Question The flash drive cannot be formatted, it is write-protected

Aug 8, 2024
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Once, I accidentally dragged the flash drive into a random folder in the explorer, and after that, it became impossible to work with it. It says that formatting is required, but it cannot be performed because the disk is write-protected.I've tried:

  • using the command "clear attitudes readonly" in the command prompt;
  • formatting in the command prompt in safe mode (format disk name);
  • making changes to the Windows registry;
  • formatting in the Disk Management tool;
nothing helps.

The flash drive is a "Hi-rali", there are no readonly switches, and there was no physical damage to the flash drive. Please suggest possible solutions to the problem.
 
Last edited:

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Where is that random folder located? Path name?

Is the drive still in the folder?

If the drive was accidently dragged into a random folder then you should be able to drag the drive out again.

If there is an error or problem with dragging the drive out again then take a screenshot of the applicable window(s).

How are you attempting to format the drive?

Work through the process in use and tale a screenshot of when it says "fomatting is required".

Post the screenshots here using imgur (www.imgur.com).

Stay out of the registry - that is a very last resort and should be attempted only after a full system backup including the registry itself.

That said: What registry changes were attempted or made?