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USB flash drive prompts with "Write Protected" message.

I have recently purchased a 32gb usb flash drive. I have been using it ok until 3 days ago. I now get a message saying "Write Protected". There is no write protection switch on the device. How do i remove the write protection.
Answer
Answer
Hi,
 
 
You can remove write protection from your usb flash drive using the below method:
a. Open start menu, in the search bar type regedit and press enter. This wil open the registry editor.
b. Navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
Note:
If the registry key StorageDevicePolicies does not exist, you will need to create it manually.
c. Highlight StorageDevicePolicies, and then create a New DWORD (32-bit) Value named as WriteProtect.
d. Double click the key WriteProtect in the right window and set the value to 0 in the Value
Data Box and press OK button
e. Restart your computer and try copying files into your USB drives.
 
Important Note:
Sometimes this problem is caused by two Windows registry entries that have become corrupted. To fix the problem, you have to use Registry Editor to delete the corrupted registry entries.
However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.
For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, follow the steps as in the KB Article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/
 
Hope this helps.
 


Thanks and Regards:
Shekhar S - Microsoft Support.

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Thanks and Regards,
Shekhar Sharma

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Last updated November 23, 2023 Views 277,562 Applies to:
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