"Why did I receive [the disk is write-protected] notice when I tried to move data into my memory SD card? What happened?"
"My USB drive resists to storing new data by prompting me to write protection warming. And I cannot even format it. What can I do?"
"I can access the memory card and even read data on it. And I even can delete data on it. But when I reconnect it with my computer, deleted data appear again. It's said that I have to unlock the card and format/erase the memory card. Please help."
When your SD card, pen drive or USB drive becomes inaccessible with the write protection enabled, you'll not be able to use it to store new data or transfer data normally. Basic functions such as installing new data, delete data or move data from one drive to a new one will all being shut down by then. How to fix such a problem? The direct solution is to remove the write protection on SD card or USB drive etc storage devices.
There are several attainable ways for you to remove the write protection and among all, Qiling CleanGenius is the most recommended. It's third-party write protection removal software that simplifies the command methods and enables the most efficient and quickest way to unlock a write-protected SD card. As a result, you can finally erase and format the SD card without any restriction.
If you don't consider yourself a pro-computer user and you're not familiar with command-lines, don't worry. There are graphical-based solutions to help you remove write-protection from your hard drives, USB drives, and even SD cards.
Qiling CleanGenius is one of these tools that helps you fix aforementioned issues on your drives without knowing a thing about command-line.
Here's an easy-to-follow guide on how to use this tool to get your issues sorted:
Step 1: DOWNLOAD and install Qiling Disk Master on your computer.
Step 2: Run Qiling Disk Master on your PC, select Optimization and choose the Write Protection mode.
Step 3: Select the device that is write-protected and click Disable to remove the protection.
Besides the automatic way of downloading write protection removal software to unlock the SD card, you can also try the other three methods to restore the write protected storage device back to normal, all by yourself.
The very first thing that you need to do is to check whether the SD card or USB drive is locked.
Go and check whether the SD card or USB drive have switches, if the switch is locked, please unlock it.
Go to My Computer, click Devices with Removable Storage > right-click SD card or USB drive and choose Properties > choose to Remove write-protection.
Note: if you cannot find the key named "Storage Device Policies", you are supposed to create a one: right-click "Control" to create a new key and name it as "Storage Device Policies" > right-click this new key to open "DWORD Value" and name it as "write protect" > Double click it to change number.
After removing the write protection, you will be able to access the SD card or USB drive. And you can even move data on it. Then you are highly recommended to move all the data on it first and format it.
But if you still cannot access an SD card or USB drive, or you need a more direct solution, you can use Qiling Partition Master Free to thoroughly format it.
Step 1. Select the USB drive to format.
Connect the USB drive or pen drive to your computer. Download and launch Qiling partition software. Click the USB drive you intend to format and choose "Format".
Step 2. Set the drive letter and file system on USB.
Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click "Proceed".
Step 3. Check "OK" to confirm formatting USB.
Click "OK" if you see the Warning window. If you have important data on it, back up the data in advance.