What is ‘Media is write protected’ error in Windows 10?
If you are facing ‘Media is write protected Windows 10’ error while trying to perform certain actions on the hard drive/removable drive like copying a file to the USB removable Flash drive, then you are in right place for the solution. Here, you will be guided with easy steps/methods to resolve the error. Let’s starts the discussion.
‘Write Protection’: It is feature of hardware device or software program to prevent new information from being written or old information being changed. It means the hardware device or software program with enabled ‘Write Protection’ feature doesn’t allow you to write anything inside it means you can copy any files to Write Protected device and can’t delete or change inside it also.
For example, if you have removable USB flash drive with ‘Write Protection’ enabled feature, then you can’t change or modify the data inside it and can’t include or add any data inside the drive. In sort, the drive with Write Protected is read-only drive means you can read the information but nothing can be added or modified.
Several users reported that they faced ‘Media is write protected Windows 10’ while they tried to copy any files to their removable USB flash drive. This error prevents you from performing certain actions of the drive like you can’t copy file to this drive. One possible reason behind this error is your removable USB flash drive is set not to allow you to write the disk drive. You can change the settings to allow writing the files in order to fix the issue.
Another possible reason behind the issue can be disk drive space that is not enough to perform copy operation or other actions on the drive. You can try to free up some storage space on the drive in order resolve the issue. This error can also be occurred if the file you are trying to copying/moving is set to ‘Read-Only’ file. You can uncheck the ‘Read-Only’ option in your file’s properties in order to resolve the issue.
‘Media is write protected’ error can also be occurred due to your device security settings that is preventing the ability to write files to removable disk. You can give proper access to the file in order to fix the issue. Also, the error can be occurred if drive is corrupted. In such case, you can format your drive and then try performing the actions on the drive that was causing the error. But before formatting, make sure all files stored in the drive you are formatting, is safe on some other media device. Let’s go for the solution.
How to Fix Media is write protected Windows 10?
Method 1: Fix ‘Media is write protected’ error with ‘PC Repair Tool’
‘PC Repair Tool’ is easy & quick way to find and fix BSOD errors, EXE errors, DLL errors, problems with programs/applications, malware or viruses issues, and other system issues with just few clicks.
Method 2: Run Full System Scan for malware or viruses in Windows 10 (Windows Defender Security)
Sometimes, this error can be occurred due to malware or viruses attacks in computer. You can try third-party antivirus software to find and remove malware in compute in order to fix the issue. Also, you can try Windows 10 build-in Windows Defender antivirus offers you to find and remove malware in computer. So, open the Windows Defender Tool via Windows Search and run Full System Scan. Once done, check if you can copy the file to the drive which causing the error.
Method 3: Run SFC Scan and CHKDSK Scan in Windows 10
Corrupting in System files and hard drives can be one possible reason behind the issue. You can run SFC Scan and CHKDSK scan in Windows 10 to repair system files and hard drive issues.
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + X’ keys on keyboard and select ‘Command Prompt as Administrator’
Step 2: Type ‘sfc /scannow’ command and hit ‘Enter’ key to execute
Step 3: Once executed, type ‘chkdsk C: /f’ command and hit ‘Enter’ key to execute
Step 3: Once executed, restart your computer and check if the error is resolved.
Method 4: Update Windows 10 OS
Outdated or corrupted Windows 10 OS could be another possible reason for the problem. You can update Windows OS to latest build in order to fix the issue. To do so, open ‘Settings’ App in Windows 10 and go to ‘Update & Security > Windows Update’ and click on ‘Check for updates’ button. Once updated, restart your computer and check if works.
Method 5: Clear temporary files and folders
Step 1: Type ‘Disk Cleanup’ in ‘Windows Search Box’ and open it from results appear
Step 2: Select a disk like ‘C:’ drive or other drive you want to clean. This tool will tell you how much space you can free up. You can delete temporary files and folders, and free up the space
Step 3: Select ‘Clean up system files’ button in the appeared window and wait finish the process.
Method 6: Restore your Windows 10
If the issue is still persist, then you can try to restore your computer to restore point when everything was working well.
Step 1: Type ‘System Restore’ in Windows Search and open in it from results appear
Step 2: In the opened window, click on ‘Next’, select a restore point according to date & time when everything was working well, and then select ‘Next > Finish’ to start restoring process
Step 3: Once done, restart your computer and check if you can write on problematic drive without any issue.
Method 7: Fix Media is write protected error using Registry Editor
Step 1: Press ‘Windows + R’ keys on keyboard, type ‘regedit’ in the opened ‘Run’ dialog box and hit ‘OK’ button to open ‘Registry Editor’
Step 2: Now, navigate to following path in left pane of registry editor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Currentcontrolset\Control\StorageDevicePolicies
Step 3: If you can’t find ‘StorageDevicePolices’ key in right pane, then right-click on empty space in right pane and select ‘New > DWORD (32-bit) Value’ and name the key to ‘StorageDevicePolices’
Step 4: Now, Right-click on ‘StorageDevicePolices’ folder and select ‘New > DWORD (32-bit) Value’
Step 5: After that, rename the created DWORD folder into WriteProtect > Double-click WriteProtect and change the value data to ‘0’ and hit ‘OK’ and then close Registry
Step 6: If the key is already available, then select it and right-click on ‘WriteProtect’ key in right pane to edit and replace the value data 1 with 0. And save the changes
Step 7: Now, restart ‘Windows Explorer’ or ‘File Explorer’ and check if the error is resolved.
Method 8: Remove Write Protection from the drive using Command Prompt
Step 1: Open ‘Command Prompt as Administrator’ using ‘Method 3’
Step 2: Type the following commands one-by-one and hit ‘Enter’ key after each to execute. Here, you need to replace ‘X’ under ‘Select volume X’ with your drive volume number
DISKPART
LIST VOLUME
SELECT VOLUME X
ATTRIBUTES DISK CLEAR READONLY
Step 3: Once executed, check if the error is resolved.
Method 9: Format the drive
If the issue is still persist, then you can try to fix the issue by formatting the drive that is causing the error. But before that you should make sure you have backup of your personal data stored in your problematic drive on some safe space. To format the drive, open ‘File Explorer’, find and right-click on your removable drive, select ‘Format’ and start formatting. Once done, check if the error is resolved.
Conclusion
I am sure this post helped you on How to fix Media is write protected Windows 10 with several easy steps/methods. You can read & follow our instructions to resolve the issue. That’s all. For any suggestions or queries, please write on comment box below.
