Format a write-protected USB flash drive. How to remove write protection from a flash drive or SD card

Sooner or later, every user of additional memory cards needs to format a microSD card.

There are several ways to do this efficiently and efficiently.

But first you need to figure it out what is microSD and how is formatting done??

What is microSD?

MicroSD is a small flash drive designed for portable equipment ( Cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, etc.).

There is a type of equipment to which you can only connect an SD card. Often in this case, together or separately, special adapter sold, allowing you to make the transition from microSD to SD.

There are now four generations of cards:

• SD0 – from 8Mb to 2 Gb;
• SD 1.1 – up to 4 Gb;
• SDHC – up to 32 Gb;
• SDXC – up to 2 Tb.

History of MicroSD development

This memory card format was developed in 1999 by a joint effort of companies such as Panasonic, SanDisk and Toshiba.

Later, in order to “promote the idea,” a separate company was created to develop and improve of this format cards – SD Association.

Despite this early appearance, microSD cards only came into use in 2004. It was then that the company SanDisk introduced a standard for such cards, which was originally called TransFlash.

A year later, the name TransFlash was officially changed to MicroSD.

The device was initially doomed to great popularity, and they were right, especially now that it has very compact dimensions (20 * 21.5 * 14 mm and weighs 1 gram) and can store up to 128 GB of data inclusive, while having excellent data processing speed.

Areas of use

As mentioned above, cards of this format are used mainly for portable equipment. There are only three types of SD cards: microSD, miniSD and regular format SD cards.

Regular and miniSD cards Most often used in photo and video cameras. They store the footage.

The third kind used in more compact technology– mobile phones, smartphones, communicators, MP3 players and others.

Such devices are equipped with a special connector that supports this format. In this case, the memory card stores photos and video files, music and even many applications.

SD cards are used not only for use in portable equipment, but also in PCs as a storage medium. In the modern world, more and more laptops have a connector for connecting regular SD cards.

You can connect the device to desktop computers via a card reader. In this case, a special adapter is used for a microSD card, which is exactly the same size as a regular SD card.

Why formatting should be done

First of all, formatting allows you to completely free the memory card from the files on it. The second reason is the presence of viruses.

It is impossible to completely get rid of viruses by simply deleting virus files, so you will need to format the microSD.

And finally, the third reason - slow work cards. Having completed complete cleaning You can speed up your drive.

Formatting using standard Windows tools

You can format the card using standard Windows tools, but will this give the desired effect? After all, often microSD cards There is write protection.

Therefore, it will be impossible to delete files. To check this, you can try formatting the flash drive without using programs.

To do this, insert the card into the card reader and wait for the computer to “see” it.

Then go to “My Computer”, find the required removable disk and right-click on it.

In the opened context menu select the “Format” item.

In the window that opens change the file system to FAT. If it is the default, then we do not change it. Then click the “Start” button.

Once the process is complete, your card remains empty. But not always completely.

After uploading new files and safely removing the removable disk, when reconnection It may turn out that the old files that were on the microSD before formatting and the new ones overlapped each other.

In this case, independent formatting without third party software won't help you anymore. You will have to turn to various types of programs for help.

Let's look below at what programs can help us free up our SD card.

AutoFormat Tool

This program is very easy to use. It has a very small volume and is absolutely free. To use it you need to download the download archive.

You can do this on any site where you have it. You just need to enter its name in search bar browser.

After downloading and installing, right-click on the shortcut and select “Run as administrator” in the context menu that opens.

After the program itself opens, in the utility window, select the arrow in the line Disk Drive and find the letter of your device.

Then put the marker on the SD item and press the “Format” button to start formatting.

After clicking the formatting button, another window will appear asking you to confirm the deletion of all files. Click “Yes” and start the formatting process.

Once completed, your card will be fully formatted and ready to use. If you can’t format the card using Windows, then this program will 100% help you.

This program is just as easy to use as the previous one. With her help You can format not only SD cards, but also USB drives and even RW drives.

The program is capable of performing low-level formatting, so it is used to clean any removable media.

This program also has a disadvantage - Once formatted using it, the data can no longer be restored.

The program can be downloaded for free on any website that has similar software.

After downloading the program easy to install and does not take up a lot of hard disk space, which is also a big plus. To format, proceed to the following steps:

1. Run the program as an administrator by right-clicking on the shortcut. In the window that opens, select the media that needs cleaning and click the “Continue” button.

2. In the next window, open the “LOW-LEVEL FORMAT” section and complete the action by pressing the “FORMAT THIS DEVISE” button. After this, we wait for the formatting to complete. This program has a slight delay in the cleaning process, so you will have to wait a bit.

SDFormatter

With this program you can perform better cleaning of the microSD card or any other removable media. It is more effective than standard means Windows.

The developers of this utility are confident that this best program for formatting.

To get started with this program, you should download and install it. You can download it from any site where it is available.

The program also absolutely free and does not take up much memory on your hard drive. After downloading, the program should be installed as usual and run as administrator.

After starting the program, a window opens in front of you, in which, in the “Drive” field, select the desired device to format.

After we have completed all the steps described above, just click the “Format” button and wait for the formatting to complete.

This method is quite simple, the program is easy easy to use and does not take up much space. Random access memory also doesn't use much. That's why this method very well suited for such purposes.

How to remove write protection on microSD

Defence from microSD recording turns on automatically if the memory card is damaged. This is the worst thing for those who store extremely important documents and files on these media.

Why does the card stop working? There are five reasons for this:

1. Physical malfunction. The card may have been damaged mechanical impact or water just got on it. In this case, the card will be faulty.

2. The fault may also be in the logical system of the SD card. This happens after unsuccessful formatting and unsafe extraction.

3. Controller malfunction. The fault is displayed as follows: the disk is write-protected, the device does not see it or cannot read it.

4. Damage due to thermal or electrical influence. This occurs due to a malfunction of the device, poor-quality or incorrectly installed components, due to which the device using SD card, may become warm or even overheat.

5. Media wear. Sooner or later, any device is subject to wear and tear. And microSD is no exception. After a certain number of recording and formatting processes, the card simply becomes unreadable.

So, you can remove the protection in several ways, which we will now discuss.

Removing protection through the Windows registry registry

First of all, you should check the registry register. It is possible that there is a blockage in it.

To do this, press the Win+R key combination, write “regedit” without quotes in the input line and press Enter.

A window will open in which you need to go through the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - SYSTEM - CurrentControlSet - Control - StorageDevicePolicies.

After that, select the WriteProtect file, which we open by double-clicking the left mouse button. In the file that opens, change all values ​​1 to 0, save the file and close the window.

Now you need to safely remove the drive and restart your computer. If this procedure does not bring any effect, there are other ways.

Physical unlocking

The process is very simple and takes half a minute. To do this, place the SD card on any flat surface with the contacts facing down.

On the left you can see a tiny “lever” - the locker - which must be moved to unlock.

There is no such lever on microSD, so you need to insert it into a special adapter and then move the locker on it all the way in the opposite direction.

Changing disk properties

If you need to copy data, but this does not work out, then you can proceed as follows: connect the card to the PC, in “My Computer” select required disk and right-click on it.

In the context menu, select “Properties”. A window will open in which you need to select the “Access” submenu, then select “Advanced settings” and check the “Open” submenu general access" Save the changes by clicking the “OK” button.

Remove protection using a mobile device

Any portable device can remove write protection from microSD. To do this, go to the settings in the device menu and look for the formatting option.

There is a possibility that the device itself installed protection on the card, so it can remove it.

We remove the protection in the same settings and format the memory card. If you encounter any difficulties during the process, use the instructions.

conclusions

To summarize, I would like to say: there are many ways to format a card or remove protection from it. We have described the simplest and most accessible ones.

After all, it will be impossible to restore the data, and repairing the device will cost a pretty penny. Unless, of course, it can be repaired and you don’t have to buy a new one.

You can also format it using special programs. They have their pros and cons.

In conclusion, we invite you to watch the video instructions on formatting microSD:

VIDEO: Formatting SD memory cards

Formatting SD Memory Cards

10 ways MicroSD formatting: Write protection and how to remove it

Memory cards have long been widely used in most different devices, allowing you to additionally obtain the required several gigabytes of memory. However, during use you may encounter such an unpleasant problem as write protection, which causes considerable inconvenience to users. What to do in this case? Fortunately, this problem can be solved quite simply. All you need is a little patience and follow the instructions. In this article we will take a closer look at how to remove protection and format a memory card. Let's figure it out. Go!

Users ask questions about how to remove the protection of a memory card and format it if necessary

It's worth starting with the fact that some memory cards have a special switch with which you can enable or disable write protection mode. Be sure to pay attention to this point.

The system will help you solve the problem. Diskpart utility. Run with administrator rights command line. This can be done through the Start menu or through the Run window (use the Win+R key combination and enter cmd).

Commands are entered sequentially

After the command line window appears in front of you, enter the following commands to format the micro SD flash drive:

select disk 0 (instead of “0”, enter the number corresponding to the microSD card; the necessary information will be displayed after entering the “list disk” command)

attributes disk clear readonly

create partition primary

format fs=ntfs (or specify fat32 after the “=” sign, it all depends on what file system you want to format the SD card in, some cameras may not support NTFS)

assign letter=X (X is the letter that will be assigned to the flash drive)

After formatting is complete, you can assign a drive letter

If formatting was unsuccessful in this way, try another option, namely do it through the editor group policy.

To go to the Group Policy Editor, open the “Run” window by pressing the Win+R key combination, and then write “gpedit.msc” in the input field (without quotes). In the window that opens, go to the “Computer Configuration” section, then open the “Administrative Templates” folder. In it you will find the “System” directory. Navigate to the "Removable Storage Device Access" folder, which is located in this section.

Finding the required policy setting

In the list on the right, find the line “ Removable drives Deny recording." Double-click on it with the left mouse button and select the “Disabled” mode. Click "OK" to confirm your changes. Then you need to perform similar steps in the “User Configuration” section. The further path consists of folders with exactly the same names. When you reach the desired item, turn it off.

The procedure in other sections is similar

After following all the instructions described above, you can format your microSD flash drive without any problems. If the operation fails again, this may mean that the memory card is faulty and you should consider purchasing a new one.

Now you know how to unlock a micro SD flash drive to format it. This is done very simply and takes only a few minutes. Even if you are a novice user, this operation will not cause you any difficulties. Write in the comments whether the article helped you understand the situation and ask any questions you have about the topic discussed.

Sometimes when working with various flash drives, a problem arises related to the inability to format them or even make any changes to them (write/delete files, etc.). In this article we will look at several ways to bypass this type of blocking.

1. If our flash drive is locked this way, move the switch to the unlock position and try to format it using standard Windows tools through the corresponding function in the drive properties.
2. If even after this formatting fails or there is simply no such switch on the flash drive, let’s try another formatting method - through the command line. Opening it through the menu “Start” – “Search” – cmd (in Windows 7), “Start” – “Run...” – cmd (in Windows XP) or Win+X (in Windows 8), enter the following commands one by one, confirming performing each of them by pressing the Enter key:
3. diskpart;
4. list disk;
5. select disk X (where X is the number corresponding to the desired flash drive in the list that appears after executing the previous command);
6. attributes disk clear readonly;
7. clean;
8. create partition primary;

exit. If this method also turns out to be ineffective, the problem may be due to system restrictions on the operation of flash drives specifically on this computer. In this case, launch (Win+R on the keyboard or the “Run…” function in the “Start” menu) the following process: gpedit.msc. The Local Group Policy Editor window will open. In the explorer on the left, follow the path “Computer Configuration” – “Administrative Templates” – “System” – “Access to Removable Storage Devices”. The value of the “Removable drives: Deny write” property should not be “Enabled”. Otherwise, change it to “Disabled” or “Not specified” and try to format the flash drive again. We also check the value of this parameter using a similar path in the “User Configuration” section. Exist special programs, which automatically perform actions from points 3 and 4. An example of the operation of one of them and instructions for its operation are presented in the video below. If none of these methods help format the flash drive to

different computers

, then most likely the problem is a technical malfunction of the drive itself.

USB flash drives and microSD memory cards are widely used for temporary storage of data. The files stored on them are easy to delete, but they often leave behind a lot of invisible garbage, which clogs the memory and slows down the reading of information on the USB drive. To deep clean memory, users resort to formatting flash drives. But quite often, while formatting a flash drive, a notification pops up informing you that it is write-protected.
In our article we will try to figure out how to bypass the protection of a locked flash drive or memory card.

A similar message about disk security can pop up for various reasons, and not only when trying to format a flash drive. It happens that a USB drive has served you faithfully for a long time, but one fine day, when you try to transfer files to it or, conversely, take them from it, such a notification appears. Let's look at the main reasons why such a nuisance can happen:

Physical blocking

• Many USB flash drives and memory cards have a small fuse on their case. It is a standard slider switch that is easy to miss. If you move the switch to a certain position, it will act as a fuse and will not allow you to accidentally delete data from the flash drive. Carefully inspect the body of the flash drive for the presence of a switch slider. If there is one, move it to a different position and try to repeat the procedure for deleting files from the USB drive.

New flash drive

• If you purchased a new USB flash drive or microSD card, and while writing files to it you receive a message about the security of the disk, then it is most likely that your device was previously formatted in an ancient file system FAT32. To restore order in the file system, it will need to be formatted in the format NTFS. We'll talk about this a little later.
• Other possible reason such an error occurs when using a new flash drive - a virus. Before you, the store clerks where you bought the flash drive could have used the drive and placed a malicious program on it. Just in case, scan your computer and flash drive for viruses with any available antivirus program.

Physical damage

• Quite often the reason for the notification is “ The disc is write protected» is associated with physical damage to the drive. Perhaps, due to a strong impact of the device on the floor, the contact fell off or microcracks appeared. Most worst option– damage to the memory chip from impact or natural wear. If, in the case of a fallen contact, you can recover data from a flash drive using special equipment, then if the chip is damaged, you can say goodbye to it.

How to format a write-protected flash drive using standard Windows operating system tools?

Before resorting to using a third party software, you need to try to break the write protection using Windows tricks. Do the following one by one:

• Step 1. Expand menu " StartExecute" In the window that opens, enter “ cmd" and press " Enter" to activate the command line.

• Step 2. In the window that opens, you will need to write the command “ diskpart" and press " Enter» to start a service that works with computer disks.

• Step 3. A new window will open where you will need to write the command “ list disk" and press " Enter" to display existing sections hard drive and USB media. Your flash drive must first be connected to the computer.

• Step 4. A list will appear on the monitor hard sections disk and connected storage devices, each of which is assigned its own number. In the same window, write the command “ select disk H", where instead of " H“You need to put the number under which your flash drive is located. Click " Enter».

• Step 5. Once the flash drive is selected, enter the command " attributes disk clear readonly» to clear its attributes. Remember that all files from it will be erased. Click " Enter».

• Step 6. Next, enter the command “ clean" and press " Enter» to clean up the disk.

• Step 7. Since the flash drive has a file system format FAT32, we need to reformat it into the format NTFS. To do this, write the command “ format fs=ntfs" and press " Enter».

• Step 8. The flash drive is formatted and now all that remains is to assign it a letter under which it will be displayed on the computer. To do this, write the command “ assign letter=K" and press " Enter" Instead of " K»You can set any other letter.

If this procedure does not lead to a positive result, then there is a possibility that the USB flash drive has a slightly different write protection system, which can be removed through the Group Policy Editor. To do this, do the following:

• Step 1. Expand menu " Start" and left-click on the item " Execute" In the window that opens, write “ gpedit.msc" and press " Enter».

• Step 2. In the window that opens, go to “ Computer configuration", then " Administrative Templates", then " System" and further in " Access to removable storage devices" In the window on the right, find the line “ Removable drives: Disable write"and look carefully at her condition. If recording prohibition is activated, double-click on the line to bring up the menu and set the status to “ Disabled" To finish, click the " OK».

• Unfortunately, standard Windows tools cannot always solve this problem. Sometimes you have to resort to third-party utilities designed to recover and format USB drives. It is best to use the utilities, the disk with which is sold complete with the flash drive. But if you don’t have it, you can use the program HUDS Format Tool which is possible.

• To format a flash drive using this program, connect the flash drive to your computer, download and run the program. In the window that opens, select your device from the list, set the format file system « NTFS", check the box next to the line " Quick formatting " and press the button " Begin" After completing the formatting process, the flash drive should again be usable.
• If none of the above methods helped you, then most likely the problem lies in physical damage devices and the only way out of this situation is to purchase a new USB flash drive or memory card.

VIDEO: How to remove write protection from a flash drive?