How to Disable Write Protection

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: June 4, 2020 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to remove write protection from a file or removable storage item, which will allow you to edit the file's or item's contents. You must be using an administrator account to do this. Some types of removable storage, such as CD-Rs, have built-in write protection that cannot be disabled.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Basic Fixes

1
Check the storage item for a physical lock. Most SD cards and some USB flash drives have small levers or switches on the casing that control whether the item is writable or read-only, so look for such a lever or switch and move it if necessary.
- Especially in the case of SD cards, physical locks often prove to be insurmountable forms of write protection until they're disabled.
- If your lock mechanism has been broken, you might be able to fix it.
2
Make sure that you're using the right file system. Windows and Mac computers use different file systems by default (Windows uses NTFS which is unsupported by Mac), and many flash drives, external hard drives, and SD cards are pre-formatted for Windows use. If you're having trouble using your drive on a Mac computer after using it on a Windows computer, you can reformat the drive by doing the following:
- Plug the drive into your Mac.
- Change the drive's format to the "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" format.
Tip: Make sure to back up the drive's contents to a Windows computer, as formatting deletes the drive's contents.

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3
Check to see if the drive is full. You may get a write protection error if there is no more space on a drive on which you're trying to write. You can check this by selecting the drive in question in This PC (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and looking at the amount of space remaining on the drive.
4
Scan your computer for viruses. A computer virus can change the way that your computer responds to removable storage items, or even render all of your USB items read-only. Running a virus scan should fix any virus-related problems that you're having.
5
Format your flash drive or CD. Formatting erases the removable item's contents and changes the file system depending on your selected formatting options. Since formatting the item will reset it, formatting should be your last option.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Removing from a File on Windows

1
Open Start
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2
Open File Explorer
. Click the folder-shaped icon near the bottom-left side of the Start menu.
3
Go to the file's location. Click the folder in which the file is located on the left side of the File Explorer window.
- You may have to navigate through additional files after doing so to find the file.
4
Select the file. Click the file for which you want to disable write protection.
5
Click the Home menu item. It's in the upper-left corner of the window. A toolbar will appear at the top of the window.
6
Click the "Properties" icon. This red checkmark is in the "Open" section of the toolbar. Doing so opens the "Properties" window.
7
Uncheck the "Read-only" box. It's at the bottom of the Properties window.

Tip: If you don't see this option, make sure that you're on the General tab of the Properties window.
8
Click Apply, then click OK. Both options are at the bottom of the window. Doing so saves your changes to the file and closes the Properties window. You should now be able to edit your file.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Removing from a File on Mac

1
Open Finder. Click the blue, face-like icon in your Mac's Dock. A new window will open.
2
Go to the file's location. Click the folder that houses your file on the left side of the Finder window.
- You may have to navigate through additional folders after doing so to find the file.
3
Select the file. Click the file to do so.
4
Click File. It's a menu item in the upper-left side of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
5
Click Get Info. This option is in the File drop-down menu. Doing so opens the selected file's "Get Info" window.
6
Unlock the Get Info menu. If the lock icon in the bottom-right corner of the window is closed, click it, then enter your administrator password.
7
Click the Sharing & Permissions heading. It's near the bottom of the window. The Sharing & Permissions menu will expand to display additional options.

Tip: If the Sharing & Permissions heading has usernames and "Read Only" options written below it, skip this step.
8
Find your username. Below the Sharing & Permissions heading, you should see the name that you use to log into your computer.
9
Change the file's permissions. Click the "Read Only" box to the right of your name until it says "Read & Write", then close the Get Info window. You should now be able to edit your file.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Removing from Removable Storage on Windows

1
Make sure that your storage item is plugged in. Your USB flash drive, external drive, or SD card should be attached to your Windows computer before you proceed.
2
Open Start
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
3
Type regedit into Start. Doing so will search your computer for the Registry Editor command.
4
Click regedit. It's a series of blue blocks at the top of the Start window. The Registry Editor window will open.
5
Expand the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder. Click the downward-facing arrow to the left of the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" folder that's in the upper-left corner of the window.

Note: You may have to scroll up to the top of the pane on the left side of the window to find this folder.
6
Expand the "SYSTEM" folder.
7
Expand the "CurrentControlSet" folder.
8
Select the "Control" folder. Click the folder to do so.
9
Click Edit. It's a tab at the top of the window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
10
Select New. You'll find this option near the top of the Edit drop-down menu.
11
Click Key. It's at the top of the New pop-out menu. A new folder (also known as a "Key") will appear in the "Control" folder.
12
Change the key's name. Type in StorageDevicePolicies and press ↵ Enter.
13
Create a new DWORD item inside of the key. To do so:
- Select the "StorageDevicePolicies" key that you just created.
- Click Edit
- Select New
- Click DWORD (32-bit) Value
- Type in WriteProtect and press ↵ Enter.
14
Open the DWORD value. Double-click it to do so. A new window will open.
15
Change the "Value" number to zero. Select the number in the "Value" text field, then type in 0 to replace it.
16
Click OK. Doing so should fix the read-only error that you're running into with your removable storage item.
- If your flash drive or CD still won't register as writable, you'll need to take it into a data recovery service to recover its data.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Removing from Removable Storage on Mac

1
Make sure that your storage item is plugged in. Your USB flash drive, external drive, or SD card should be attached to your Mac before you proceed.
- If you're on a recent model of Mac, you may need to get an adapter that plugs into one of your Mac's USB-C ports for your removable item.
2
Click Go. It's a menu item at the top of the screen. Clicking it will prompt a drop-down menu.
- If you don't see Go at the top of the screen, click the desktop or the blue, face-like Finder icon in your Mac's Dock to make it appear.
3
Click Utilities. This option is near the bottom of the Go drop-down menu.
4
Open Disk Utility. Double-click the hard drive-shaped "Disk Utility" icon to do so. A new window will open.
5
Select your storage item. Click your storage item's name in the upper-left side of the Disk Utility window.
6
Click First Aid. This stethoscope-shaped tab is at the top of the Disk Utility window.
7
Wait for your Mac to finish scanning. If the item's write protection is enabled because of an error on the item itself, the error will be resolved, and you'll be able to use the drive like usual.
- If the problem with the item is hardware-based, you'll need to take the drive into a data recovery service to attempt to save the item's contents.

Community Q&A

Question

Why can't I format a write-protected disk?

Community Answer

You can't format a write-protected disk as it has write-protection on. This is useful for storing data and keeping data safe.
Question

How can I format my write-protected pen drive?

Community Answer

You should be able to disable read-only status following the procedures in this article. Once you've done that, right click the drive, then click Format.
Question

How do I disable my write protection?

Community Answer

One way of doing it is by activating the key combination of the Windows key + r to load run. Once loaded, type 'disport'. (To run it you will need to have administrative permissions.) Type in 'list disk', press Enter and then 'select disk x' and press Enter. 'X' is the number of the disk that you want the write protection off. You can see or work out which number it is. Next type 'attributes disk clear readonly' and press Enter. To check if it worked, type 'Attributes disk' and if both 'Current Read-Only Status = No' and 'Read-Only = No' you've done it right.

Warnings

If you aren't an administrator or you're trying to remove write protection from a read-only item (like a CD-R), you ultimately won't be able to remove write protection.

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