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USB Flash drive is write-protected

Anonymous
2019-04-17T13:35:40+00:00

Hello, 

When I insert my pendrive into my windows 10 PC, it says I have to format it before I use it. But when I format it, it says the pendrive is "write-protected" and can't format it.

How can I solve this "write-protected" error, please? Thanks in advance!

Tanzil

******@gmail.com

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. DaveM121 869.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2019-04-17T13:56:36+00:00

    Hi Tanzil

    I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, that error indicated the flash drive is broken beyond repair. You will find lots of 'fixes' online, sadly, they are a waste of time, none of those will work . ..

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2019-04-17T15:30:05+00:00

    Thanks for the reply. Yes, it shows the same error on different PCs. I'd definitely visit the link you gave and let yiu know if it works, okay?

    Tanzil

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Virginia M 40,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2019-04-17T13:44:47+00:00

    The drive either has a write protection switch or has corrupted beyond reading. If you have files on the drive which are needed you can try inserting it into another PC to see if it’ll read it, if not then you can use diskpart to clean the drive.

    Open powershell with admin & type:

    diskpart

    List disk

    Select disk # (where # is the number of the USB drive)

    Clean

    Exit

    Then go to disk manager & you’ll be asked if you’d like to initialise the drive - choose yes, then you can format it.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2019-04-17T13:38:30+00:00

    Hi Tanzil

    My name is Andre Da Costa; an Independent Consultant, Windows Insider MVP and Windows & Devices for IT MVP. I'm here to help you with your problem.

    This could be a sign the USB drive is currupted or damaged.

    Can you try connecting it to another working computer to see if the same comes up?

    I would try formatting it again using Disk Part and see if it works. If not, you will likely need to get a new one:

    https://www.groovypost.com/howto/format-local-d...

    Information in the above link is sourced from a trusted Microsoft MVP blog.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2019-04-17T13:42:35+00:00

    Hello TanzilKabir747

    Thank you for participating in the Microsoft Community, My name is Miguel T. I'm an independent Advisor

    That issue is common when the Flash Drive get corrupt. Let's try to make the steps mentioned in the following link to check if it helps:

    https://ccm.net/forum/affich-687538-how-to-form...

    Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

    I hope this information has been useful, please let me know if you still need assistance.

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