How to Format a Write–Protected Pen Drive

Insert your write-protected pen drive into an open USB slot on your Windows computer. , Click on “Start” and type “cmd.exe” into the search field. , Double-click on Command Prompt to launch the program. , Type “diskpart,” then press Enter on your...

18 Steps 1 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Insert your write-protected pen drive into an open USB slot on your Windows computer.

    If unsure which number is associated with your pen drive, refer to the disk size listed.

    For example, if your pen drive is 2 GB, select the disk number next to the drive with 2 GB specified as the disk size. ,,,, Alternately, you can replace “fat32” with “ntfs” if you plan on only using your pen drive with Windows devices. , Your pen drive will now be formatted, and will no longer be write-protected.
  2. Step 2: Click on “Start” and type “cmd.exe” into the search field.

  3. Step 3: Double-click on Command Prompt to launch the program.

  4. Step 4: Type “diskpart

  5. Step 5: ” then press Enter on your keyboard.

  6. Step 6: Type “list disk

  7. Step 7: ” then press Enter.

  8. Step 8: Type “select disk x” -- with x being the number of your pen drive as listed in Command Prompt -- then press Enter.

  9. Step 9: Type “attributes disk clear readonly

  10. Step 10: ” then press Enter.

  11. Step 11: Type “clean

  12. Step 12: ” then press Enter.

  13. Step 13: Type “create partition primary

  14. Step 14: ” then press Enter.

  15. Step 15: Type “format fs=fat32

  16. Step 16: ” then press Enter.

  17. Step 17: Type “exit

  18. Step 18: ” then press Enter.

Detailed Guide

If unsure which number is associated with your pen drive, refer to the disk size listed.

For example, if your pen drive is 2 GB, select the disk number next to the drive with 2 GB specified as the disk size. ,,,, Alternately, you can replace “fat32” with “ntfs” if you plan on only using your pen drive with Windows devices. , Your pen drive will now be formatted, and will no longer be write-protected.

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J

Joan Bell

Enthusiastic about teaching home improvement techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.

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