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Hey:

I may be stepping over boundaries with this. I went to put a file on a Lexar 16Gb USB drive last evening and out-of-the-blue, a pop-up states "the drive is write protected" ?? So, started going round the web to see how to remove it. Well, tried a few things, but they didn't work (the articles were rather dated). So, my question(s)#1 How do I remove the write protection? #2 How did it happen that the drive went to that mode?
Thanks:
Rick

List the "few things" that you tried, so that we don't start by repeating them.

normally most linux based OS's mount usb drives as READ ONLY by normal users

and read / write for the root account

this is normal

now with this in the NON linux section

one #1)
microsoft dose not and NEVER WILL support drive formats that Microsoft dose NOT own and have patented and copyrighted

so
What format is the usb drive ?
microsoft's NTFS or Fat32 ( longname or table lookup- default)

if it is in ect3 or ext4 or btfs or any other like apples zfs
a windows OS can not read it

a number of filesystems will mount read only if they have errors on them, in the case of removable drives this is usually due to them not being unmounted properly before physical removal, usually a check disk will fix this, in the case of the ext* filesystems use fsck.

Once in a while these devices mess up. Lexar sent me a (windows) program that fixed one of mine. There is a free one out there too that might correct it assuming it is a deal with the drive.

To: jefro, Keith Hedger, John VV, and dugan:

Appreciate you all weighing in. OK, duhhh... yes I didn't tell you what I've done, so far. What I did was go to the web and youtube and trythe steps I found. I've had to use the directives for Win7, for I don't have access to a Linux machine at this time. Now, those Win7 steps involved the use of the command(cmd) line and that was about a 6 step operation...which didn't remove the "write protection"(tried 4x). I have not found any publications that give a different approach to the said problem. Obviously, I need to research more. Thing is, I don't know how the drive acquired the "write protection" for it didn't have that prior to last Fri. when I opened it up and tried to add a file??? Any thoughts on that? Now, the drive is in FAT32. OK, didn't think about using NFTS for I've never had a problem like this prior to last Fri. Really, I wasn't aware the 2 different formats made a difference? Thought both formats were universally O.S. friendly(?) Well, maybe from now on I'll use NTFS format. I'm not worried about the content on the drive, I have it backed up and just want to be able to read/write as I've always done, for right now, this drive has over 6Gb of space unusable because of that damn write protection. OK, I'll be awaiting your opinions/possible solutions. {John VV...good to hear from you...again!}
Thanks Fellas:
Rick

http://askubuntu.com/questions/10163...protection-off may be a way.

A windows solution. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/repai...ive-38826.html

See if Lexar still has that program to fix their drives.

Hey Jefro:

Funny you should mention going to Lexar site. I did that and couldn't find any useful help??? Looked at the Ubuntu/Linux thread, but I don't have access to a Linux machine at this time. I concur it would be a better shot than MSWin7!!!
Rick

Just a shot in the dark, check that there isn't a physical write-protect switch like there is on sdhc cards.

To Doug G

No....no switch

Rick

I think I emailed Lexar support and they sent a link to me. Don't remember exactly now, maybe it was on support pages.

For some reason I think there was a post on www.pendrivelinux.com on this subject but not sure either.

If you have access to a live cd then you may be able to use the tools to try the linux repairs. Even live cd's can usually install software as long as you have ram.

REPLY TO ALL RESPODENTS:

I've just "chatted" with Lexar.com. They are sending me some information with the stipulation that should the provided information fail, I am to return the drive to them for a replacement. If the info provided works on the drive, I'll then supply that info here. Right now, everything I've read/tried/applied concerning write protection removal has failed.(MSWin7). There are even many methods that don't even apply to Win7 that are out there, generally just making it all a confusing, exasperating endeavor. Can't understand why when I have a problem, nothing on the web, nor help from the forums ever seems to work...that part just doesn't make sense???? You see, this is a case in point, everyone can point to the 'fix", some have even applied the "fix" themselves, yet it doesn't work for me!!?? Unbelievable!!! I APPRECIATE all who've tried to help. Please, I'm not out to insult anyone, just stating a fact I don't understand!
KUDOS:
Rick

That is the kind of support and reply you get from a good company.

I paid a lot for a number of Lexar professional CF cards and they replaced one of them and sent a usb card reader gratis.

EVERYONE:

I've have tried every(that I could find) application associated with/to Win7 and every single one has failed to remove "write protection". Seems Win7 has had this problem for years! And of course, being MSWin, they do not fix their errors, they just come out with another O.S and charge you fools(those who use/buy MSWin) hundreds!! Even tried to do a repartitioning and guess what...got a pop-up "Cannot perform task for disc is write protected". WINDOWS SUX!! OK, I'll enteratain all thoughts on using Linux to "fix" this write protection. Uhm...I tried 3 different software programs that were supposed to remedy this, and none worked. Whatever Win7 did, it seems to be irreversible...that is,using Win7!! LINUX to the RESCUE!!!!!!
Thanx:
Rick

Is there any possibility the drive has had a GPT partition table installed, ever? If so, you can try using gdisk to remove the traces of it. A GPT table overwritten by an MBR partition table can cause all sorts of problems, and it can be hard to spot. Gdisk will tell you what table remnants are there, and fix it if necessary.