USB stick remove write protection - this is how it works

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USB stick remove write protection - this is how it works

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answered Dec 14, 2021 by stackoverflow (1.6m points)

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USB stick with lock switch
Deactivate software write protection from the USB stick
Remove write protection via the command line
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Format USB stick with write protection
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Write-protected USB sticks can be very annoying as they can no longer save any data. We'll show you how to remove write protection..

The write protection of USB sticks is not always easy to remove. There are more and more problems with Windows 10 in particular. If you accidentally pulled the stick out of the PC during a read or write process, the write protection could have been activated automatically to protect your data. Our instructions will show you how to deactivate write protection again.

USB stick with lock switch

Some USB sticks have a small switch on the housing with which you can control the write protection. So just take a look at your USB stick. If you find a switch, make sure it is set to " write " or " unlocked ". Sometimes a symbolic lock can also be seen. If you cannot find such a switch, there is a software problem.

Deactivate software write protection from the USB stick

Next, you can try removing the software write protection . As a rule, write protection can only be removed on the PC on which you activated it. Under certain circumstances you may not find the corresponding option in the settings of your device. If so, skip this step and format your USB stick ..

For example, open Windows Explorer with the key combination [Windows] + [E] .
You should find your USB stick on the left under the tab " This PC ". Right click on your write-protected USB stick and select " Properties ".
There you will find the " Read-only " attribute below . Make sure that the check mark is not set in this field and save the changes with " OK ".

If this does not remove the write protection, you still have the option to format the write-protected USB stick .

Remove write protection via the command line

Another method to remove the write protection of the USB stick is via the command line of the command prompt . You can read how this works in these step-by-step instructions:

Press **[Windows] + [R]** and enter " **diskpart** ". Then press **[Enter]** .

Then **enter** " **list disk** " and confirm **[Enter]** . You can recognize the correct USB stick by its **size** . In our case it is disk 1. Make a note of the **drive number of** the **disk** .

Now **enter** " **select disk X** " and confirm again with **[Enter]** . Replace the X with the **drive number of** your USB stick.

Finally enter the command " **attributes disk clear readonly** " and press **[Enter] again** . The **write protection** should now be deactivated. If not, check out the other methods.

Format USB stick with write protection

If the write protection cannot be removed, you still have the option of formatting the USB stick. All data on the stick will be deleted . If there are still important files on the stick, you should back them up beforehand..