making the disk writable), use the command attributes disk clear readonly.

Using Windows DiskPart to clear the read-only attribute

Or, to set the read-merely attribute (making the flash disk write-protected), use the command attributes deejay set readonly.

Using Windows DiskPart to set the read-only attribute

  1. When y'all are finished, type get out to quit the program.

Alter security permissions in wink drive properties

If using DiskPart, as detailed above, does not piece of work to clear the read-only attribute of a USB flash drive, the security permissions may need to be changed. The security permissions may be set so that all users simply have Read permissions to files on the flash drive.

To check if security permissions demand to exist changed, follow the steps below.

Note

If the steps below don't work for your flash drive, it may prevent permission changes from being locked by a security programme. In these cases, you may non be able to make the flash bulldoze writable. You may need to take administrator privileges on the reckoner to change permissions.

  1. Open up My Computer or File Explorer.
  2. Find the USB flash drive in the listing of drives connected to the estimator.
  3. Right-click the flash drive icon and select Properties in the popular-upwards menu.
  4. On the General tab, check the File organization entry to run into how the flash bulldoze is formatted. Select the appropriate link below based on the file system type.
  • NTFS file system
  • FAT file organization

NTFS file organization

  1. In the Properties window, click the Security tab.
  2. Click the Edit button below the Group or user names department.
  3. In the Permissions window, click the Anybody entry, if not already selected. In the Permissions for Everyone department, brand sure the Allow checkbox is checked for the Modify entry. If it's not checked, check the box.
  4. Click the OK button on the Permissions and Backdrop window to save the security permissions modify.

Note

If the USB flash drive is still read-only afterward checking the Permit checkbox in step vii, repeat the steps and check the checkbox for the Full Control entry. Verify if the USB flash drive allows you to modify its contents now.

If you want to gear up the wink drive to read-only for everyone, in step 7, uncheck all boxes in the Allow cavalcade, except for the Read entry.

FAT file system

  1. In the Properties window, click the Sharing tab.
  2. On the Sharing tab, click the Advanced Sharing push.
  3. On the Advanced Sharing window, click the Share this folder checkbox.
  4. Click the Permissions button.
  5. In the Permissions window, click the Anybody entry, if not already selected. In the Permissions for Everyone section, make sure the Allow checkbox is checked for the Change entry. If information technology's not checked, cheque the box.
  6. Click the OK push button on the Permissions, Avant-garde Sharing, and Backdrop windows to save the permissions change.

Notation

If the USB flash bulldoze is still read-merely after checking the Allow checkbox in step 9, repeat the steps and check the checkbox for the Full Control entry. Verify if the USB flash bulldoze allows you to modify its contents now.

If y'all desire to set the flash drive to read-only for everyone, in step 9, uncheck all boxes in the Allow column, except for the Read entry.

Change write protection through Windows registry

You can enable or disable write protection on your USB wink drive through the Windows registry by following the steps below.

  1. Open up the Windows Registry Editor.
  • How do I open and edit the Windows registry?
  1. Navigate to the following registry location.
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
  2. Double-click the WriteProtect primal.
  3. To enable write protection, change the WriteProtect value to 1 and click OK.

    To disable write protection, alter the WriteProtect value to 0 and click OK.

  4. Close the Windows Registry Editor and restart your reckoner.
  • How to restart Microsoft Windows.

Set USB flash drive bug with chkdsk

If you notwithstanding tin can't enable or disable write protection on your USB flash drive after trying these suggestions, your flash bulldoze may accept errors that need to be fixed. Follow the steps below to try and fix bulldoze errors using the chkdsk tool.

  1. Open an elevated command prompt in Windows.
  2. Once the command prompt window opens, change the drive letter to that of the USB flash drive.
  • How to modify drives in MS-DOS and Windows command line.
  1. Type the control below to check for whatever errors on the wink bulldoze and fix those errors. Change <drive_letter> to the drive letter of the alphabet of the flash drive earlier running the command.

chkdsk <drive_letter> /f /r /ten

For case, if your flash drive is the F: drive, type chkdsk f: /f /r / x.

  1. Press Enter to execute the command.

Format the USB flash drive

If you lot are unsuccessful at enabling or disabling write protection on your USB flash bulldoze, formatting may be the simply option. Formatting can set up drive errors and abuse, allowing you lot to enable or disable write protection.

Note

Formatting the USB wink drive erases all data. This procedure should only be performed as a last option.

  • How to format a hard drive, SSD, or USB flash bulldoze.

Protecting individual files

You can always change the write protection on individual files and folders on your removable disk. See the following page for farther help and data nigh adjusting files.

  • How to write-protect files and folders.