Easily Remove the “Read Only” State from a USB Drive on PC

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Step-by-step instructions to remove read-only state from a thumb drive
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If you are trying to do something with a read-only state USB, several things may occur:


1. If trying to copy something to your USB Drive, get an error notification.
2. If you are trying to format your drive you may get "Write-protected".
These means that your drive is in Read-only state. If you need to change this so that you can edit the contents of the drive, you can change the state of your USB drive on Windows system using 'Command Prompt'.

Method 1
Method 1 of 1:

Windows

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    [1]
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    [2]
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    Where the pop-up window appears, click on Yes to accept it. [3]
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    Then type diskpart and press OK .
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    It will show all the connected drives including your USB. The newly connected USB drive should be the last on that list. Or you can find your drive by looking on the size of drives.
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    Here the current read-only state as "on" means the drive is read-only.
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    It will remove the current read-only state.
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    It will show the change.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    My flash drive is in a current read only state but not read only, how do I fix this?
    Community Answer
    Solution 1. Check the physical switch. Solution 2. Open regedit and change registry key. Solution 3. Use the manufacturer's USB repair tool to restore read-only to normal.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
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    Yes No
    Not Helpful 99 Helpful 49
  • Question
    Only current read only state says yes and my flash drive doesn't have a lock switch, how do I fix this?
    Community Answer
    Solution 1. Check the physical switch. Solution 2. Open regedit and change registry key. Solution 3. Use the manufacturer's USB repair tool to restore read-only to normal.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 111 Helpful 42
  • Question
    Only the current read-only state is yes, and all the others are no, how do I remove that?
    Community Answer
    USB disk cannot be OFFLINED. Do the following; diskpart> sel disk, diskpart> attrib disk clear, Readonly, diskpart> attrib disk. Now try to write a file to this disk and let me know if it works.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 181 Helpful 54
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.easeus.com/partition-master/current-read-only-state-yes.html#4
      2. ↑ https://www.easeus.com/partition-master/current-read-only-state-yes.html#4
      3. ↑ https://www.easeus.com/partition-master/current-read-only-state-yes.html#4

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