Read-Only USB drive, WTF?

September 2, 2007 10:10 AM

Can I do anything with this read-only USB flash drive, or should I just write it off as a lost cause?

I received a USB flash drive from a sponsor of an event I attended, which I thought was fantastic because I could use the storage space. However, the drive is "read-only". I have a Windows desktop running XP and a MacBook Pro. This is the info my disk utility gave me on the device (with the serial number removed):
Name : USB Flash Disk Media
Type : Disk
Disk Identifier : disk1
Media Name : USB Flash Disk Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : USB
Connection Type : External
USB Serial Number : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Partition Type : FDisk_partition_scheme
Locked : Yes
Writable : No
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : No
Location : External
Total Capacity : 126.9 MB (133,038,080 Bytes)
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 1
Partition Number : 0

I don't have any use for the promo stuff on the USB flash drive. So, should I just chuck it, or is there a way to edit the permission from "read-only"? I can't erase it as is. Would it be illegal for me to alter this, anyway? Consider my level of tech savvy to be that of "novice." Thanks!

posted by misha to Technology (6 answers total)

Is it encased? I have a USB drive that was similarly write-protected and I pulled it out of the case and found a tiny toggle on the side that moved it from read-only to open. I then covered the thing up again in the case with glue, but you might find a more imaginative use.
posted by parmanparman at 10:26 AM on September 2, 2007

Silly question, but have you tried using the Disk Utility to reformat the drive?

Parmanparman's idea would work too, if it's that kind of system. I'd try reformatting it first.
posted by DMan at 10:35 AM on September 2, 2007

Would it be illegal for me to alter this, anyway?

I cannot see why it would be. They gave it to you, after all, and didn't make you sign any agreement about not modifying it.
posted by sindark at 10:52 AM on September 2, 2007

Erasing it might be "circumventing a technological protection measure" that is within a stone's throw of some copyrighted content, and therefore fall afoul of the DMCA.

On the other hand, practically anything you do with anything technological, ever, can be said to fall afoul of the DMCA in that way, so I wouldn't worry about it much. Morally/ethically, I don't see how this is any different from erasing and reusing an AOL floppy, or writing on the back of a junk-mail envelope.
posted by hattifattener at 1:01 PM on September 2, 2007

Probably it won't let you reformat if it sees the drive as read-only, but it's worth a shot. My gut tells me parmanparman's correct -- a lot of thumb drives have write-protection switches on them just like the old floppies did, and likely your drive was encased so you don't have access to the switch.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:30 PM on September 2, 2007

Thanks! Parmanparman's answer was the right one. It was encased, and I found the toggle switch. Yay! Thanks, everyone.
posted by misha at 1:57 PM on September 2, 2007