How to Fix SSD is Read Only Mode Error on Windows 11/10/8?

Summary:

You might be one among those who have just come across SSD read-only mode issues when tried to install new applications or run software on your SSD partition. In such a situation, SSD might refuse to let you perform any operations that are required to write data to drive displaying the error message SSD is write-protected. The article brings out 4 different DIY methods to overcome this issue. Try all the four methods one after the other to overcome the SSD read-only mode problem.

Why Is My SSD Showing Read Only?

At first, let us see why SSD is showing write-protected or SSD works in read-only mode. The storage space of over-provisioned SSD drains and leads to the SSD read only mode problem. When SSD exceeds its lifetime writes, it creates trouble.

When you try to fix the SSD read only mode error using the CHKDSK or formatting process, you might lose your important data from the SSD. 

Note: If you have enabled TRIM on your SSD, it’s close to impossible to recover data from the SSD from any methods.  Click here to know more about TRIM.

Hence, it is strictly recommended to recover your important data from the SSD partition before heading to fix the SSD read-only problem using a secure and trusted SSD data recovery tool

DIY methods to fix the SSD read-only mode problem

You can easily fix the SSD read-only mode issue by performing below given four DIY methods one after the other.

Method 1. Clear read-only on SSD drive via Diskpart

Diskpart is the command-line utility used for disk partitioning. It manages partitions of hard disks including creating, deleting, formatting partitions and so on. Follow the below-given steps to remove SSD write protected issue.

Step 1: Open Diskpart in command prompt(cmd): Press Win+R, type cmd, press Enter

Step 2: Type diskpart and press Enter

Step 3: Type list disk and press Enter. The list disk command lists all the specific information about every disk on your Windows computer.

Step 4: Type select disk n, where n is the number of the disk you choose to select

Step 5: Type attributes disk clear readonly and press Enter. This command is used to remove the write protection on the SSD drive.

Step 6: Now, the read only attributes of SSD will be cleared successfully. After that, you can type clean followed by next command create partition primary.

Step 7:  Type format fs=ntfs, the command helps you to format the read only SSD to a compatible file format

If you are not much familiar with using the commands for execution, try the simple method given below.

Method 2. Edit the registry  key to fix read only mode

This is another effective way to fix read only mode on solid-state drives

Step 1: Press Win+R to open the run box and type regedit

Step 2: Navigate to the given path below

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies

Step 3: Now, double click on the write protection option and modify the value from 1 to 0.

Note: if you don’t find StorageDevicePolicies under Control, do as below:

Step 1: Right-click Control and select New> Key. name the folder as StorageDevicePolicies.

Step 2: Right-click on the right blank space and go to New> DWORD (32-bit) value. Name it with Write Protect, then right-click on it and select Modify to change the Value data to 0.

Method 3. Run CHKDSK to fix read-only SSD mode

Another way to fix SSD read-only problem is to run CHKDSK. CHKDSK is the command-line execution used to fix any logical disk errors.

Step 1: Open command prompt by typing cmd in the search box. Run as Administrator. 

Step 2: Type chkdsk E: /f, E refers to the read only drive letter

If you encounter an error message Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write-protected, type chkdsk e: / f / r / x to remove write protection on the SSD drive.

Running CHKDSK certainly fix most of the errors related to disk, but also clears the disk. If your drive is cleared and still encountering the SSD in read-only mode error, try formatting the disk using another below-given method.

Method 4. Remove a read-only attribute by formatting

Sometimes reformatting clears the problems associated with the previous file system. Hence, try formatting your SSD to a new file system to overcome remove write protection problems.

Step 1: Press Win+R to open the Run box, and then type diskmgmt.msc to open Disk Management.

Step 2: Right-click the SSD partition you want to format. Choose Format

Step 3: You can label the partition, change file system, perform a quick format. Then click OK.

Step 4: A warning message about data loss will appear. Click OK if you want to execute the process to change write protected SSD.

If you have accidentally selected OK, realized that most of your important files exist on the drive and you have no copy of it. Do not worry! You can easily recover formatted data from the SSD partition within few clicks.

Recover Data After Fixing Read Only Error from SSD

To Recover data from SSD showing Read only mode, Download and install the SFWare data recovery software on your PC. Launch the application and follow the below instructions:

1. From the main screen, select Recover Drive/Partition. Select Drive/Partition Recovery from the next screen
2. From the list of drives displayed on screen, select the SSD from which you want to recover the data
3. After the scanning process completes, recoverable files available on the drive is displayed.in Data View or File type view.

After recovery is completed, Preview your recovered files and if you are satisfied with the results, save the files.

Conclusion:

Be it Samsung SSD, Crucial SSD, Corsair Force Series MP510 SSD, Kingston KC2000 or any other drives, SSD’s getting write protected and working in read-only mode is common. By performing the above-given methods you can easily solve SSD read only mode problems.

Error fixing methods that has CHKDSK and formatting certainly fix the error but involves data loss from the drive. Hence, it is recommended to backup your important data from the drive before you move on to fixing the SSD read only mode error. However, if you have lost data from SSD you can make use of SFWare SSD recovery tool.