Windows 10: Best method for USB write blocking on Windows 10? StorageDevicePolicies/WriteProtect no...

One thing I do in Windows 7 all the time, is turn USB write blocking on and off. I do this with a shell command that sets this registry toggle on and off:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect


As I understand it, this is also often the method used by companies that want to prevent employees writing data to USB drives through Windows 7.


This method has been very reliable for me and an important part of my workflow when I back up family pictures. It's very reassuring to be able to access a giant photo archive drive as read only and know I have little chance of messing it up because I can't write to it, and yet, to also be able to turn the setting off to attach a drive I do need to write to.


At first I tried doing this in Windows 10, only to find that the setting doesn't always "take" after I've set it. It just doesn't seem to be reliable.


For instance, I might run the cmd to turn write protection on, see that it's right in the registry, and think things are fine. But then I plug in a drive... only to find that I am perfectly able to write to the drive, even though WriteProtect was set correctly when the drive was attached. This batch script worked 100% of the time in Windows 7, but it only works some percentage of the time in Windows 10.


I don't understand what has changed. Does one now need to reboot for the setting to take? Does it only affect drives the machine hasn't seen before, and "helpfully" remembers writability settings for drives it has seen before, etc.? In short, what has changed with how the StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect setting is interpreted, and why doesn't this setting work the way it used to?


What is the de rigeur, best practices, sanctioned way of accomplishing this in Windows 10? Is there a different registry key that does work reliably? What do companies that want to prevent employee USB data writing, do today in Windows 10?


Thanks!

:)

 

StorageDevicePolicies and UASP

Why do versions of Windows above 8.0 not respect the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect registry entry for devices which use the USB-Attached-SCSI driver?

When connecting a SATA drive through an ASMT 2115 adapter, I only get write-blocking if I connect it through a hub (the Device Instance Path starts
USBSTOR\\). If I connect the same drive through the same adapter directly to a port on the motherboard, it doesn't write-block (the Device Instance Path starts
SCSI\\).

Is there any way to work around this?

Also, why does it not work the same for both drivers?

Regards

 

Problems with write protect on a USB stick

Hi Richard,

Write protection is a setting that blocks any sort of modification or deletion of a file on a disc. There are workarounds that will allow you to remove this settings giving you the capability to modify, copy, or delete any files from your
USB drive. Please follow the instructions below:

Method 1: Regedit.exe

• Press Windows Key + R keys simultaneously, type "regedit" in Run dialog box and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• In the left pane, navigate here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control.
• In the left pane of this location, right click Control key and select
  New > Key. Name the new sub-key so created as StorageDevicePolicies. Now come to the right pane of this sub-key i.e. StorageDevicePolicies, right click and select New -> DWORD Value. Name the newly created DWORD as WriteProtect. In some cases, you
  might find that this DWORD under the sub-key already exists and the DWORD has a Value set to 1. Double-click on the DWORD to modify its Value data.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

USB Flash drive is write protected

Hi BobbyDoucette.

My name is Douglas and I am an Independent Advisor.

I would like to help you.

To solve your problem you have to keep in mind that you have to modify the windows registry if you modify something that you should not damage your operating system so just follow the steps as I will tell you now:

• First open the Windows start menu, and when you do, type the word Run. You will see that an application called Run also appears as a suggestion. Click on it to open the Windows launcher.

• Enter in Regedit

In this Windows launcher type regedit and press OK to enter the Windows Registry Editor. Before opening, Windows will ask you if you want to allow this application to make changes to the computer. Say yes, it is the way you can change the USB parameters.

• Registry Editor

In the registry editor navigate to the following location: HKEYLOCALMACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ StorageDevicePolicies (1). Once inside, in the panel on the right double click on WriteProtect (2), which is the value that controls the writing
on the USB.

• Value Information

When you double click on WriteProject a window will appear to edit the value. In it, change the value of the Value Information box by putting a 0, with which the protection will be disabled. Press OK to accept the changes in the value editor, after which you
will be able to exit the Windows registry.

• What to do if there is no 'StorageDevicePolicies'

New password

It may be the case that the StorageDevicePolicies folder does not exist, and if so you will have to create it manually. To do this, right click on the Control folder and choose the option New -> Password, putting the name StorageDevicePolicies to the new folder.

• New Value

Since you have created it from scratch, the StorageDevicePolicies folder will be empty. In that case, once you enter it, right click on the right panel and choose the option New -> Value of DWORD (32 bits), and to the value put the name WriteProtect. Once you
have created it double click on it and, as you would have if it had existed from the beginning, put a 0 in the Value Information box and press OK to accept.