How to remove write protection on Windows 10, 8 and 7

What to do when you need to remove the write protection, because it is not possible to make changes to files on USB drives and SD cards? When a USB drive or SD card is write protected, files on the media cannot be edited; you can only view them. If a disk or key is write protected it is possible to read and copy files, but not write and delete files.

The USB drive and SD cards may be write protected due to a virus or because the lock switch on the media has been enabled.

The instructions in this article apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

How to remove the write protection using the lock switch

If the computer tells you that the media or card is write protected, look for a write protect switch on the card (also called a lock switch) on the USB or SD card. If your media has this switch, make sure the switch is set for writing, not just reading.

How to remove write protection from a single file

When you have a single file that you want to make changes to but cannot, the file may be write protected. When a file is write protected, it is marked as read only.

1. Insert the USB drive or SD card into the appropriate port on the computer.
2. Open Windows File Explorer.
3. Navigate to the device and folder containing the file.
4. Select the file
5. Select the scheda Home, then select Property > Property
6. In the dialog box Propertyselect Read only to remove the check mark.
7. Select OKAY.

Use Diskpart to remove write protection from USB drives

There are many ways to remove write protection from USB drives in Windows. The most used method is to change a registry key, but this is scary for some people. A less intimidating method is to use diskpart.

1. Insert the USB drive into a USB port on your computer.
2. Press the Windows + X button..
3. Select Run.
4. Enter "diskpart“, Then select OKAY. You may see the User Account Control dialog box asking if you want to allow the app to make changes to your device. Select Yes to continue.
5. Next to"DISKPART>,"go up "list disk“And press Submit
6. In the list of mounted disks, find the USB drive and note the disk number. Look at the size column to locate the write protected flash drive. In this example, the computer hard drive is 29GB and the USB drive is 977MB.
7. Enter the command "select disk disk_number “, then press Submit For example, if the unit number is 1, "select disk 1".
8. When the disk is selected, diskpart displays a message that the disk is now the selected disk.
9. Enter the command "attributes disk clear readonly“, Then press Submit.
10. When the write protection has been removed from the disk, diskpart displays a message indicating that the attributes have been successfully cleared and the disk is no longer write protected.
11. To close the diskpart window when finished, enter "go out“And press Submit.

Remove write protection from USB drives with regedit in Windows 10 and Windows 8

If you'd rather use the Windows registry to remove write protection from a USB drive or SD card, use regedit to make the change.

Before Making Changes, Back Up Your Windows Registry If you make a mistake and have problems with your computer, you can restore the registry and restore your system to its original state.

1. Insert the USB drive into a USB port on your computer.
2. Press the Windows key + X.
3. Select Run.
4. Enter "regedit“And select OKAY.
5. In the editor of the record, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > StorageDevicePolicies. If you cannot find the StorageDevicePolicies folder, you will need to create a StorageDevicesPolicies key and a DWORD WriteProtect value. Read on to learn how.
6. Double click on WriteProtect to open the dialog Edit DWORD.
7. In the text box Value data, replace the number with one 0 (zero).
8. Select OKAY.
9. Close regedit.
10. Restart your computer.

CREA CHIAVE STORAGEDEVICESPOLICIES E WRITEPROTECT DWORD VALUE

1. Pass to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control.
2. In the Files pane on the right, right-click on empty space, click New, then select Key.
3. In the Folders pane on the left, name the key "StorageDevicePolicies“And press Submit
4. In the Folders pane, select StorageDevicePolicies
5. In the File pane, right-click on empty space, click New, then select Valore DWORD (32 bit)

Edit registry in Windows 7 to remove write protection

If you're using Windows 7, the process for editing the Windows registry to remove write protection is a little different.

1. Press the Windows key + R.
2. In the dialog box Run , insert regedit I awarded Submit.
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services.
4. Select USBSTOR.
5. Double click on Start.
6. In the dialog box, enter 3.
7. Close Registry Editor.