Usb Dongle

[fbg40]

Just a quick question - have a 4Gb Integral USB Drive that I want to clear/format. All I get is a message saying that "This disk is write protected" - how can I get rid of this please ??
FBG40

[barry1010]

Do you mean a dongle which is a sort of usb modem for connecting to the internet or a flash drive (memory stick)?
If it's a flash drive have a look at the side for a teeny little switch.

[Arksided]

I think he may have found the switch.

[TheChair]

A dongle is any self-contained device that plugs into any port on a computer - including, but not limited to, WiFi adaptor, flash drive, wireless or Bluetooth adaptor. But as Barry1010 says, USB flash drives sometimes have a little write-protect switch.

[fbg40]

Thanks for your replies. This is just a USB flash drive but there is no write protection switch on it.
FBG40

[Buenchico]

If there's definitely no switch, you're probably going to have to dig deep into the Registry Editor on your computer to fix the problem:
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/storage/remove-write-protection-usb-3633096/

Given that a 4GB memory stick typically only costs around four quid on eBay though (usually with free p&p), I doubt that it's worth devoting too much time to the problem!

[Buenchico]

PS: As the problem might be related to the settings within your computer's registry, if you've got access to a different computer it might be worth trying to format the drive with it.

[fbg40]

B
Many thanks - have a few other "dongles" so will probably ditch it !!
FBG40

[fbg40]

Last post on this one - tried other "dongles" which turned out to be fine - troublesome one is now in the bin. Thanks again for all the advice.
FBG40