If MS makes more rules and Windows is more strict about what causes a drive to be put into Read Only mode then more peopel will need MS’s cloud services.I am not saying that they are deliberately being maliscious, but that there is no incentive for them to allow users a bit of leway if they are selling an alternative to external USB memory. I can’t help thinkign that the prevalence of read only problems recently may have somethign to do with the fact that Microsoft has started selling cloud storage that it pushes from teh save Document area of its office products and sells bundled with Office 365. It seems good, and gives me a cheerful ejected message, but I got the read only problem again. I use a disk ejector software to ensure that I really do eject the disk properly. I wish SanDisk would create a cool diagnostic and repair tool that writes to everywhere and hard formats anything! I have been using external drives for many years but it is just in the past couple of years, and certainly since Windows 8
It is the third external 128GB drive that I have bought this year and this is about the 5th time I have had a read only problem. I very much doubt that there is anything wrong with the card or that the supplier would give me a new card after a couple of weeks. I am in Japan so I can’t send it to the USA. Then just right click on the USB drive and then Eject before removing the USB drive from the computer. The scan takes a while to complete after it completes close the scan window. I don’t push the card into a Card reader slot but keep it in its own card reader which is tightly shut with a cap and electrical tape so I see no reason why the switch should have made any difference. Right-click on the USB drive in My Computer and then go to Properties. Today toggling the write protection switch worked! This is bizzare since if it were the switch it should not have allowed me to format for x percent using the above tools. I also have some free software called RMPrebUSB which has a write zeros to the boot area but I have not tried it.
There is alonger list here mentioning all the above and some I have not tried (NO affiliation) I also tried deleting the partion using the command line (I deleted it but to no affect!) Got to the end and then said could not finish. Micrrosot Drive manager Start > Run > diskmgmt.msc
Stopped part way – all the way? – but in the past just runnig its check has fixed things. I am having the dreaded “Read Only” problem on a variety of drives.ĭid not recognise my SanDisk SD card - it is for *USB drives* – but has worked to allow formatting of a stuck in Read only mode drive in the past.ĭid not work got to 7% and stopped, though it is the tool recommended by SanDiskĪuthorsoft’s Format Utility nagware with $10 pro version untried)