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Free Image Format ConversionScenario 1 - My USB drive is in read-only mode, how do I change this setting?
"My USB is read only. What should I do? I ran DiskPart and checked the disk properties, and found that the current read only state is set to Yes, while the read only is set to No. Where should I start to remove the read only mode?"
Case 2 - What does it mean when Steam tells me this drive is read-only?
"I tried creating a new folder in my Steam library, but it says the drive is read-only. What does this mean? How can I fix this issue?"
Is your SD card, USB, hard drive, or external HDD throwing a “read-only” error and preventing you from accessing or modifying the drive? If so, stick around. On this page, you'll learn:
- What does it mean when a drive is set to read-only?
- How can I make the drive no longer read-only?
- Why would my drive become read-only in the first place?
If you're looking for a way to change a drive from read-only to read-write, you can follow these solutions:
Regarding the read-only error with this drive
To fix the read-only error on an SD card, USB, or hard drive, you should first understand: 1. What is a “Drive Read-Only” Error? 2. What can cause a drive to become read-only?
Similar to the write protection error, a “read-only drive” is a permission issue that allows users to only read or copy data saved on a storage device but disallows writing new information or editing the existing data. The “read-only” status can apply to a single file, folder, or even an entire disk such as a memory card, USB flash drive, external drive, hard disk drive, SSD, and external HDD.
There can be various reasons behind this error. Here, we have enlisted the most common ones that might make your storage device read-only:
- The device is locked.
- You don't have write permission for the current disk.
- The device file system is mounted as read-only.
- The drive or file has been set with read-only permissions.
- The drive has a write protect switch.
How to Fix the "This Drive is Read-Only" Error
If an SD card or USB flash drive is showing as read-only, first check to make sure the lock switch isn't engaged, as shown below:
Move the lock switch to the unlock position to remove the read-only status.
For hard drives and other types of memory cards and flash drives, the troubleshooting steps below will show you how to remove the error and make your device readable and writable again:
You can easily mount and make full use of a read-only drive by following the steps in this guide.
Using a Mac? Check out the guide on how to fix external hard drive read only on Mac.
#1. Log in as an administrator and try accessing the read-only drive again.
Applies to: Log in as an administrator to cancel the read-only status of a hard drive.
Sometimes, when you log into your computer using a user account instead of an admin account, you might encounter permission issues with accessing storage devices. So, if you have a read-only drive on your PC, try logging in as an administrator first.
Here are the steps:
Step 1: Click the Windows icon, then click your user name at the top.
Step 2: Click on any other visible account in the list to switch to it as an administrator.
Step 3: Log in with the administrator account password.
After that, try opening the drive read-only and see if you can write to it. If you can, congratulations! If not, don't worry. Try the other four solutions – one of them is bound to work for you.
#2. Fix Read-Only Error from Hard Drive/SD Card/USB
Applies to: Remove read-only status from hard drive, USB, SD card, etc.
To remove the read-only status from a hard drive, you'll need to use the DiskPart command-line utility. Here's how to list the read-only disks and remove the status:
Step 1: Connect the drive to a Windows computer, and Windows will assign it a drive letter.
If it's a memory card or USB flash drive, it should be recognized as a removable disk.
Step 2: Press the Windows + X keys and click on “Command Prompt (Admin).”
Step 3. Type DiskPart and press Enter.
Step 4: Type list disk, and press Enter.
Step 5: Type select disk n (where n is the number of the drive you want to erase) and press Enter.
N is the number of the disk you saw in step 4, for example, select disk 1.
Step 6: Type attributes disk to view the attributes of Disk 1.
As you can see, both Read-only and Readonly are set to Yes.
Step 7. To remove the read-only attribute, type attributes disk clear readonly and press Enter.
Step 8. Eventually, the status will read "No." Type exit to close the Command Prompt.
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[Solved] External Hard Drive Read Only Error on Mac
If you're a Mac user and encounter the same issue, learn here how to fix the "external hard drive read only on Mac" problem. Read More >>
#3. Change the permissions to remove the read-only attribute from the drive
Applies to: Changing a hard drive, SD card, or USB from read-only to read/write in Windows Properties.
More often than not, the read-only attribute is set for a folder or a specific file on a Windows PC or game drive. When you attempt to create a new folder or add a new file in that location, Windows will warn you that the drive is read-only.
You can change its properties to read/write through the device's "Properties" settings.
Step 1: Open File Explorer in Windows 10/8/7.
Step 2. Connect the CD/DVD drive to your computer, right-click on it, and select "Properties."
Step 3. Under the "Security" tab, check the boxes for "Read" and "Write" under the "Allow" column. Click "Apply".
If a read-only folder is causing the issue, follow the steps outlined here:
Right-click the folder, select “Properties,” and uncheck the box next to “Read-only” on the “General” tab. Then click “OK.”
#4. Take ownership of the folder and gain write permissions
Applies To: Taking ownership of a specific folder or drive to gain write permissions.
Sometimes, you might encounter read-only issues when your current user account doesn't have the permissions to write to a specific file, folder, or drive. To fix this error, you can take ownership of the drive by following these steps:
Step 1: Right-click on the read-only folder or disk and select “Properties” from the context menu.
Step 2: Click Security > Advanced, and then click the Owners tab.
Step 3: In the window that appears, click on Change, and then type Administrator or your username in the Enter the object names to select field.
Then, click Check Names.
If everything is correct, the input should have changed. Click “OK” to save the changes.
4) Check the box to Replace owner on subcontainers and objects, then click Apply and OK to save your changes.
Alternatively, you can select the Replace permissions entries on all child objects check box.
#5. Unlock to remove read-only status
Applies to: Removing write protection from a drive, USB, or SD card that appears to have read-only errors.
If you're not a tech pro or comfortable with the command line, don't worry: the development team has created a new tool that will help you fix write protection issues on devices like hard disks, external hard drives, USBs, or SD cards.
If you don't consider yourself very computer-savvy or comfortable with the command line, don't worry. There are graphical solutions that can help you unlock your hard drive, USB drive, or even an SD card.
CleanGenius is one of those tools that can help you fix these issues on your disk without having to understand the command line.
This is a simple and easy-to-follow guide on how to use this tool to address your concerns:
Step 1: Download and install CleanGenius (free) on your computer.
Step 2: Run CleanGenius on your computer, select Optimize, and choose Write Protection mode.
Step 3: Select the write-protected device and click “Disable” to remove the protection.
After implementing all the above solutions, hopefully, you have resolved the read-only error from your storage device and can use the drive normally again. Now, you can open the drive to access and save new data to it.
If you see new files appearing or are unable to open saved data, don't worry. The auxiliary data recovery solutions in the next section may be able to help.
Additional Tip: Recover Data after Removing "Drive Read-Only" Error
Applies to: Recover data after getting read-only error from drive, SD card, USB, etc.
After the read-only error is unmounted, some people might find their files invisible or inaccessible. Formatting will make the device usable for data storage again, but it will erase everything on it.
Fortunately, data loss during troubleshooting can be remedied using data recovery software. You don't need to spend a cent to test its ability to recover lost data. Give it a shot and we recommend that you download the free data recovery software, which allows for the free recovery of 2GB worth of files.
For example, to recover data from an external hard drive, do the following:
Step 1: Connect your external hard drive to the computer using the correct USB cable. Launch Disk Drill and you will see your external disk listed under “External Drives.” The software supports all major external hard drive brands including WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, SanDisk, Samsung, and more.
Select your external hard drive, then click the “Scan” button.
Step 2: As the scan progresses, the software will find more and more of your lost and deleted data, displaying it in the scan results. The recovered data is well organized. You can quickly locate your target file/folder by file type, or search for it by entering its exact name in the search box.
Step 3: You can preview the files found by the scanning algorithm of the Data Recovery Wizard. Then, select the files and click 'Recover'. To avoid overwriting data, we recommend saving the recovered data to a drive different from the original Seagate drive.
Conclusions
On this page, we explain what a read-only error is, the reasons behind it, and how to remove the read-only attribute from a hard drive, USB, SD card, or any other storage device entirely.
If you're experiencing the same issue with your hard drive, first make sure you're signed in as an administrator. If not, switch to an admin account. If the drive remains read-only, try taking ownership of the drive. Then, use the DiskPart command-line tool and type attributes disk clear readonly to fix the issue.
Once done, try to open the disk again and modify or save the data. If you lost your data, seek help from a data recovery wizard tool. Apart from restoring lost files, you can use this software to scan the entire disk or even a lost partition to retrieve important files.