How to Fix “ Error: Disk is write Protected “ Error

One of the most common errors that we encounter while copying files to an USB flash drive is the “ Disk is write protected “ error. As the error states, it is often triggered when your pc is unable to write data into the USB flash disk.
There are just a couple of reasons why this error occurs. Either the USB flash drive may have become write protected due to accidental changes made by the user or it can be the result of an software based error. Fortunately its not that difficult to disable the write protection feature. However there are many solutions for this error and we have listed all the possible causes with a solution.

Here are some of the major reasons that make a USB drive write protected and along with them are our solution to remove the write protection.

1: Make sure your user account has write privileges.

Sometimes it can be possible that the Administrator of a PC might have not provided you permission to access a certain storage device and thus you won’t be able to write to that storage devices. Here’s how you can check whether your user account has write privileges or not.
You can go to the properties of the USB flash drive and select the Security tab. Select your user account and make sure the Write feature has a tick next to it.

2: Read only switch is turned ON.

Although this feature is not much common, some USB flash drives come with a physical button to enable or disable write protection. So make sure that if your USB flash drive has this button, turn it off.

3: Make sure the Drive is not infected by a Virus.

Although very rare, certain viruses can make a USB flash drive not readable or writable, So scan the USB flash drive to make sure it is not infected.

4: Change Disk Attributes.

The read and write attributes of an USB flash drive can be changed from the windows command prompt with the help of a simple command. Here’s how you can change the disk attributes of a USB flash drive.

• Step 1: Open a command prompt type DISKPART and press enter.
• Step 2: Type LIST VOLUME press enter.
• Step 3: Type SELECT VOLUME X, where X is the volume number you want to remove the write protection from. In my case is was Volume 6.
• Step 4: Type ATTRIBUTES DISK CLEAR READONLY press enter
• Step 5: You will see a prompt that the write protect has been removed type EXIT and press enter

5: Disable Write protection from the Windows Registry.

Sometimes write protection is enabled in the windows registry which makes it impossible to write on external storage devices. Disabling this feature can restore your read and write privileges on USB flash disk and other external storage devices.

• Step 1: Press the Windows + R key, type in regedit and press enter.
• Step 2: Navigate to the following registry key in the windows registry editor.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies

• Step 3: Double click on WriteProtect and change the value from 1 to 0.

6: The USB flash drive might be Corrupted or even Damaged.

If you have tried all the above solutions and are still not able to disable the write protection on the USB flash drive, then it’s time to give up on the flash drive as it may have been corrupted or damaged beyond repair.