Discussion between bwDraco and bgmCoder

Stack Exchange

15:28

Q: What can I do if my USB flash drive is write-protected or read-only?

When I plug in my USB flash drive, it shows up on my computer as write-protected or read-only. I am unable to transfer data to it, nor can I modify or delete any files already stored on it. I also cannot repartition or reformat the drive using Windows Disk Management, DiskPart, GParted, or other ...

bwDraco

Relevant Meta question: meta.superuser.com/questions/11820/… As this is intended to be the canonical question, please don't vote to close this as a duplicate of other questions; instead, other questions should be closed as a duplicate of this question (once this is possible).

Voted to close 32 questions as duplicates of this question (and linked to this question on one other); see superuser.com/questions/linked/1125282.

bgmCoder

Possible duplicate of Why is my USB Flash Drive Now Read-Only?

This is the duplicate question, having only been asked 11 hours ago. The duplicate question is always the newest one. Normally folks don't ask a question and then flag all the older ones as duplicates. However, I agree some of the ones in your list are duplicates, but not all - the scope differs on the majority.

bwDraco

@bgmCoder: the newest question is not always the duplicate; please see superuser.com/questions/1061528/…. More information on canonical questions: meta.superuser.com/questions/778/…

@bgmCoder: Indeed, the very reason this question exists is the sheer number of "my flash drive is write protected!" questions on this site. The idea's to consolidate them into one canonical question.

bgmCoder

Well, I have 11 points on my question and I don't want to lose them; maybe we can consolidate to mine? And I was 3 years earlier - that should count, you know.

bwDraco

@bgmCoder: Please note that duplicates usually aren't deleted so your question's score will stand.

We generally keep duplicates as "signposts" so that people can more easily find what they're looking for.

Also, be sure to read this:

Q: Help create and maintain community FAQs!

Joel's recently blogged regarding wikifying question on several recurring topics where users keep asking new versions of the same problem. Some of these are: anti-virus software and cleaning them up, solving boot problems, (<--- This has answers for BIOS phase and Windows. Anyone want to do ...

discussion community-faq

bgmCoder

15:37

Hi bwDraco - I don't mean to be difficult

and I'm sorry to cause problems

bwDraco

153

Q: Do not delete good duplicates!

This question (currently deleted (visible only to 10kers)) is a great example of a duplicate question that should not be deleted. [Note: this question was later merged into this one, which resulted in the original being hard-deleted. This issue with merging was later fixed ] The titles of the du...

discussion etiquette deleted-questions

bgmCoder

But I still believe that your question is a duplicate of mine, even though you have the intention to consolidate duplicates.

And I also think that some of the questions you listed as duplicates are not really duplicates - the scope is different - not on all, but on some of them.

My question has already 102K views - that stands out a lot amoungst the others.

One of the questions in your list was your own: superuser.com/questions/871850/… but this is not completely the same scope

bwDraco

Q: Why is my USB Flash Drive Now Read-Only?

Suddenly my USB Flash Drive (8gb Corsaire Voyager) is suddenly read-only, and I'm not sure why. There is no "read-only" switch on the drive. All of the data is still there. But nothing can be written to it anymore. There are 2gb free on the drive. The OS is Windows7 Pro x64. It wasn't this way...

usb-flash-drive

@bgmCoder I didn't vote to close that question.

bgmCoder

thanks

bwDraco

It showed up on the list because it was linked to.

bgmCoder

15:42

I get trolled on this site all the time and it upsets me

But I don't want to be at odds with you at all. Not YOU, anyway.

bwDraco

Well, I'm not here to troll anyone. I care about quality content and a quality Q&A experience.

bgmCoder

I'm with you.

Another example: superuser.com/questions/483719/… --this was in your list, it's similar, but the scope is different

This one too: superuser.com/questions/689439/… --the user has a disk that is in error - this is different - or may be different - and gets different kinds of answers.

If a question truly is a duplicate, I, too, would mark it, even if it were my own. But the scope changes the nature of the kind of answer the user needs.

bwDraco

Not sure the scope is different. The drive became write-protected during operation and formatting fails with I/O errors, a theme I've seen numerous times while searching for duplicates.

My answer is designed to consolidate all the major themes I've seen throughout all the answers I've looked at: controller detecting NAND issues, possible recovery through controller reprogramming, possible Group Policy error, testing in another system, etc.

bgmCoder

15:59

Okay, here's an example of different scope - the matter is the same, but the scope is different. superuser.com/questions/422662/… -->This guy wants to FIX a corrupted disk. In my question, I have not yet discovered that it is broken. Sure, ultimately, I want to fix it, but my question is just to figure out what is the matter.

bgmCoder

16:47

So I say that consolidation is good, but watch out for the user's scope. They ask questions because they need a certain answer, and even though the topic may be about the same thing, it's not always the same question.

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