Can't delete files off flash drive

Halo Diehards · Oct 24, 2014

I'm trying to delete files off of a thumb drive, and when I left-click on the file the option to delete it doesn't even come up. If I select the file and hit delete, nothing happens. I tried to just format the flash drive, and it says:

WARNING: Formatting will erase ALL data in this disk. To Format the disk, click OK. To quit, click CANCEL.

I don't need anything on the drive, I'm just trying to recover it so I can continue using it. Anybody know what's going on here?

Chicano · Oct 24, 2014

What do you do after the warning.. format or cancel? If you click on format what is the answer?...

nuts32605 · Oct 24, 2014

Some flash drives have a small read-only switch on them somewhere. Take a cursory look and make sure you don't have one of those.

Halo Diehards · Oct 29, 2014

Chicano :

Oh, sorry, I thought I'd wrote that in there; I try to format it. This is the popup:

The disk is write protected.

@nuts it's actually a "card" not a USB, so, yeah, no switch but thanks for the heads up.

Chicano · Oct 29, 2014

How to format a write-protected USB flash drive or memory card
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/storage/3456666/how-format-write-protected-flash-drive/

Same here but more direct and less complicated instructions... should apply the same as above to usb pendrive or memory card
Remove write protection from a USB key (via the Registry)
http://en.kioskea.net/faq/4214-remove-write-protection-from-a-usb-key-via-the-registry

Halo Diehards · Oct 31, 2014

Thanks. Tried to follow the directions, but when I try to navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies, there is no "StorageDevicePolicies". There are other folders and files like in the example, but not that one.

Chicano · Oct 31, 2014

You have to create the Key (folder) and the DWORD value named WriteProtect, and make it disabled with 0 as data.

With the CurrentControlSet\Control Key selected \ right click on the right pane and select New Key and name it "StorageDevicePolicies", and next with StorageDevicePolicies selected, on the right pane right click and select New Dword Value, and name it WriteProtect, double click on it, and select Hexadecimal and type 0 (zero)... exit the registry and check if the USB drive is accessible.

Halo Diehards · Feb 7, 2015

Just to follow up on this, looks like it was a virus on the computer, corrupting the flash drives. After I cleaned up the computer via malwarebytes assistance, they stopped getting corrupted. Before that, several of my flash drives went kaput, even my phone was acting weird when I plugged it into the usb.

Edit: can't mark this as solved w/ my own reply, so any editors out there feel free to mark as solved...

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Can't delete files off flash drive

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nuts32605

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Halo Diehards

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Chicano

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Chicano

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Halo Diehards

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