Unlocking my USB 'read only'

Hardware Support
1

I did find, and tried to follow, a previous forum post -

"Can't use my USB. Read-only file system?"

But got lost in the daisy chain of instructions AND that is a locked post so I'm creating a 'new' question here to see if I can get this USB stick UNlocked from Read-only. (short of taking a hammer to it - lol)

I did look at diskdigger.org but that is where the wheels fell off the cart -
I see diskdigger.exe in my download files. but when I try to put this into the terminal - sudo mono diskdigger.exe - it says no such file or directory exists.

Its amazing to me that a 'simple' USB device can become 'read only' but can't as simply be changed back to normal operational mode.

Any hints will be greatly appreciated.

2

I have stumbled upon this myself.

I was on windows 11 back then, so i installed EaseUS Partition Master. Select the USB drive and format it with the proper file system and then i was good to go.

The issue for me was Balena Etcher, so i won't be using that anymore. This happened 6 times in a row, which is why i figured it was BEtcher ^^

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Thanks for your feedback freshjeff - but I am so NOT wanting to re-format my USB since then I would lose all the files on it that I want to keep!

I'm pretty sure that the USB stick got messed up by (cuss words) Windows which sadly cripples along with a decent and SIMPLE photo editing program that I use now and then. The problem came when that Windows (7) program would NOT 'eject' the USB stick and probably messed up files when I finally did the 'under achiever release' (pulled it OUT).

But what gives Windows the right to READ ONLY the entire USB stick?? (muttering to self again).

So here I am and slowly grinding teeth in search of path back to usability for files so I CAN back them up and - perhaps?!? - continue using this hunk of storage media . . .

4

You could copy them to the internal hard drive of your computer, format the USB drive, and move the files back to it when it's fixed

Read-only should still allow to copy files from it to outside

3 Likes
5

When You can copy the Files like @Sorro suggested, You could use DiskPart in Windows to make the Stick usable again.

6

I will give that a try Sorro. Fingers crossed it will work! Ponce - I only have Zorin on this computer, the Windows 7 laptop I have is very limited. I tried to use DiskPart on it and could not find the 'unlock' there that was suggested in one of the sites I've looked at.

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It isn't directly an unlock. It is more like a complete delete and reset. That is the Reason why I wrote this with ''copy the Files''. You would first copy the Files, then I could give You the steps that You need and then You could pack the Files back to the Stick.

8

Been slow to get back to this task for a few reasons - want to buy NEW USB sticks and transfer all files to one.

At first I would not even copy /transfer a file off of the (bad) stick. I then changed the Properties (Share) to 'all' and was able to move a file to my Desktop. I could then attach that (photo) file to an email and it sent fine. However I still could NOT 'save' that attachment. So I am a bit hesitant to do all my (photo) files until I can return my ability to do with those as I want. Grrr computers deciding for me :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Could there be a hang up regarding what file system type is used on the USB stick? If I reformat the previous (old) stick, which choice is best?

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From linux, any device manager would do (gparted, kde partition manager, gnome disks...): you open it, select the usb drive and it should say the filesystem used

For example, this is how my usb drive looks with the kde partition manager, where the usb drive uses the ntfs filesystem:

looking at filesystem with kde partition manager
looking at filesystem with kde partition manager1080×348 29.5 KB

Windows's own disk manager can do the same if I remember correctly

If you only plan to use the usb drive on linux systems, I found ext4 to be quite fast. HOWEVER, if you plan to use the usb drive on both, windows and linux, ntfs should be fine, as windows can't read ext4. I'm unfamiliar with other filesystems, but those two work well, so that's what I recommend: ext4 if it's only for linux, ntfs if you want to keep compatibility with windows

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10

If You want to have it open and Your Stick isn't bigger than 32GB the FAT32 Fomat wouldn't be a bad Choice I think.

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For that format, it also matters the size of the files saved. Also, the limit isn't 32 GB. FAT32 supports up to 2 TB in partition size, but individual files cannot be larger than 4 GB. So it mostly depends on what is the use case. For documents, images, and moderate-sized videos, it is a good option. For bigger movies, games or anything that takes more than 4 GB as an individual file, it won't work.

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12

Isn't this only with this ... how is it called ... FAT32+ Extension?

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I don't have big enough drive that I'm willing to format to test, but, after searching around a bit more, some websites say that the limit is 2 TB, while others say, as you said, 32 GB... while referring at FAT32 as FAT32 without mentioning any extension. So there seems to be a bit of confusion between website writers here...

All I can confirm for sure is the 4 GB file size limit, as I myself got that error half-way through moving a 7 GB iso to a 8 GB usb with fat32, but not with ntfs

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Yes, me too. I had that in the Past when I were moving a big File on a FAT32 Stick.

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I checked the usb sticks that I have and want to transfer to - both are formatted with FAT 32. I have been using an old Windows 7 laptop to edit photos since the photo editor program (PhotoStudio) is very simple to use and a free download.

I also did s search on 'FAT32 vs. ntfs and found this noted there -

"This means it only makes sense to use NTFS as your filing system if you know you are only going to be running Windows on a certain device and don’t need cross-compatibility with another OS like macOS or Linux."

So it seems that FAT32 is the right file type for me to use on USB sticks.

Now to tackle the FOUND.CHK files that are on the original (messed up) USB stick. I can look at some, but I can't delete those that turn out to be duplicates, nor can I rename/move those that I do want to save. Any ideas?

Thanks to all for your wonderful and helpful replies. This forum rocks!! :man_dancing:

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I did copy all the (image) files over to a new stick. They remain 'read only' so I am now ready to give a try to the 'steps that you [I] need to do when you [I] pack the files back to the stick."

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Yeah, I know. My English isn't the best. I only tried to say that I can give You a Step-by-Step Guide how You can wiping the USB Stick on Windows. But that would delete all Data on it.

So, if you now want to try it - I hope this will work - I will say again that after this all the Data on the Stick are gone! So ... let's begin:

Start into Windows and search for DiskPart. When you have found it, don't simply click on it. Make a right-click and choose the Option ''run as Administrator''

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You see that this isn't English; it is German. Please do not bother. The marked Options are DiskPart and Run as Administrator. It is important to run this as Administrator! When it is opened you should see a black Command Line Interface where DiskPart> stand. Type there list disk to show a List of Your Devices:

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In my case the List is pretty short because I only have my System Drive (that is the 0) and the USB Stick for Demonstartion (that is the 1). Depending on Your Hardware Configuration You can have more. Now comes an important Point: The Devices don't have Names, only these Numbers. so must must lookthat You find the right one. That You can check with the Storage size of Your Stick. In my Case this is 29GB.

When You have found the right one type sel disk [Number] what in my Case is the 1 so it is sel disk 1:

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You should get a confirmation that the specific Drive is selected. and now comes the Point of no return. With the following command all Data will be deleted!
To do that simply type clean and this should look like this:

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51848×1031 74.4 KB

This can take a Moment. After this type create partition primary to create a new primary Partition:

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After that type format fs=ntfs quick and this will format the Stick in the NTFS Format:

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The quick is important here because it that makes the Process faster. If You would forget it, it can take a long Time.

So, now Your Stick ist wiped and formated to the Standard Windows NTFS Format. To bring theStick in the FAT32 Format make a right-click on it and choose the Format-Option. Then You should get this Window:

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9512×890 18.6 KB

Choose there the FAT32 Format and the Fast Formatting Option and click on start and after that, that's it. I hope this will help You.

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18

Vielen Dank! Meine Deutschkenntnisse sind sehr gering, aber ich kann bei Bedarf einen Online-Übersetzer verwenden.

(Thank you very much! My German is very little, but I can use an online translator if need be. I will try this tomorrow when I have a more clear head.

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19

Whilst tidying my study I came across a forgotten USB I had brought home from work years ago that had stopped being recognised. Apps for disks have obviously advanced since that time. Solution? Well whilst the DE did not acknowledge the insertion of a USB device, GParted recognised it and unlike Windows 7, GParted offers FAT32. But first I deleted the partition on the drive, wrote a new partition table, then formatted to FAT32 and returned it to work yesterday. It was good to see my colleagues once more. You should also be aware you can download GParted as a live .iso and do everything the app version can do.

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I am ever so grateful for your assistance in this matter. I do not have, nor can I find, the DiskPart software. I tried Disks, GParted and KDE Partition Manager but right clicking would NOT show a 'run as Administrator' option. Any ideas?

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