tring to format an old USB flash stick - write protected?

brightonman123

have copies files I want, but for some reason computer says no, when I try to re format this stick,, cannot see any settings for turning this off (or even on!)

danthemoneysavingman

try looking at it with minitool partition wizard, its free software.


how have you tried to reformat it?


if it has files on it you want, don't format it! etc


what make/model is the usb drive? are there any little sliders on it at all that could write-protect it?


or find "take ownership" and reclaim ownership of the drive

gjchester

brightonman123 wrote: »

have copies files I want, but for some reason computer says no, when I try to re format this stick,, cannot see any settings for turning this off (or even on!)

I'm not sure what you are doing.


If you mean you are trying to copy files to the stick then if it's saying it is write protected then either there's a slider on the case (old ones used to have them) or its stuffed and needs discarding.


If your trying to copy files from the stick to your PC, and the computer says the stick needs reformatting then its shot, and short of trying file recovery tools or services they are lost.
Don't be tempted to try and re-format it and use it more, if its had issues it will in the future, and USB sticks are cheap enough to throw away at the first sign of corruption.

henm2

Use Gparted http://gparted.org/ which is a longstanding free partitioning and formatting software.
I've fixed quite a few USB sticks using it.
If you are trying to recover files from a USB stick then before using the above try using Recuva https://www.piriform.com/recuva

System

Hi

A long time ago, ....

USB sticks were made that mis-reported their capacity and couldn't be reformatted.

I had a couple, and the amount of work involved meant they were trashed.

A Fake usb flash drive, is a memory pen stick that has been digitally altered – reprogrammed to lie to an operating system about the real size of it’s flash nand storage chip. Once you exceed true capacity of the chip, you begin to loose files. People do not suspect the real reason, thinking it an error in the data transfer. Only when it happens again and again do they suspect there is something more…

paddyrg

What size is it, how old is it, how much did it cost? People cut corners a lot by buying fake memory cards from eBay and unreliable dealers, and that could well have happened here. Considering how cheap you can get legit memory these days, even from Maplin or PC World, maybe give up on a bad job and just get something usable?

brightonman123

I just want to empty out existing files.. cannot delete anything, so tried a reformat, same prob.. Its a simple usb stick, no protect tabs!

John_Gray

If it doesn't work as a proper USB Flash Drive, cut your losses and dispose of it sensibly.

Strider590

The way I read this is the OP can't get to the files and wants to format it, but can't figure out how.

I'm going to agree with posts above, if it's misbehaving then get a new one. Much like a dieing car battery, people keep jumping and charging a knackered battery until it either leaves them stranded or blows up in their face.

Don't risk your data on a dodgy flash drive and never use one to backup important files.

Laz123

Flash drives are usually in Fat32 file format. If you convert it to ntfs if might work. It did for me http://www.tweakandtrick.com/2012/02/convert-fat32-to-ntfs-file-system.html

Kendall80

Laz123 wrote: »

Flash drives are usually in Fat32 file format. If you convert it to ntfs if might work. It did for me http://www.tweakandtrick.com/2012/02/convert-fat32-to-ntfs-file-system.html

I have to do this with every stick I buy and change the minimum segment size alloc. Large files just wont copy over otherwise.


However, if you are having trouble formatting the stick I don't believe you'll be able to change FAT32 to NTFS.


They're so cheap now though to the point of becoming disposable. I picked up a 16gb for £5 and a 32 Gb USB3 for just £10 recently.