Remove Message: Disk Is Write Protected

How To Remove Message: Disk Is Write Protected

Sometimes you may receive a message saying that the Disk is write-protected when dealing with external storage devices. This may mean the registry entry is corrupt, your system administrator has placed limitations or the device itself is corrupt. It may also mean the storage device is actually write-protected.

Disk Is Write-Protected

The following tutorial aims to help you remove the message saying Disk is write protected. the exact message would be:

The disk is write-protected

Remove the write-protection or use another disk

Is There A Hardware Lock
Some external devices such as pen drives actually carry a hardware lock in form of switch. You need to see if the device is having a switch and if it is pushed to protect the device from accidental writing. Remove the device from computer and if the switch is in on state, push it back to disable write protection.
If the device switch is off and you still get the message or if there is no hardware lock on the device, confirm with your system administrator to see if he has blocked USB ports. If the USB port is not blocked by the admin, let us check the Windows registry to see if it has been changed to lock the USB ports.
Editing The Registry
To check if the registry key is modified by some reason,

1. Press Windows Key + R
2. In the Run dialog box that appears, type regedit. Press Enter
3. You can now see Registry Editor. Expand the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
4. Expand System Folder in the left pane under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
5. Look for CurrentControlSet and expand it to locate Services
6. When you expand Services, click on USBSTOR
7. In the right pane, double click on Start. In the box that appears, enter 3.
8. Close Registry Editor.