My flash drive seems to be permanently stuck as Write Protected.
Tags:
- Flash Media
- Flash Drive
- Write Protection
-
Storage
Last response: in Storage
Nyakitty
February 1, 2013 4:09:39 AM
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.
I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
*Flipping a switch - there is no switch on my flash drive.
*Formatting the flash drive - I get the "The disk is write protected." error whenever I try this.
*Checking the flash drive for errors - I get the "The disk is write protected." error.
*Going into my flash drives properties and turning off write protection - write protection does not show up under my *flash drives properties.
*Going into regedit, finding my StorageDevicePolicies, and setting WriteProtect to 0 - regedit claims WriteProtect is already set to 0.
*cmd prompt: diskpart-> list disk -> select disk 1 -> attributes disk clear readonly - I get the message "Disk attributes cleared successfully." However, nothing happens; I still get the error "The disk is write protected." whenever I try to do anything.
*cmd prompt: diskpart -> list disk -> select disk 1 -> clean - "DiskPart has encountered an error: The media is write protected."
*Using the "Usb Format.exe" - it can't find my flash drive.
*Using HDDGuru to do a low level format - I get a bunch of errors like "1/31/2013 9:37:03 PM Format Error occurred at offset 159,318,016: 19 - The media is write protected".
*Trying to test with H2testw 1.4 - I get "The media is write protected. Code 19"
*HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool 2.2.3 - I get "Device Media is write-protected".
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
I know it is the flash drive, because I have a 4 GB SanDisk that works fine and has been working fine for years, but I need this one because it has more space. And I've only had it for like two months and already it's messing up on me. -.-
I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
*Flipping a switch - there is no switch on my flash drive.
*Formatting the flash drive - I get the "The disk is write protected." error whenever I try this.
*Checking the flash drive for errors - I get the "The disk is write protected." error.
*Going into my flash drives properties and turning off write protection - write protection does not show up under my *flash drives properties.
*Going into regedit, finding my StorageDevicePolicies, and setting WriteProtect to 0 - regedit claims WriteProtect is already set to 0.
*cmd prompt: diskpart-> list disk -> select disk 1 -> attributes disk clear readonly - I get the message "Disk attributes cleared successfully." However, nothing happens; I still get the error "The disk is write protected." whenever I try to do anything.
*cmd prompt: diskpart -> list disk -> select disk 1 -> clean - "DiskPart has encountered an error: The media is write protected."
*Using the "Usb Format.exe" - it can't find my flash drive.
*Using HDDGuru to do a low level format - I get a bunch of errors like "1/31/2013 9:37:03 PM Format Error occurred at offset 159,318,016: 19 - The media is write protected".
*Trying to test with H2testw 1.4 - I get "The media is write protected. Code 19"
*HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool 2.2.3 - I get "Device Media is write-protected".
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
I know it is the flash drive, because I have a 4 GB SanDisk that works fine and has been working fine for years, but I need this one because it has more space. And I've only had it for like two months and already it's messing up on me. -.-
More about : flash drive permanently stuck write protected
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Reply to Nyakitty
Paul Neuman
April 23, 2013 12:30:12 PM
Nyakitty said:
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
****
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
****
I just had this same exact issue with a Patriot drive. I found this article fantasic (http://www.jwgoerlich.us/blogengine/post/2009/11/05/Use...) however it did not resolve the issue.
I was told by many sites you should just return the memory. Then I contacted Patriot and they said that I should use their special tool (located at : http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...) to do a low level format. Of course this means you loose your data, however it recovered the drive back to working condition. The tech said that this tool only works on Patriot drives so you will likely have to contact PNY for their tool(s).
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Reply to Paul Neuman
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Paul Neuman
April 23, 2013 12:30:12 PM
Nyakitty said:
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
****
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
****
I just had this same exact issue with a Patriot drive. I found this article fantasic (http://www.jwgoerlich.us/blogengine/post/2009/11/05/Use...) however it did not resolve the issue.
I was told by many sites you should just return the memory. Then I contacted Patriot and they said that I should use their special tool (located at : http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...) to do a low level format. Of course this means you loose your data, however it recovered the drive back to working condition. The tech said that this tool only works on Patriot drives so you will likely have to contact PNY for their tool(s).
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Reply to Paul Neuman
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Paul Neuman
April 23, 2013 12:30:12 PM
Nyakitty said:
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
****
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
****
I just had this same exact issue with a Patriot drive. I found this article fantasic (http://www.jwgoerlich.us/blogengine/post/2009/11/05/Use...) however it did not resolve the issue.
I was told by many sites you should just return the memory. Then I contacted Patriot and they said that I should use their special tool (located at : http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...) to do a low level format. Of course this means you loose your data, however it recovered the drive back to working condition. The tech said that this tool only works on Patriot drives so you will likely have to contact PNY for their tool(s).
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Reply to Paul Neuman
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Paul Neuman
April 23, 2013 12:30:13 PM
Nyakitty said:
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
****
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
****
I just had this same exact issue with a Patriot drive. I found this article fantasic (http://www.jwgoerlich.us/blogengine/post/2009/11/05/Use...) however it did not resolve the issue.
I was told by many sites you should just return the memory. Then I contacted Patriot and they said that I should use their special tool (located at : http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...) to do a low level format. Of course this means you loose your data, however it recovered the drive back to working condition. The tech said that this tool only works on Patriot drives so you will likely have to contact PNY for their tool(s).
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Reply to Paul Neuman
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Jeromy R
August 1, 2013 11:54:10 PM
Paul Neuman said:
Nyakitty said:
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
****
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
****
I just had this same exact issue with a Patriot drive. I found this article fantasic (http://www.jwgoerlich.us/blogengine/post/2009/11/05/Use...) however it did not resolve the issue.
I was told by many sites you should just return the memory. Then I contacted Patriot and they said that I should use their special tool (located at : http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...) to do a low level format. Of course this means you loose your data, however it recovered the drive back to working condition. The tech said that this tool only works on Patriot drives so you will likely have to contact PNY for their tool(s).
i think that to return the hardware is a good solution. i have a pny myself stuck like this and the pny utility failed and so did another low level format utility i tried and easeus partition master, it didnt do any good for it either. i will do some more rescearch and testing ill post if anything works
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Reply to Jeromy R
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brooksaaron
October 4, 2013 10:54:41 PM
Hi all,
I had the exact same problems with the exact same potential solutions that never worked for me. I found a utility tonight that fixed my 32GB PNY usb drive. It's called RecoverTool_V2.00.28_L0920.
I had probably read at least 40 forums with the same problems and this was finally the fix. It allowed me to disable write protection and format the PNY drive and start over. I did lose all data but I didn't need it. I just wanted to use it. Good luck!
I had the exact same problems with the exact same potential solutions that never worked for me. I found a utility tonight that fixed my 32GB PNY usb drive. It's called RecoverTool_V2.00.28_L0920.
I had probably read at least 40 forums with the same problems and this was finally the fix. It allowed me to disable write protection and format the PNY drive and start over. I did lose all data but I didn't need it. I just wanted to use it. Good luck!
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Reply to brooksaaron
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sunshine7980
October 25, 2013 12:55:38 PM
After you ran your usb drive through the recovery program, what did you do to fix the write protection thing? You mentioned you didn't actually recover any data, were you able to delete it?
I had the exact same problems with the exact same potential solutions that never worked for me. I found a utility tonight that fixed my 32GB PNY usb drive. It's called RecoverTool_V2.00.28_L0920.
I had probably read at least 40 forums with the same problems and this was finally the fix. It allowed me to disable write protection and format the PNY drive and start over. I did lose all data but I didn't need it. I just wanted to use it. Good luck!
brooksaaron said:
Hi all,I had the exact same problems with the exact same potential solutions that never worked for me. I found a utility tonight that fixed my 32GB PNY usb drive. It's called RecoverTool_V2.00.28_L0920.
I had probably read at least 40 forums with the same problems and this was finally the fix. It allowed me to disable write protection and format the PNY drive and start over. I did lose all data but I didn't need it. I just wanted to use it. Good luck!
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Reply to sunshine7980
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himnextdoor
October 26, 2013 6:09:27 PM
Jeromy R said:
Paul Neuman said:
Nyakitty said:
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
****
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
****
I just had this same exact issue with a Patriot drive. I found this article fantasic (http://www.jwgoerlich.us/blogengine/post/2009/11/05/Use...) however it did not resolve the issue.
I was told by many sites you should just return the memory. Then I contacted Patriot and they said that I should use their special tool (located at : http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...) to do a low level format. Of course this means you loose your data, however it recovered the drive back to working condition. The tech said that this tool only works on Patriot drives so you will likely have to contact PNY for their tool(s).
i think that to return the hardware is a good solution. i have a pny myself stuck like this and the pny utility failed and so did another low level format utility i tried and easeus partition master, it didnt do any good for it either. i will do some more rescearch and testing ill post if anything works
Hi, I downloaded the patriot restore utility and when I chose 'Restore', (rather than 'Format', at the stat-up screen, the app performed a low level format and my USB stick is useful to me once again.
Every other solution offered on this page, and others, failed to achieve this.
Thank you Patriot and Paul Neuman.
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Reply to himnextdoor
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Lorenzo Deya
December 23, 2013 3:39:35 AM
Paul Neuman said:
Nyakitty said:
I have tried literally everything to get it working and literally nothing is getting it out of write protection. I'm starting to get frustrated to be honest, because I honestly don't know why it's doing this and I can't find a single person that has ever had this problem to the extent that I do.I've already tried the following methods to get it out of write protection:
****
I am trying to fix a 16 GB PNY. The exact model can be found at http://www3.pny.com/category_buymulti.aspx?Category_ID=...
****
I just had this same exact issue with a Patriot drive. I found this article fantasic (http://www.jwgoerlich.us/blogengine/post/2009/11/05/Use...) however it did not resolve the issue.
I was told by many sites you should just return the memory. Then I contacted Patriot and they said that I should use their special tool (located at : http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...) to do a low level format. Of course this means you loose your data, however it recovered the drive back to working condition. The tech said that this tool only works on Patriot drives so you will likely have to contact PNY for their tool(s).
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Reply to Lorenzo Deya
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Lorenzo Deya
December 23, 2013 3:42:34 AM
arskhan
February 5, 2014 9:23:26 PM
I just come across the same issue of write protection on my Kingston 64GB USB FLASH Drive. Tried all solution(Formatting,Regedit,Diskpart ,CMD Unhide Commands, USB Formatting Tools and ALLLA BLAA ) and non of the mentioned worked for me. Tried Patriot formatting tool for kingston USB and it worked for me. Just you have to use "Restore" Button instead "Format".
http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...
Please Backup of your data before using it as all of your data wiped out and unable to recover later.
Thanks Tomshardware.com for providing such a place for finding solution.
Arsalan khan
http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...
Please Backup of your data before using it as all of your data wiped out and unable to recover later.
Thanks Tomshardware.com for providing such a place for finding solution.
Arsalan khan
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Reply to arskhan
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TonyAgustin
March 25, 2014 8:04:54 PM
This is my lifesaver. Silicon Power Low level format.
Worked like a charm on my Silicon Power 32gb USB3.0 and Memorex 8gb USB3.0 Flash Drive.
I got this from this site:
http://www.myusbtools.com/2013/06/silicon-power-low-lev...
Download link"
http://bit.ly/16NYlla
Good luck!
Worked like a charm on my Silicon Power 32gb USB3.0 and Memorex 8gb USB3.0 Flash Drive.
I got this from this site:
http://www.myusbtools.com/2013/06/silicon-power-low-lev...
Download link"
http://bit.ly/16NYlla
Good luck!
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Reply to TonyAgustin
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kiwisensei
April 26, 2014 8:07:20 AM
arskhan said:
I just come across the same issue of write protection on my Kingston 64GB USB FLASH Drive. Tried all solution(Formatting,Regedit,Diskpart ,CMD Unhide Commands, USB Formatting Tools and ALLLA BLAA ) and non of the mentioned worked for me. Tried Patriot formatting tool for kingston USB and it worked for me. Just you have to use "Restore" Button instead "Format".http://www.patriotmemory.com/partners/usb_restore/Resto...
Please Backup of your data before using it as all of your data wiped out and unable to recover later.
Thanks Tomshardware.com for providing such a place for finding solution.
Arsalan khan
Yesssssssss! Thank you.....after 4 hours of tutorials this worked!!
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Reply to kiwisensei
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Shadohz
May 2, 2014 4:50:19 PM
sunshine7980 said:
After you ran your usb drive through the recovery program, what did you do to fix the write protection thing? You mentioned you didn't actually recover any data, were you able to delete it?brooksaaron said:
Hi all,I had the exact same problems with the exact same potential solutions that never worked for me. I found a utility tonight that fixed my 32GB PNY usb drive. It's called RecoverTool_V2.00.28_L0920.
I had probably read at least 40 forums with the same problems and this was finally the fix. It allowed me to disable write protection and format the PNY drive and start over. I did lose all data but I didn't need it. I just wanted to use it. Good luck!
The recovery tool he mentioned is for PNY drives 64GB and lower. It also repairs the write protection problem that originally caused the problem. It's located at: http://www.pny.com.tw/index.php?cls=2&mode=download
It's found in the Services tab under: USB Flash Driver Format Tool (Ufix-II).
It wasn't easy getting PNY to release the tool from in-house. I had to swear at a few people. They had a 32GB tool that could fix it but it would break the capacity on 64GB models. There are also other available recovery/LLF tools on their site.
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Reply to Shadohz
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Cary Chauvet
September 25, 2014 9:30:08 PM
Shadohz
September 25, 2014 10:02:25 PM
Cary Chauvet said:
The recovery program is for Windows only. It does NOT work on a Mac. I need a MAC solution, not a Windows solution. No one I know uses Windows.Windows solution. No one I know uses Windows.[/quotemsg]
Short answer: Go to a library, university, or cafe with Windows machines and do it from there. Else look up "run Windows on Mac", run a virtual Windows on your MAC then format it.
I spent weeks just tracking down one to fix my drive and never seen one for Macs (not for PNY disks anyway). Also you should post the type of flashdrive you are trying to format. Knowing the type of flashdrive is VERY important because LFF tools are meant to work on specific drives. Go here to see if one of the available tools might work for you as well: http://www.myusbtools.com/2013/06/silicon-power-low-lev...
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Reply to Shadohz
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