Here are two Windows .cmd batch file scripts that will enable you to make your removable flash drives read-only and writeable again.
Reasons for doing this?:
These scripts basically perform a simple series of DISKPART
commands, namely ATTRIBUTES DISK SET READONLY
and ATTRIBUTES DISK CLEAR READONLY
, upon the drive which the scripts are executed from.
They must be Run As Administrator -- Right-click the files in Windows Explorer.
ProTip: You obviously can't create or modify files when your drive is set to read-only. So, um, copy both files before testing this.
Additionally, some drives may appear like files are being written to them, but you're probably just seeing Windows write caching. Eject and reinsert the drive to confirm that changes are impossible and discarded while the drive is set to read-only.
file: disk-readonly.cmd
@rem disk-readonly.cmd script by Raccoon 2016
@rem DISKPART: ATTR DISK SET/CLEAR READONLY
@echo off
fltmc >nul 2>&1 && ( goto admin ) || ( goto noadmin )
:noadmin
echo This script must be 'Run As Administrator'.
echo Exiting...
echo.
pause
exit
:admin
echo Setting drive %~d0 to READONLY...
echo ^>^> ARE YOU SURE? ^<^<
echo.
pause
(echo sel vol %~d0 & echo list vol & echo attr disk set readonly & echo detail disk) | diskpart
echo.
echo.
if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 (
echo SUCCESS! Drive %~d0 should now be READONLY.
) else (
echo Failure setting %~d0 to READONLY.
)
echo.
pause end-of-script
file: disk-writeable.cmd
@rem disk-writeable.cmd script by Raccoon 2016
@rem DISKPART: ATTR DISK SET/CLEAR READONLY
@echo off
fltmc >nul 2>&1 && ( goto admin ) || ( goto noadmin )
:noadmin
echo This script must be 'Run As Administrator'.
echo Exiting...
echo.
pause
exit
:admin
echo Setting drive %~d0 to WRITEABLE...
echo ^>^> ARE YOU SURE? ^<^<
echo.
pause
(echo sel vol %~d0 & echo list vol & echo attr disk clear readonly & echo detail disk) | diskpart
echo.
echo.
if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 (
echo SUCCESS! Drive %~d0 should now be WRITEABLE.
) else (
echo Failure setting %~d0 to WRITEABLE.
)
echo.
pause end-of-script
Enjoy!