Bitlocker-protected USB drive becomes read-only

Question

Hello,

I have enabled a group policy in Windows 11 to deny write access to USB drives unless encrypted with Bitlocker. However, after successfully encrypting an unencrypted USB drive, the drive remains read-only. Even though entering the Bitlocker password successfully unlocks the drive, I get an alert that says the drive is write-protected.

Can anyone help me with this issue?

Answer 1

Hi @xixe •

Try to use Method 2 Diskpart command as mentionned in the following links :
How to Fix The Disk Is Write Protected in Windows 11/10/8/7:

Method 2. Remove Write Protection from USB via Diskpart Command

This option clears the read-only attribute of your drive to make it writable. This works for your internal drives, external drives, USB drives, and even SD cards.

Let's find out how you can use the Diskpart command to fix the issue:

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys and type cmd in the box that opens. This will launch Command Prompt.

Step 2. Type diskpart in the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

Step 3. Type list disk and press Enter to view the available disks.

Step 4. Type select disk 2 and hit Enter. Replace 0 with the write-protected device number.

Step 5. Type attributes disk clear readonly and hit Enter.

Step 6. Once you finish writing protection removal, type exit to quit Diskpart.

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