force format external hard drive with protected partition

After you’ve confirmed the space limit, plug the USB stick into the computer port. Check and write down the storage capacity of the USB device.To remove write protection using Diskpart, follow these steps: Use Diskpart to Disable USB Write Protectionĭiskpart is a command line tool that lets you manage all storage units detected by the computer. The status shows that the device is getting decrypted, and BitLocker gets turned off upon completion.Īfter you’ve disabled BitLocker, try to copy something on the USB stick again and see if the problem disappears. All you need to do now is click on the protected USB drive and select “Turn Off BitLocker.” Enter the password or select other options, then choose to enter the recovery key.Right-click on the icon and go to “Manage BitLocker.” This step takes you to the BitLocker Drive Encryption window, where a list of all storage units and their encryption status appears.If the icon has a padlock, BitLocker is enabled for the device. Open “File Explorer” and look for the storage device you have in mind.

If you have the key or password to BitLocker, follow the steps below. You’ll have to reformat the drive if you don’t have either option. To turn off BitLocker on a USB stick, you must have the password or recovery key. Regardless, Bitlocker is off by default, but you may have activated it before and forgot about it, or someone else did it for you. Yes, Windows has a Bitlocker decryption tool for Macs too. This scenario also applies when using macOS. Other versions of Windows, such as Home editions, require a separate download to decrypt the data when it comes to USB encryption. The software primarily gets used for internal drives, but it can also encrypt USB sticks/drives. Since Windows 7, BitLocker became integrated into Windows 7/Vista (Enterprise and Ultimate) and Windows 8 and 10 (Pro and Ultimate) editions to protect your data with encryption. Turn Bitlocker Off to Disable USB Write Protection There are several ways to remove write protection from a USB stick if you have a Windows PC.

Remove USB Write Protection using Windows

Force format external hard drive with protected partition