My nephew loaded some music from his computer onto a "stick" for me. I transferred it to my computer but cannot erase the "stick" because it is somehow protected.

He's with a band, and it's his music, so this is not a copyright issue.

Is it possible to somehow remove the "lock" on that stick or am I doomed to spend the rest of my life with several hours of his music on the "stick"?

(Sorry, I don't know the proper terms.)

What happens when you try to "format" the stick ?

Have you checked the properties of the files? Are they write protected ?

YES! Protected! I am able to erase everything on the stick except for a rather large "protected" file. I didn't know I could try to format the stick to get rid of it. It appears to be Eric Clapton albums (of all things). I have no idea why/how he copied them onto the stick, unless he was comparing his music to Clapton's.

As a big Clapton fan... well, anyway, yes, it's protected.

YES! Protected! I am able to erase everything on the stick except for a rather large "protected" file. I didn't know I could try to format the stick to get rid of it. It appears to be Eric Clapton albums (of all things). I have no idea why/how he copied them onto the stick, unless he was comparing his music to Clapton's.

As a big Clapton fan ... well, anyway, yes, it's protected.

What kind of stick is it? Does it have a name and size on it?

Some do have a tab to manually write protect it. If your not worried about that file/s. Then just format to start new.

Judy, you know these "sticks" are so easy to get at any store? Is there a reason for needing to get rid of this info to reuse the "stick?" Or would you consider buying a new one for $5?

As I recall it was more than $5 - it's a PNY, 64GNB. All that was on it was the music; now all that is on it (I erased what I could) is Eric Clapton.

I'll try reformatting.

I figure why buy a new stick if I can use this "old" one.

As I recall it was more than $5 - it's a PNY, 64GNB. All that was on it was the music; now all that is on it (I erased what I could) is Eric Clapton.

I'll try reformatting.

I figure why buy a new stick if I can use this "old" one.

64 GB is a good sized one. Its worth keeping.