Write protected flash drives

I have a macbook pro with OS Lion.  I have 3 usb flashdrives and all of them have suddenly become write protected. There is no switch on the stick.  I believe the problem started after I bootcamped my computer and began running windows 7.  I was trying to transfer files from the windows side to the mac side and now the flashdrive cannot be opened from either, or any other computer.  Any ideas to get it working again?  It's an 8g SanDisk cruzer facet flashdrive.

Some flash drives have a failure mode in which they are irreversibly write-locked by the internal controller when it detects a write error. If you can't erase the drive in Disk Utility on any computer, that's almost certainly what has happened.

Similar Messages

  • Pass word protected flash drive?

    Any easy way to password protect a usb flash drive?

    Sure thing
    Espionage
    http://www.taoeffect.com/espionage/
    thats encryption and access only by complex password
    There are easier ways, but also not as protected.
    Password Protect an External Drive in Mac OS X with Encrypted Partitions
    http://osxdaily.com/2012/01/25/password-protect-external-drive-mac-encrypted-par tition/

  • Password protecting a Flash Drive?


    When I plug in my FlashDrive it opens up a Disk Image, I was wondering if it is at all possible to set up that Disk Image as a Password Protected disk image?
    So when I insert the Flash Drive it will prompt me for a password and then open. I am starting up a small company and I would to keep all my confidential files on a Password Protected Flash Drive.
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    there are no built in tools to do that. the best you can do using built in tools is to make an encrypted disk image and put that on your flash drive. but you say you don't want that. the only other option would be a 3rd party full disk encryption tool like TrueCrypt or PGP. I'm not familiar with either so you'll have to investigate that yourself.

  • Flash Drive won't Open after Yosemite upgrade

    I recently updated my MacBook Pro 13' to OS X Yosemite. I went to pull some files off of my 16 GB SanDisk Flash Drive and I couldn't get my Mac to recognize it. I was able to open it before the upgrade. The flash drive does show up in Disk Utility, but that doesn't allow me to open it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

    I just had a scheduled call with apple support. I showed the representative via screen sharing the error message and the accompanying comments I receive each time when I try to open my Kingston DTVP password protected flash drive. His take on it was that the driver software of my flash drive is not compatible with Yosemite. In theory I have two options:
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    2 - Downgrade to the previous operation system (I think it's called Mountain Lion) which I cannot do myself because I don't have TimeMachine on. If I want to do this, I most likely will have to pay for apple support.
    I have a MacBook Air 13-inch, purchased in June 2013.

  • How do I "un-write protect" USB flash drives?

    I recently purchased a new computer that has Windows 8.  One of my many flash/thumb drives is now suddenly marked "write-protected" when I did nothing to make it so.  I found a solution listed for Windows 7.  I applied it to my
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    I ran in to the same problem but none of the instructions here helped. doing some more searching i found a different article that supplied the answer for my issue. wanted to share in case other were still having issues.
    If the problem is persistent with the drive and you still can't copy files to it or format it after:-
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    2- You tried formatting from Windows
    3- You tried formatting from CMD using DISKPART
    4- You tried editing the Registry solution (for WriteProtect word)
    5- You tried the different free online tools like
    HDD LL Format tool and HP Format Tool
    Then your drive is corrupt and needs the internal chipset S/W to be flashed, i.e. repairing the USB software The
    steps below will lead you to get a small program to run on your USB memory-stick which is specific to your MANUFACTURER (make) and PRODUCT (model). If you don't want to go through the headache of the manufacturer's technical support then
    do it yourself as follows (which I source from here):-
    1- Get Chip
    Genius portable application from here which
    you will use to find the VID and PID of the USB stick chip.
    2- Search for the tool to repair your USB stick S/W from FlashBoot
    website . Search using your VID and PID from the previous step.
    3- Search on Google for the name of the application you find in the "UTILS" column in the page from step 2 and the first link on Google Results
    (usually) will take you back to the FlashBoot website to download the utility to get your USB drive repaired.
    It worked for me for my Kingston Data Traveler flash drive. It didn't work with all the common options for fixing the USB drive having "write protected",
    but the above solution I found after hours and hours of searching online and asking my computer-geeks colleagues.
    Hope this helps!  

  • USB Flash Drive v210w 16 GB Write Protected

    Hi! After one week of usage, my new USB Flash Drive v210w 16 GB appears as Write Protected.
    Impossible to add a new file, delete an old file, even format the whole USB Flash Drive. 
    I tried various procedures described on forums, as My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePoliciesWriteProtect > Value Data set to 0 \devise\harddisk1\dr2
    and normal formatting (Properties > Format) and low level formatting tools, as http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/HDD-Low-Level-Format-Tool-Download-37794.htmlhttp://www.apacer.com/en/support/downloads/Repair_v2.9.1.1.ziphttp://www.transcendusa.com/Products/online_recovery.aspHP USB disk storage format tool SP27608-2.1.8.exe but in vain.
    What happened? How to resume using my USB Flash Drive normally? I'm running a mini 311c on XP SP3.
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    Hi! I contacted hp support and got as an answer the name of a recovery utility Ufix.rar.  Unfortunately, this utility doesn't recognize the v210w. hp-branded flash USB cards are manufactured by PNY.So I went to the PNY website and dug a little. Actually, the latest release is Ufix2v3. Ufix-II (USB Flash Driver Format Tool)
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    (This software is not applied to A.V.S. Attaché,
    but applicable for AVS-II)
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    Download http://www.pny.com.tw/pny_en/download.asphttp://www.pny.com.tw/pny_ch/upload/20101028122023052.rar It worked and restored my USB card. Windows and Mac OS format utilities seem not to handle correctly the USB flash card correctly.Mac OS says there's a 16 GB drive mounted on an USB support. I can unmount the volume without eject the USB connection. hp: Please mention this solution on the FAQ! Best regards, 

  • OS X Lion USB Flash Driver WRITE PROTECTED?

    If the original OS X Lion USB Flash Drive from the Apple Store read-only or can you describe them with newer versions of OS X?

    Read only.
    In case if you have to reinstall the OS you have to use Software Update to update the system.

  • My Pen Drive (HP V-165W 8 GB ) has write protected

    Hello Team
                       I h've HP Pendrive 8 GB (HP V -165 W). It has Disk Write Protected problem...i've tried all the possibilities. but, i can read & copy that data 's from that device. i can't  FORMAT my Device.
    pls send me any solution to resolve this.
    I'm WAITING..... for your reply.
    Thanks Regards,
         Aravind Henry

    Hello aravindhenry,
    You HP Pendrive is write protected. Im not sure what all the possibilities are that you have tried but there is a utility that corrects this issue if you have not tried it already.
    Go to
    http://www.pny.com.tw/index.php?cls=2&mode=download
    You will download USB Flash Driver Format Tool (Ufix-II).
    You may need to have 7-Zip installed to extract the .rar file. It is a free download. http://www.7-zip.org/download.html
    Your going to extract "RecoverTool_V2.00.42_M1223 8CE.exe" from the downloaded file and run it.
    BTW this is a volunteer forum so HP Support does not directly respond to questions posted here.

  • HP 8GB formatting error - drive write protected ?

    HP 8GB formatting error the drive is write protected Windows can't format HP tool. how to  remove write protection from hp pen drive ?

    Hello sa8,  IF you are getting the Read Only error, there is a fix that may correct this.
    Download USB Flash Driver Format Tool (Ufix-II):
    http://www.pny.com.tw/index.php?cls=2&mode=download
    You may need to have 7-Zip installed to extract the .rar file. It is a free download. http://www.7-zip.org/download.html
    Extract "RecoverTool_V2.00.42_M1223 8CE.exe" from the downloaded file and run it.
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  • HP 8GB formatting error - drive write protected - Windows can't format HP tool can't for

    HOW TO REMOVE WRITE PROTECTION FROM hp USB pen drive 8gb?

    Hello sa8,  IF you are getting the Read Only error, there is a fix that may correct this.
    Download USB Flash Driver Format Tool (Ufix-II):
    http://www.pny.com.tw/index.php?cls=2&mode=download
    You may need to have 7-Zip installed to extract the .rar file. It is a free download. http://www.7-zip.org/download.html
    Extract "RecoverTool_V2.00.42_M1223 8CE.exe" from the downloaded file and run it.
    This should fix the problem.

  • DIAdem 9.1; Windows2000; right problem; "Configuration-Drive Write Protected" for USER

    Hallo community !
    similar to these threads
    http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=60&message.id=322&requireLogin=False
    http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=60&message.id=647&requireLogin=False
    i run into problems working with DIAdem 9.1 on Windows 2000 SP4!
    The Diadem installation went quite well.
    My problem:
    only "Administrator" and "Power User" have the privilige to "WRITE" to the DIAdem install directory.
    Trying to start Diadem as non priviliged USER I get something like:
    DIAdem Configuration-Drive "C:\PROGRAM FILES\ NATIONAL INSTRUMENT\DIADEM 9.10" WRITE PROTECTED!
    I installed & started DIAdem for one
    time with Administrator rights. I activated the Product and exported
    the KEY to a License Server. Everything works fine for Power Users an
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    missing WRITE permissions.  i can't grand this permissions to
    normal USERs :-(
    Playing around in Registry -> "RegWriteAccessAllow" ("0","1") (DWORD) (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/National Instruments/Diadem/9.10),
    didn't solved the problem.
    I switched back to "local License" Managment (local Key files) but the Probelm persists.
    thanks in advance
    P.S.
    Quote: "You have to be at least a "Power User" in Windows 2000 to run DIAdem in Windows 2000."
    http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=60&message.id=102&requireLogin=False
    is this right ?
    Message Edited by DirkT on 08-01-2005 03:58 PM
    Message Edited by DirkT on 08-01-2005 04:02 PM

    Hi DirkT,
    Running DIAdem with User rights has different aspects we need to look at.
    1) Registry Write Access
    Launching DIAdem the first time with administrative rights registers some OLE components in the registry. After this step no more Admin rights are necessary for the registry. However running DIAdem as user might result in error messages as DIAdem tries to re-register the components again. You can avoid this by setting the RegWriteAccessAllow Key to 0 (see online help under "Administrator Notes")
    2) File / Folder Write Access to the DIAdem Installation Folder
    DIAdem needs write access to certain files e.g. the error logfile DEM_ERRS.001 or DESKTOP.DDD when saving configurations. You may change the folder where these file are being stored and searched for to a writeable folder by launching DIAdem with the "/d<NewFolder\MyDesktop.ddd>" start parameter or by setting the environment variable "DemDDD" to that folder. Then move the following files from the DIAdem installation folder to your new writeable folder:
    *.ddd
    userpar.par
    dem_errs.*
    3) File / Folder Write Access to other Folders
    There are a number of other folders that DIAdem 9.x needs write access to and which cannot be changed. All of these folders are located by default under "%ProgramFiles%\National Instruments\Shared". Currently you need your Admin to give you write access to that folder and below
    For future versions of DIAdem the team is working to make running under user rights easier.
    Hope that helps,
    Marcus

  • HP SimpleSave md1000h write protected! - can't initialize drive

    The drive does not show up under windows explorer. Under Disk Management, the drive shows up as Not Initialized and Unallocated. When I try to initialize the drive I get "The media is write protected" Restarted the PC and also the external hard drive and the same thing.
    I am running Windows 7 Professional 32 bit.

    You need to be an admin and also go to Control Panel --> User Accounts and turn off UAC for your account.  You can set the level back later.
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    You might have bad hardware.
    HP DV9700, t9300, Nvidia 8600, 4GB, Crucial C300 128GB SSD
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  • When I try to use the internal hard drive as a scratch disk I get this error "unable to set scratch disk- the selected directory is on write protect or non-writable media.  Any ideas on how to fix this.  It only happens in fcp.

    When I try to use the internal hard drive as a scratch disk I get this error "unable to set scratch disk- the selected directory is on write protect or non-writable media.  Any ideas on how to fix this.  It only happens in fcp.

    By internal, I assume you're referring to your systems (boot) drive. Is it, by chance, a partitioned dive?
    Also…although many people successfully use their systems drives as scratch disks, over time you'll have better results using a dedicated drive for your media.
    Good luck.
    Russ

  • Is it possible to resize partitions on a write protected internal hard drive?

    Hi everyone,
    The internal hard drive on my computer has been created into two partitions, one for Mac (350 GB) and another for Windows (150 GB).
    Since I rarely use Windows (only for one scientific application from CambridgeSoft), there are a lot of free space on Bootcamp (115 GB). So I would like to resize these partitions to make it the Mac partition maximized, like 450 GB, and 50 GB for Bootcamp.
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    So are there any ways to undo the write protected or resize those partitions?
    Another small question is why the total volume as seen in the second image (iPartition) is not 500 GB, but just 465 GB (50 + 415).
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    To resize a Bootcamp partition you must use Bootcamp Assistant to remove the partition then create a new Bootcamp partition, or, use a 3rd party tool such as CampTune.
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    Back up all your data before messing with partition changes.

  • Thumb Drive write protected after plugging into MacBook Pro

    So I recently plugged my 64GB thumb drive into my MacBook Pro to transfer music from my old mac to my new one.  Although as soon as I plugged into the MacBook Pro, it write protected it rendering it useless as I do not wish to use it as a storage drive for 60 songs!  It is not even 1/2 full and because I plugged it into a MacBook Pro I can't use it anymore!?  It is formatted to MS-FAT, and previously I had plugged it into my 09 MacBook with no problems!  Please help me Make it a read and write again!!!  The thumb drive is only a week old!!!  There are no virus' as I have had the music on my Mac for 5 years and it has all come from the iTunes store!!!

    Choose Utilities from the Finder’s Go menu, open the Disk Utility, and try running the Repair Disk command on it. If that command’s not available or doesn’t work, copy your files off and try getting a replacement.
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