Write Protection on USB Drive

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Guest

I have a MicroAdvantage 128MB USB drive that has suddenly become write
protected. All of the files and folders are now locked, and can't be
deleted. Changing properties is not allowed ("media write protected").
Format doesn't work either, and I can't reset attributes using attrib in cmd
mode. The problem seems to be with the drive, not the individual files.

Nothing obvious has been done to the drive. Same problem on two different
systems. I has been used many, many times without problem. Any ideas?

Using XP SP2
 
mbicking said:
I have a MicroAdvantage 128MB USB drive that has suddenly become write
protected. All of the files and folders are now locked, and can't be
deleted. Changing properties is not allowed ("media write protected").
Format doesn't work either, and I can't reset attributes using attrib in cmd
mode. The problem seems to be with the drive, not the individual files.

Nothing obvious has been done to the drive. Same problem on two different
systems. I has been used many, many times without problem. Any ideas?

Using XP SP2
Click to expand...

There is normally a write-protect switch that is built into the
USB pendrive. Locate it and verify that it has been switched to
the "protect" position.
 
Some have a switch, but they also use FAT and they number of
files is important in the root directory. There is a limit
of 100 files with 8.3 names and since you may have some long
file names, many fewer are allowed.

Can you copy the files to your hard drive? Can you alter
the properties then?

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....
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|
| mbicking wrote:
|
| > I have a MicroAdvantage 128MB USB drive that has
suddenly become write
| > protected. All of the files and folders are now locked,
and can't be
| > deleted. Changing properties is not allowed ("media
write protected").
| > Format doesn't work either, and I can't reset attributes
using attrib in cmd
| > mode. The problem seems to be with the drive, not the
individual files.
| >
| > Nothing obvious has been done to the drive. Same
problem on two different
| > systems. I has been used many, many times without
problem. Any ideas?
| >
| > Using XP SP2
| >
| >
|
| There is normally a write-protect switch that is built
into the
| USB pendrive. Locate it and verify that it has been
switched to
| the "protect" position.
 
Am I looking for a physical switch? If so, I don't think this drive has one.
If it is a software switch, I would need to know how to access it. There
are no additional files beyond what has been added.

:
 
Thanks for the suggestions. The file attributes can be changed after moving
to another drive. It seems the drive is write protected. I will look at
some of the utilities you suggested.

Thanks again.

Jim Macklin said:
Some have a switch, but they also use FAT and they number of
files is important in the root directory. There is a limit
of 100 files with 8.3 names and since you may have some long
file names, many fewer are allowed.

Can you copy the files to your hard drive? Can you alter
the properties then?

Fixboot, Fix FAT16/FAT32/NTFS partition boot sector, Repair
boot ...
Partition Table Doctor will automatically check and
repair the boot sector of the partition.
www.ptdd.com/fixboot.htm - 17k - Cached - Similar
pages

Free disk repair downloads
Hard disk repair, bad sector, logical bad sector
repair tool, disk repair utility ... supports FAT16, FAT32
file systems, and recovers data from disk crash, ...
www.freedownloadscenter.com/Search/disk_repair.html -
48k - Cached - Similar pages

Free Disk Maintenance and Repair Utilities downloads: Top 2
Disk Maintenance and Repair Utilities at Free
Downloads Center. ... supports FAT16, FAT32 file systems,
and recovers data from disk crash, deleted files and ...
www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/Disk_Maintenance_and_Repair_Utilities/index2.html
- 37k - Nov 24, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.freedownloadscenter.com ]

Google Directory - Computers > Software > Disk Management >
Error ...
Repair and recovery utilities to help you recover
crashed Windows NT/2000 ... Shareware FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS
data recovery tools, which allow copying data ...
www.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Disk_Management/Error_Checking_and_Repair/
- 57k - Cached - Similar pages

Open Directory - Computers: Software: Disk Management: Error
....
Recover files from corrupt FAT16 and FAT32 volumes,
rebuild MBR and partition table information from scratch.
DPO Software - New hard drive repair and ...
dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Disk_Management/Error_Checking_and_Repair/
- 24k - Cached - Similar pages



|
| mbicking wrote:
|
| > I have a MicroAdvantage 128MB USB drive that has
suddenly become write
| > protected. All of the files and folders are now locked,
and can't be
| > deleted. Changing properties is not allowed ("media
write protected").
| > Format doesn't work either, and I can't reset attributes
using attrib in cmd
| > mode. The problem seems to be with the drive, not the
individual files.
| >
| > Nothing obvious has been done to the drive. Same
problem on two different
| > systems. I has been used many, many times without
problem. Any ideas?
| >
| > Using XP SP2
| >
| >
|
| There is normally a write-protect switch that is built
into the
| USB pendrive. Locate it and verify that it has been
switched to
| the "protect" position.
Click to expand...
 
Hope you get the files all recovered. A new drive is cheap
these days, 1 GB is probably less than what you paid for the
128 MB drive. Suggest that you create one or two data
folders on any thumb drive and then store all files in
those, not the root.


message
| Thanks for the suggestions. The file attributes can be
changed after moving
| to another drive. It seems the drive is write protected.
I will look at
| some of the utilities you suggested.
|
| Thanks again.
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote:
|
| > Some have a switch, but they also use FAT and they
number of
| > files is important in the root directory. There is a
limit
| > of 100 files with 8.3 names and since you may have some
long
| > file names, many fewer are allowed.
| >
| > Can you copy the files to your hard drive? Can you
alter
| > the properties then?
| >
| > Fixboot, Fix FAT16/FAT32/NTFS partition boot sector,
Repair
| > boot ...
| > Partition Table Doctor will automatically check
and
| > repair the boot sector of the partition.
| > www.ptdd.com/fixboot.htm - 17k - Cached - Similar
| > pages
| >
| > Free disk repair downloads
| > Hard disk repair, bad sector, logical bad sector
| > repair tool, disk repair utility ... supports FAT16,
FAT32
| > file systems, and recovers data from disk crash, ...
| >
www.freedownloadscenter.com/Search/disk_repair.html -
| > 48k - Cached - Similar pages
| >
| > Free Disk Maintenance and Repair Utilities downloads:
Top 2
| > Disk Maintenance and Repair Utilities at Free
| > Downloads Center. ... supports FAT16, FAT32 file
systems,
| > and recovers data from disk crash, deleted files and ...
| >
www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/Disk_Maintenance_and_Repair_Utilities/index2.html
| > - 37k - Nov 24, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages
| > [ More results from www.freedownloadscenter.com ]
| >
| > Google Directory - Computers > Software > Disk
Management >
| > Error ...
| > Repair and recovery utilities to help you recover
| > crashed Windows NT/2000 ... Shareware FAT16, FAT32 and
NTFS
| > data recovery tools, which allow copying data ...
| >
www.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Disk_Management/Error_Checking_and_Repair/
| > - 57k - Cached - Similar pages
| >
| > Open Directory - Computers: Software: Disk Management:
Error
| > ....
| > Recover files from corrupt FAT16 and FAT32
volumes,
| > rebuild MBR and partition table information from
scratch.
| > DPO Software - New hard drive repair and ...
| >
dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Disk_Management/Error_Checking_and_Repair/
| > - 24k - Cached - Similar pages
| >
| >
| >
| > | > |
| > | mbicking wrote:
| > |
| > | > I have a MicroAdvantage 128MB USB drive that has
| > suddenly become write
| > | > protected. All of the files and folders are now
locked,
| > and can't be
| > | > deleted. Changing properties is not allowed ("media
| > write protected").
| > | > Format doesn't work either, and I can't reset
attributes
| > using attrib in cmd
| > | > mode. The problem seems to be with the drive, not
the
| > individual files.
| > | >
| > | > Nothing obvious has been done to the drive. Same
| > problem on two different
| > | > systems. I has been used many, many times without
| > problem. Any ideas?
| > | >
| > | > Using XP SP2
| > | >
| > | >
| > |
| > | There is normally a write-protect switch that is built
| > into the
| > | USB pendrive. Locate it and verify that it has been
| > switched to
| > | the "protect" position.
| >
| >
| >
 
I was able to recover all the files; they are all read-only. I actually
wanted to delete some of them. And all the files already were in folders.

I tried some of the free utilities, but they were not any help. However,
the undelete program did indicate a large number of deleted files (lots of
previous use), so I'm wondering if they are taking up space in the FAT, and I
have reached some limit. However, the program isn't able to wipe out the
entries, because of the write protection.

You are correct that it's probably time to just get a bigger drive, but this
one still worked, until now. Thanks for your help, and if you have any other
ideas, let me know.

Thanks.
 
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