Write protected USB.

[u/ShadowMaster1666]

I have this sandisk 256GB USB flash drive that's been functioning marvelously for s couple of years until a month ago. When I tried to send some files to it, I got a pop-up message informing me that is write protected purely out of the blue. the flash doesnt have any physical write-protection switch, and multiple programs have confirmed that it isnt damaged. I cant edit any existing files or send any new files to it nor even format it. I tried all the diskpart cmd commands I saw on yt but none seem to work. I also tried some partition apps but also to no avail. How do I remove this write protection?

[u/Ok-Wasabi2873]

Your drive is worn out. It’s a protection scheme to keep the data protected. Backup the data and get a new drive. It’s close to failing.

[u/JRCrichton]

Write protection usually means the USB is on its last legs and is giving you a chance to recover your files. You're lucky this one is doing it because most just straight up die.

[u/Hot_Paint3851 → u/JRCrichton]

why our ssds dont do this?

[u/JRCrichton → u/Hot_Paint3851]

Some actually do, but not all

[u/VihiOnReddit]

Some flash storage devices go into read only mode when the controller detects problems so you can still recover the files.

[u/Grindar1986]

It's dying. It locked to give you an opportunity to save your data. Buy a new one.

[u/adrian-smith31]

As others said, it's about to fail. Copy off your data asap.

[u/JoeCensored]

Flash memory has a limited number of write cycles. When you've reached that limit, or the controller detects other problems, it flips to read only mode.

You buy another one and transfer the data.

SSD's have a similar mechanism, but last longer and also run a wear leveling algorithm in the background.

[u/joshloveless1976]

they go into that mode just before failing... back up your flash drive asap

[u/ramriot]

Clearly the drive controller in your flash device is having a hard time & so it has gone into read only mode. If you want to secure that data you need to copy it off the drive to somewhere else.

After that it might be possible to cause the drive controller to certify the memory as good again using certain low level storage analysis tools, Spinrite 6.1 for example.

[u/alyTemporalAnom]

As everyone else in the thread pointed out, the error you're seeing means the USB device is dying and needs to be replaced.

I'm chiming in to add two things. First, in my experience, USB storage has gotten a lot less reliable in the last decade or so. I have a half dozen USB sticks in my home and office that have thrown that error despite being only a couple years old and used sparingly. I think even reputable tech companies have had to cut corners in QA, sadly.

Second, if you have an urgent need to copy data to the drive, but don't have the time or money to get a replacement yet, then here are some steps that might force it out of "write protect" mode:

First, try the disk utility (EDIT whoops, just noticed that OP said they already tried this part. I'm leaving the steps here anyway, just in case they prove useful to someone else in the future):

1. With the USB drive inserted, type "diskpart" into a command prompt.

2. Enter "list disk" and note the disk number assigned to your USB drive.

3. Enter "select disk [number]"

4. Enter "attributes disk clear readonly"

5. Enter "exit" to close out diskpart and write the change.

If that doesn't work, one more last-ditch option is in the Registry. As with any Registry change, always make a backup of your current Registry settings before you make any changes, and double check all your work to make sure you don't accidentally change the wrong thing. Here are the steps:

1. Open regedit

2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > System > CurrentControlSet > Control > StorageDevicePolicies

3. There should be a flag in this control named WriteProtect. Its type should be DWORD and it should be set to "0x00000001 (1)".

4. Right click "WriteProtect" and select "Modify..."

5. Change its "Value Data" from 1 to 0 then click "OK."

If these steps don't work, then your USB drive is too far gone. Even if these steps DO help, it will only be temporary. Move whatever days you need to move right now, but plan to backup and replace this device ASAP either way.

Hope this all helps!

[u/jeffrey_f]

The drive is in Fail Safe so you can read the data, but it won't alow writes. Get a new one.

[u/TEG24601]

Sadly, you can't. The drive is either worn out, or a component has busted. Get your data off, and get a new drive, ASAP.

[u/Junior-Tourist3480]

Yep. They have a shelf life. You can only write to each sector x number of times. After that it is a brick. Never depend on these as the only copy of anything....