Disc is magically write protected....!?!?!?

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koretex

[H]ard|Gawd
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Sep 18, 2000
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Specs are in sig...but the meat of it is Vista Ultimatex64

I use an external WD 1TB drive connected via USB for storage. 2 days ago this drive became write protected out of the blue and I can't regain control :( Full control belongs to a long random string of numbers and letters now and anytime I try and change full control back to myself it pops up an error saying the disc is write protected an dI can't do that....WTF is going on!

I am running a virus scan now, but anyone got any ideas at all? I am new to Vista so I don't really know any tips and tricks yet :mad:
 
Can you try another computer?
Is there a physical lock switch on the drive?
Can you use the included tools on the drive to do anything?
 
ok first start a elevated command promt (admin rights)
run diskpart
lis dis (list disk)
look for the drive number beside the one you are looking for
sel dis * (select disk)
ATTRIBUTES disk read-only no
then "exit" to get out of diskpart
should be good to go after that
 
SpoonMaN-EQ said:
ok first start a elevated command promt (admin rights)
run diskpart
lis dis (list disk)
look for the drive number beside the one you are looking for
sel dis * (select disk)
ATTRIBUTES disk read-only no
then "exit" to get out of diskpart
should be good to go after that
Click to expand...

I love you man! It works now :)

Any clue on how this happened? and if I ever meet you in person the beer is on me!
 
i dont really have any ideas how it happend, any chance it was setup as a dynamic drive? not really a tell i just ran into this problem about a week ago at work and that drive was a dynamic.
 
the long string of letters and numbers was most likely the SID belonging to a username not on that computer.
did you let anybody borrow the drive?
or use it on another computer?
 
Alright bumping my old thread here because I am fed up! This same thing has happened to me several times since making this thread. Everytime it happens I just use the fix posted above (by the way "read only" always says "no" even though it is read only) and go about my merry way. The past few weeks it has gotten progressively worse to the point that it turns read only daily now...literally daily. I do the fix reboot and it'll work for a few hours before revertting back.

Anyone got any ideas at all what could be causing this? It is driving me nuts as this drive is my storage drive and used daily. I run AVG free for A/V and this is the only thing I can think that might be causing this. I haven't uninstalled it yet, but I will tonight.

Any ideas anyone?????

specs in sig are correct...
 
Not sure if this will fix your problem but it should be worth a try !
Can you copy the data on that drive somewhere else? If so then I would do that then do a lowlevel format on the drive using the drive manufacture's software.
That should take care of the problem, if it doesn't then you'll know that you have a bug in your system.
 
oldbrave said:
Not sure if this will fix your problem but it should be worth a try !
Can you copy the data on that drive somewhere else? If so then I would do that then do a lowlevel format on the drive using the drive manufacture's software.
That should take care of the problem, if it doesn't then you'll know that you have a bug in your system.
Click to expand...

nope can't do it, it is a 1TB drive that is a few GB away from being full :(
 
Turn off Simple File Sharing if it's turned on (open a folder, Tools -> Folder Options -> View -> Simple File Sharing, uncheck)

right-click on the drive, go to Sharing and Security
Security tab -> Advanced -> Owner tab
are you set to the owner?
 
j-sta said:
Turn off Simple File Sharing if it's turned on (open a folder, Tools -> Folder Options -> View -> Simple File Sharing, uncheck)

right-click on the drive, go to Sharing and Security
Security tab -> Advanced -> Owner tab
are you set to the owner?
Click to expand...


Thanks alot for the suggestion! It is working so far and hasn't reverted back to read only so fingers crossed :)

oh and fyi some random long string of numbers and letters was set to owner :confused:
 
koretex said:
oh and fyi some random long string of numbers and letters was set to owner :confused:
Click to expand...

did you purchase the drive new? refurbished? use it on a different computer, change usernames, or let somebody borrow it?

when you see a user, but it's only showing the SID (the long string of letters and numbers), that means it cannot resolve the SID to a username. This happens when the user object is not located on the computer that the drive is currently plugged in to. Wether it's because the user was deleted, the user was on a different computer, or even if the user account was recreated (it will get a new SID if recreated).
 
j-sta said:
did you purchase the drive new? refurbished? use it on a different computer, change usernames, or let somebody borrow it?

when you see a user, but it's only showing the SID (the long string of letters and numbers), that means it cannot resolve the SID to a username. This happens when the user object is not located on the computer that the drive is currently plugged in to. Wether it's because the user was deleted, the user was on a different computer, or even if the user account was recreated (it will get a new SID if recreated).
Click to expand...

everything was bought new and I built the computer myself. This just hit me though...I think the problem is a result of using remote desktop. I used it occasionally and the drive would turn read only occasinally, but then I started using remote desktop daily and then it started going read only daily.....hmmmmmmm
 
koretex said:
everything was bought new and I built the computer myself. This just hit me though...I think the problem is a result of using remote desktop. I used it occasionally and the drive would turn read only occasinally, but then I started using remote desktop daily and then it started going read only daily.....hmmmmmmm
Click to expand...

possibly a coincidence...
since when you RDP onto your desktop, you're still logging in to the desktop with a username that exists on the desktop.
I'm not sure how an RDP session could cause that... maybe coincidence, maybe not. hmmmm...
 
j-sta said:
possibly a coincidence...
since when you RDP onto your desktop, you're still logging in to the desktop with a username that exists on the desktop.
I'm not sure how an RDP session could cause that... maybe coincidence, maybe not. hmmmm...
Click to expand...

well regardless, thanks for your help/fix, it has remained just fine since I gave myself ownership back.
 
j-sta said:
np ;)
glad it squared it away.

glad I'm not always called a troll! :D
Click to expand...

Little kids at the bus stop can be so mean. :p

To the OP. Have you checked to see if there is a firmware update from WD for your drive/enclosure?
 
Lebowski said:
Little kids at the bus stop can be so mean. :p

To the OP. Have you checked to see if there is a firmware update from WD for your drive/enclosure?
Click to expand...


No I havent, not sure why not since I'm pretty good about checking for firmware updates for everything I own!

I would be a little scared to do that though since everything I own in digital form from the past decade of my life, ie. pics, mp3s, etc., etc. is on this drive and nowhere else. I'm getting another 1TB drive soon so I can mirror them, but until I do that I'm scared to death of losing everything!
 
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