Hi ,I having 128 Mb flash drive of Frontech company.for some unknown reason that showing "write protected ,disable it to use" message is coming.I tried several ways but not succeeded.how to disable that write protected flash drive.presently it allows to copy from the drive but not to that drive and not also accepting the deleting or formatting the drive.how to overcome the problem.
Thanks for any help.
Bye,
ranga rao.

Is there any switch on the flash drive? Is the drive full? If not it might be an idea to try uninstalling and reinstalling the driver. To do that try:

Plug in the flash drive
Right click on My Computer
Choose Properties
Switch to the hardware tab
There should be a button like "Device Manager". Click on this.
Find your flash drive on this list. Right click on it and choose uninstall.
Unplug the flash drive, wait a few seconds then plug it back in.
You should now get a new hardware wizard dialog from which you can reinstall the drivers.

I have a similar flash drive from Transcend. It has a slide switch on the drive that turns write protection on or off. As far as I know, the only way to write protect such a drive is with a switch on the device itself.

Thanks for your replies ,but my flash drive doesn't have any switch to enable / disable the write protect.moreover in win 2k/xp the drivers for the flash device are coming default.how to uninstall those default(generic) device drivers.Iam using win xp .
Waiting for help.
Bye,
ranga rao

Did you get drivers with the flash pen? If so it might be best to update the drivers that come with Windows to those. Do that by:

Click on Start
Right click on My Computer and choose Properties
Choose the hardware tab
Click the Device Manager button
Find your flash drive on this list somewhere.
Right click on it, choose Update Driver.
If you get some Windows Update driver search thing, click no.
You'll be asked if you want to install the driver automatically or from a list/location. Choose the location option.
Then make sure the search looks on the disk the drivers were provided to you on. The rest should be pretty clear.

thanks for ur replies ,but my flash drive doesn't have any switch to enable / disable the write protect.moreover in win 2k/xp the drivers for the flash device are coming default.how to uninstall those default(generic) device drivers.Iam using win xp .
waiting for help.
bye,
ranga rao

I don't think it's a drivers issue because I don't think that the generic drivers offer that feature.

Have you tried looking for the manufacturer's WEB site to see if there are instructions for how to turn the write protect off? I still think there is some switch on the device itself.

How did you get the information on the drive in the first place?

Hi,
This particular drive automatically write protects anything... you can't change it!
Here is a link:

http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=46816&cat_id=611

Please go to the link, scroll down to beneath the picture of the drive, and read the explanation on how you can change the password, to be able to read it. But, as the steps indicate, if you change the password, it will erase everything on the drive !
Best wishes,
fredg

Fred - that link doesn't work for me. Anyone else having issues?

Either way - there's you solution. Copy everything off the flash drive, edit what you need, wipe it, then put it back.

Hi,
This particular drive automatically write protects anything.....you can't change it!!
Here is a link:

http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=46816&cat_id=611

Please go to the link, scroll down to beneath the picture of the drive, and read the explanation on how you can change the password, to be able to read it. But, as the steps indicate, if you change the password, it will erase everything on the drive !
Best wishes,
fredg

Hmm, I tried the link and it didn't work for me. Since the only info we have on this drive is that its "128 Mb flash drive of Frontech company" I question how anyone can be sure what model it is and what features it has. I also question why a drive like that would be made Write Once. The whole purpose of such drives is to provide portable storage. Making it Write Once would seem to negate much of its value and marketability.

Hi, LT,
The link I gave worked fine for me; tried it again from this site; went straight to the website.
Here is a copy and paste from the site:

"The one advantage this drive has, is that it provides for secure storage - the drive is password-protected. But it can also work against you! In case you happen to lose the password, which you use to access the drive, there is a utility provided for you to change the password. But in the process, you will lose all data, so beware!"

The drive is password protected; can't be changed!
Best wishes,
fredg

According to the site, some sort of software utility should have come with it so you could reset the device's password, but of course that will clear the device. If you have a CD or something with it, try using that.

It seems as though it automatically write protects - no option of turning it off - so if you are able to reset it, make sure you don't forget the password!

Well the link worked on my home machine. Still no assurance that the asker has the Genius (boy is that a misnomer) model. But there are several questions, all unanswered, about this write protect issue on that site.

This looks like a device to stay far away from.

Hi,
When I said "the drive is password protected; can't be changed", was saying one thing and meaning another!
The PASSWORD can be changed, but it will erase everything on the Drive.
The fact that a password HAS to be used, is true.
The drive itself automatically asks for a password; no way around NOT using a password.
There is no way to disable the write-protected feature of the Drive; it is built-in when manufactured.
fredg

Hi ,I tried in all respects ,but not succeeded.
I contacted the Frontech company ,but a strange response came from them,that is "on their name another company from Delhi ,India manufacturing that products and gave their web address",but that was not working.
I tried with the software came along with the drive and tried even to format the drive ,but for that thing also that asking password again and refusing to format.
I tried on uninstalling and installing the drivers ,but that also not worked .
The link provided by Scott Gem is not working.
I think that drive should be thrown away.
Bye.

Hi ,I having 128 Mb flash drive of Frontech company.for some unknown reason that showing "write protected ,disable it to use" message is coming.I tried several ways but not succeeded.how to disable that write protected flash drive.presently it allows to copy from the drive but not to that drive and not also accepting the deleting or formatting the drive.how to overcome the problem.
Thanks for any help.
Bye,
envirotech.[/QUOTE]

Hi ,I having 128 Mb flash drive of Frontech company.for some unknown reason that showing "write protected ,disable it to use" message is coming.I tried several ways but not succeeded.how to disable that write protected flash drive.presently it allows to copy from the drive but not to that drive and not also accepting the deleting or formatting the drive.how to overcome the problem.
Thanks for any help.
Bye,
envirotech.[/quote]

Some drives have a slide that makes them write protected. Others its done in software. I suggest going to Frontech's web site and checking for a manual for your drive that will give you instructions.

HI friends.
I am also having the same problem of write protected.
"How to disable the Write Protected 128 Mb pen drive (frontech - Genius Drive) USB FLASH DRIVE "

Did you try the solutions mentioned?

hi all
I have the same problem with LG 512 FLASH MEMORY but I know the cause of te problem it is due virus (autorun .inf ) but many anti virus ask me to remove the write protection to remove the virus . what can I DO ? PLEASE

I just wanrted to thank LTheobald. Having tried several other avenues suggested by various websites, his worked a dram and was so easy.