Windows 10: Microsoft branded USB 4GB is permanently Read Only Write Protected

Years ago, I bought a Windows OS with licence loaded onto a USB on which the swivelling cover / USB male end protector was branded "Microsoft Be what's next". From memory, after loading, the content on the USB was wiped but the USB, which now showed no data = 4GB empty remained Read Only and Windows Format refused to format it so I could use it for general stuff. Zero Fill programs, like Maxtor's Powermax 4.23 and KillDisk won't touch it, using the CMD line as Administrator and following the advice on other forums of Device List etc. etc. until you can reset the Read Only parameter to 0 fail

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Microsoft branded USB 4GB is permanently Read Only Write Protected

Years ago, I bought a Windows OS with licence loaded onto a USB on which the swivelling cover / USB male end protector was branded "Microsoft Be what's next". From memory, after loading, the content on the USB was wiped but the USB, which now showed no data = 4GB empty remained Read Only and Windows Format refused to format it so I could use it for general stuff. Zero Fill programs, like Maxtor's Powermax 4.23 and KillDisk won't touch it, using the CMD line as Administrator and following the advice on other forums of Device List etc. etc. until you can reset the Read Only parameter to 0 fails every time, finding the Regedit key HKEY\LocalMachine\ etc. listed in other forums and ensuring its Read Only argument is also 0 changes nothing.

I have used a controller chip discoverer program that lists Vendor ID and Product ID so I could go to the Russian site and download the specific Vendor software (in my case the controller chip is an Alcor Taiwanese unit) and use it to change out the Read Only and then Format the USB. The Alcor software has identified the USB but still won't format it.

Does anyone in the Community (or at Microsoft) know what Microsoft did to their program carting USB's that makes it so hard to recover the USB for general use? Failing that can you access that controller chip's Firmware code from CMD so I can cycle through the lines of it until I get to the Read Only = 1 or whatever and change it to zero. I know it is only a crappy little 4GB USB 2.0 device and should be thrown away but I just don't like being beaten by a single digit in just one line of code. Many thanks in anticipation of a reply. Hank

 

How to format write protected usb pendrive?

How to format write protected usb pendrive?

tried all stesp from following list, but not sucessful.

Code: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-fix-write-protection-errors-on-a-usb-stick/[/quote]

 

USB devices getting write protected

Hi Imdad,

Some removable storage devices like USB flash drives or pen drive have write protection which is designed to help users prevent unexpected data loss by refusing to delete or format.

However, if you’re stuck with a write-protected USB drive that can’t be formatted. We recommend that you follow these steps on how to erase and format a write-protected USB flash drive and pen drive using the Regedit.exe tool in Windows. To do this,
follow the steps below:

• In the Search box, type regedit and press Enter.
• Navigate to the following folder:
  
  Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies

Double-click on the WriteProtect value in the right-hand pane of Regedit.exe. Change the Value data from 1 to 0 and click OK to save the change. Close Regedit and restart your computer. Connect your USB flash drive or pen drive again, and you should find the
write protection is removed and the device is no longer write protected.

Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection,
back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, refer to the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/322756.

Let us know if you need further assistance.