6 Easy Ways to Fix a USB Drive That is Stuck in Read-Only Mode

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Learn how to remove write protection from your USB drives
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Do you have a USB drive that's set to read-only mode, and you're not sure how to remove that? If so, this is the article for you. In this article we go over a number of ways to remove write protection from a USB drive on both Windows and Mac so you can get back to working with your files. Keep reading to learn more.

Ways to Remove USB Write Protection

  • Use diskpart to remove the read-only attribute from your USB drive (Windows).
  • Use the Registry Editor to change the WriteProtect value in your registry (Windows).
  • Fix problems with the drive in Disk Utility on Mac.
  • Make sure the USB drive's lock switch isn't set to "lock" or "read only."
Method 1
Method 1 of 6:

Use Diskpart (Windows)

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  1. 1
    Plug the USB drive into your computer. Use an open USB port on your computer to plug in the drive.
    • Make sure you have a backup of the drive before continuing.
  2. 2
    Press ⊞ Win + R . This will open the Run window.
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  3. 3
    Type diskpart into the text field. Press Enter to run the command, or click the OK button.
    • If you get a confirmation window that asks if you're sure that you want to open diskpart, click the Yes button.
  4. 4
    Type list disk in the diskpart window. Press Enter to run the command.
  5. 5
    Find your USB drive in the list of disks. The list disk command shows all the drives connected to your computer, including your hard drive. The easiest way to find your USB drive is by looking at the size column. Your USB drive will likely be a much smaller size than your hard drive.
  6. 6
    Type select disk # in the diskpart window. Press Enter to run the command. Replace the # with the disk number you found in the previous step.
    • For example, if your USB drive is disk 2, you'd write select disk 2 .
  7. 7
    Type attributes disk clear readonly . Press Enter to run the command. Once the command is run, you'll see a message stating that the read-only attribute was removed from your drive. [1]
    • You can now exit the diskpart window. Remember to safely eject your USB drive when you're ready to remove it from your computer.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 6:

Use Regedit (Windows)

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  1. 1
    Plug the USB drive into your computer. Use an open USB port on your computer to plug in the drive.
    • Make sure you have a backup of the drive before continuing.
  2. 2
    Type regedit.exe in the taskbar search bar and open Registry Editor. If diskpart doesn't work, you can remove the read-only state from your USB drive using the Registry Editor. However, be aware that editing the registry incorrectly can cause a lot of issues with your computer, and can even render it unusable. Always make sure to back up your registry before editing it.
    • To back up your registry, click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in the sidebar, then click File > Export . Save that exported file in case you need to restore your registry. [2]
  3. 3
    Navigate to the StorageDevicePolicies key. To get there, open these folders in the left-hand pane:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
    • SYSTEM
    • CurrentControlSet
    • Control
    • StorageDevicePolicies
      • If the StorageDevicePolicies key doesn't exist, you'll need to create it. While in the Control key, right-click in the empty right pane and click New > Key .
      • Name the new folder "StorageDevicePolices."
      • Click on the new StorageDevicePolicies key.
      • Right-click in the empty right pane and click New > DWORD (32-bit) Value .
      • Name the value "WriteProtect."
  4. 4
    Double-click the WriteProtect value. This will open a window where you can edit this value.
  5. 5
    Type the number 0 in the "Value data" field. Click OK to save the change. Restart your computer, then check the USB drive again to see if it's still write-protected.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 6:

Use Disk Utility (Mac)

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  1. 1
    Plug the USB into your computer. Use an open USB port to plug in the drive.
    • Make sure you have a backup of the drive before continuing.
  2. 2
    Run Disk Utility. You can launch Disk Utility from the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder, or by pulling up Spotlight and typing "Disk Utility" and selecting it.
  3. 3
    Click the View button at the top of the screen. It's next to the "Disk Utility" header, and it has an icon of a rectangle with a sidebar.
  4. 4
    Click Show All Devices . If you don't have this option available, skip to the next step.
  5. 5
    Click on your USB drive in the sidebar. It will be under the header that says "external." If you have other external drives plugged into your computer, make sure you're selecting the right one. The sidebar will have the drive's name, and if you click on it, you'll be able to see the amount of storage on the drive to narrow down which one is the right one.
  6. 6
    Click First Aid near the top of the screen. When prompted if you want to run First Aid, click Run . [3]
  7. 7
    Quit Disk Utility once the repair is done. Check the drive to see if it's still in read-only mode.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 6:

Ignoring Ownership (Mac)

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  1. 1
    Plug the USB into your computer. Use an open USB port to plug in the drive.
    • Make sure you have a backup of the drive before continuing.
  2. 2
    OpenFinder. You can click on it in the Dock. The Finder icon looks like a square with a smiley face that is half blue and half white.
  3. 3
    Click on the USB drive in the sidebar. It should be under the "Locations" header. If you have multiple drives plugged into your computer, you'll need to narrow them down by name.
  4. 4
    Click File > Get Info in the top bar. This will open a new window with information about the drive.
  5. 5
    Click the arrow next to "Sharing & Permissions." If the lock in the bottom-right corner is locked, click it to unlock it before proceeding.
  6. 6
    Check the box next to "Ignore ownership on this volume." Now, check the drive to see if it is no longer in read-only mode. [4]
    • If the USB drive was used to hold Time Machine backups, you won't be able to check this option.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 6:

Check For a Physical Switch

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  1. 1
    Check the drive for a lock switch. Some USB drives have physical switches on them that can be used to lock the drive. If the switch is in the "locked" position, the drive will be read-only, and you won't be able to write anything new to the drive.
    • Make sure the switch on your USB is set to "write" or "unlocked."
Method 6
Method 6 of 6:

Replace the Drive

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  1. 1
    If nothing else works, the drive may need to be replaced. If the drive is randomly set to read-only and you can't remove the read-only state from it, there's a good chance the drive is failing and needs to be replaced. [5]
    • If you need to replace the drive, you should be able to copy the files on the drive and put them on your computer temporarily until you get a new drive.
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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 104 Helpful 52
  • 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 121 Helpful 43
  • 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 197 Helpful 57
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      References

      1. ↑ https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/this-disk-is-write-protected/039e7915-827e-4f84-be58-3d7e92fd7e98
      2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-back-up-and-restore-the-registry-in-windows-855140ad-e318-2a13-2829-d428a2ab0692
      3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102611
      4. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-ph/guide/mac-help/mchlp1204/mac
      5. ↑ https://superuser.com/questions/543067/why-is-my-usb-flash-drive-now-read-only

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