Switch off write protection for USB sticks (or switch it on!)

windows vista262 thumb

When copying, moving or deleting files on a USB flash drive, Windows reports that you do not have sufficient write permissions? This is where USB write protection comes into play! You can easily switch this off or even activate it if you want to protect USB sticks from write access:

  1. First open the registry editor. To do this, press the two buttons "WINDOWS" and "R" at the same time. Now type the command "regedit" and click on "OK".Windows_Vista-262
  2. Now double-click on the keys "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlStorageDevicePolicies".Windows_Vista-263
  3. In the right-hand section of the window, double-click on the entry Windows_Vista-264 . Simply type the number "0" to switch off the write protection. The number "1" switches on the write protection!

The changes are active after a restart!

Sincerely,
Sandro Villinger

By Sandro Villinger

Founded Windows Tweaks as a teenager in the 90s. His helpful PC tricks made it Germany's most visited Windows site (back then this is what Sandro looked like). He then went on to write elsewhere, such as for PC-Praxis, Computer Bild and PCWorld in the USA. Microsoft also poached him from us. Now Sandro is back, finally sharing his tweaks here again. For a stress-free digital everyday life. You can reach Sandro via e-mail.