Can't format USB - Write protected

[Drown]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm trying to format my 28GB USB stick which is unaccessible (there's a message that tells me I have to format it before I use it). However, when I try to format it, it fails and there's a message that warns me that the drive is write protected, and it doesn't work.

 

I tried a few things ...

 

- Diskpart to change the read-only attribute to false

- Create the WriteProtect key in the registry and set it to 0 

- Use software (like some Kingston utilty tool) to format it, but they won't even see the drive

 

Do you guys know of any software that can be used to restore a USB drive that is write-protected?

 

It's very annoying not to be able to use it.

 

Thank you for your help.

[ind3x]

It could just be a dead drive.

The message telling you to format it could be because your OS can't access it.

The message telling you that you can't format it could be because it's dead.

[Drown]

Linux should be able to help, if you're willing to put a minimum of effort into formatting a live USB stick and using gparted. I recommend CrunchBang (#!). Linux usually sees to those sorts of anti-user protection measures because, it simply sees devices as strings of data. On Linux, everything is a file, unlike on Windows. Makes for getting around MBR-embedded protection easy-peasy, and firmware protection less of a hassle (in some cases). It's seriously your best bet.

 

I don't mind trying that, will it work on a VM simply or do I have to make a dedicated Linux partition? 

 

I'm downloading CrunchBang at the moment, we'll see how it goes.

[Brandonberg]

Have you tried the 'clean' command in the diskpart utility?

 

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/52129-disk-clean-clean-all-diskpart-command.html

[Drown]

Have you tried the 'clean' command in the diskpart utility?

 

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/52129-disk-clean-clean-all-diskpart-command.html

 

Yes I've tried that, it doesn't work unfortunetly. "Diskpart" says it does, but I'm not able to do anything with the drive anymore. When I click on it in the Windows explorer, it says "Insert a disk into Removable Disk (F:)", and I can't do anything.

 

If I go in the storage manager of Windwos, I see the 28GB of unallocated space, but when I right-click on it I can't create a new volume or anything.

[Drown]

You image it onto another flash drive using Rufus and then boot from that flash drive. Then you'll see it in GParted

 

I installed Linux (which I am now using), but I still get the same problem when I try to format the USB with GParted.

 

 

 Can't write to /dev/sdd, because it is opened read-only

[kent1147]

If you've tried cleaning the drive with a DISKPART > CLEAN command, and you're still unable to use the drive, then it's most likely a defective drive.

 

Which is not unexpected, to be honest.  USB flash drives go bad all the time.  And when they do, the inability to read / write to them is one of the most common symptoms of a faulty drive.