The USB drive read only issue must be one of the most annoying things that could happen to you when trying to edit the data on the drive. How can you get it back to read/write mode like it ought to be on Windows 10/11? Follow this guide on
MiniTool Website
, and you will fix it easily.
Why is Your USB Drive Read Only?
A USB drive, also known as a USB stick, pen drive, thumb drive, or pen drive, is a portable data storage device that uses flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface.
Sometimes, your USB flash drive becomes read-only and you cannot make any changes on the contents of the drive. Even if all the data is still there, you are not allowed to edit data, delete files, or save information on this drive.
This USB drive read only mode could keep your data from being changed by others. However, what if you feel like making some changes on this drive? How to change read-only USB drive to write? In the following part, we have sorted out some solutions for you.
How to Change Your Read-Only USB Drive to Writable on Windows 10/11?
Fix 1: Check the Physical Switch
Some USB drives have a physical write protection switch on the side or button. If yours has this switch, you can try to turn it off.
Step 1. Check if your USB drive has a lock switch. If there is one, slide the switch to the unlock side.
Step 2. Reconnect your USB drive to your computer and check if you can edit the data on it.
Fix 2: Change the Registry Key
If you find no switch on the USB flash disk, you can unlock your device via Registry Editor. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1. Connect your read-only USB drive to the computer.
Step 2. Press
Win
+
S
to launch the
search box
.
Step 3. Type
registry editor
and then hit
Enter
.
Step 4. Navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
Step 5. Double-click on the
write Protection
key to change its value to
0
and hit
OK
to save the changes.
Some of you may find that the
StorageDevicePolicies
doesn’t exist in Step 4. Don’t worry! If so, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Right-click on the
Control
key > select
New
> hit
Key
> rename this new key as
StorageDevicePolicies
.
Step 2. Right-click on the
StorageDevicePolicies
> select
New
> hit
D
WORD
(32-bit) Value
> rename it as
write Protection
.
Step 3. Double-click on
write Protection
to change its
value
to
0
.
Fix 3: Run DiskPart Command
Another method to clear the read-only attribute on your USB drive is using the Windows DiskPart command. Follow the guidelines below:
Step 1. Press
Win
+
R
to open the
Run
dialog.
Step 2. Type
diskpart
and hit
OK
. If prompted by
User Account Control
, click on
Yes
to give permissions for your action.
Step 3. In the DiskPart command window, type
list disk
and hit
Enter
to show a list of all the disks on your computer. You can determine which one is your target USB flash drive according to the size of the disk. For example, we know that Disk 1 is our USB drive because its size is listed as 29 GB.
Step 4. Type
select disk 1
and hit
Enter
. Remember to replace
1
with the disk number of your problematic drive.
Step 5. Type
attributes disk clear readonly
and hit
Enter
to disable the read-only mode on your USB drive.
Step 5. After the process is complete, quit this command window to check if the data on your target drive is able to modify.
If you cannot clear the read-only attribute of your flash drive, the security permissions may need changing. Here’s how to do it:
Move 1: Check the File System of USB Drive
Step 1. Press
Win
+
E
to open
File Explorer
.
Step 2. Go to
This PC
and right-click on your USB flash drive under
Devices and drives
to choose
Properties
.
Step 3. In the
General
tab, check the
File system
entry to see how the flash drive is formatted.
Move 2: Change the Security Permissions
For FAT file system:
Step 1. In the
Properties
window, go to the
Sharing
tab.
Step 2. In
Sharing
, hit
Advanced Sharing
> tick
Share this folder
> hit
Permissions
.
Step 3. Hit
Everyone
if it is not selected. Under
Permissions for Everyone
, make sure the
Change
entry is allowed.
Step 4. Click on
OK
to save all the changes.
If your USB drive is still read only, repeat all the steps and tick the
Allow
box beside
Full Control
.
For NTFS file system:
Step 1. In the
Properties
window, go to the
Security
tab.
Step 2. Click on
Everyone
and
Edit
to change the permissions.
Step 3. In the
Permissions
window, hit
Everyone
. Under
Permissions for Everyone
, make sure the
Modify
entry is allowed.
Step 4. Hit
OK
to save all the security changes.
If you still cannot edit the data on the USB drive, repeat all the steps and make sure the
Full Control
entry is allowed under
Permissions for Everyone
.
Fix 5: Run CHKDSK Command
It is likely that your USB drive becomes read only due to some disk errors. In this case, you can use the inbuilt Windows CHKDSK tool to fix these errors.
Step 1. Type
cmd
in the search bar to locate
Command Prompt
and right-click on it to choose
Run as administrator
.
Step 2. In the command window, type
chkdsk g: /f /r / x
and hit
Enter
to check and fix the error it finds. Don’t forget to replace
g:
with the drive letter of the read-only USB flash drive.
Fix 6: Check and Remove Virus/Malware on USB Drive
If you download something from an unofficial website with your USB drive plugged into your computer, this device will easily be attacked by viruses or malware hence leading to USB drive read only. Then, you need to download some antivirus software to scan and kill the malware or virus at once.
Fix 7: Format the Target USB Drive
If none of the solutions above helps you out, chances are that the file system is corrupted. In this case, you can consider formatting your USB drive to make it writable or editable.
When it comes to formatting, it is suggested to try a free partition and disk management – MiniTool Partition Wizard. It has many powerful functions such as formatting partition, wiping disk, resizing partition, rebuilding MBR and more. Now, let’s check how to format your read-only USB drive with this tool:
Step 1. Download the drive and then follow the installing wizard to install this program.
Step 2. Launch it and then select the partition that needs formatting.
Step 3. Scroll down in the left function panel to look for
Format Partition
and click on it.
Step 4. Set the partition label, file system and
cluster
size for the selected partition and hit
OK
.
Step 5. Now, you can preview the formatted partition. If you are sure to apply the changes, click on
Apply
.
Suggestion: Back up Your Individual Files
Now, you must clear the read-only attribute on your USB drive and the data on it is accessible and editable now. It takes you much time to finish the troubleshooting process because you don’t know what the exact factors make USB drive read only.
To avoid USB drive read only occurring again, you had better prepare a Plan B rather than spending time trying the solutions one by one. In this case, creating a backup of your important files might be a good option to you. Here, we recommend you use a third-party backup tool – MiniTool ShadowMaker.
This is a piece of
reliable backup software
which can meet your demand in backing up files, folders, systems, partitions, and even the whole disk. With a copy of the backup in hand, you can restore your files at once when your USB drive becomes read-only. Now, let’s start to create a file backup with MiniTool ShadowMaker.
Step 1. Download, install and launch the free trial of MiniTool ShadowMaker.
Step 2. Click on
Keep Trial
and then go to the
Backup
page.
Step 3. Go to
SOURCE
>
Folders and Files
and then you can choose the files that you need to back up. In
DESTINATION
, you can select a storage path for your backup image files.
Step 4. Click on
Back Up Now
to start the backup process at once or press
Back Up Later
to delay the task.
In this post, we illustrate the causes and solutions for the USB drive read only issue for you. At the same time, we sincerely advise you to create a backup for your important files as a Plan B. As a result, you can restore these files and access them easily when your USB drive becomes read-only again.
Do you have any queries about the solutions mentioned above or about our products? Show your ideas in the comment zone or contact us via
[email protected]
. We will reply to you as soon as possible.
USB Drive Read Only FAQ
How do I change my USB from read only?
Check the physical switch
Change the registry key
Run the DiskPart command
Change Security Permissions
Run the CHKDSK command
Format your target USB drive
Why is my USB stick read only?
The possible reasons are:
Locked physical write-protection switch.
The write-protection value in Registry Editor.
Disk errors.
Attacks of malware or viruses.
Corrupted file system.
How do I enable a USB drive that is read only?
If there are no important files on this drive or the file system is corrupted, it is highly recommended to format your USB drive with MiniTool Partition Wizard.
User Comments :
Post Comment