Solved: Cannot Run CHKDSK Write Protected on Windows 10/8/7

Windows says it cannot run CHKDSK because the volume is write protected? Come and learn how to remove write protected on hard drive for CHKDSK in Windows 10/8/7.

By Teresa / Last Updated February 26, 2020

CHKDSK error: volume is write protected

“I get a prompt says Windows detected a hard disk error after my Windows 10 startup this morning. I guess it would be the problem of my newly attached external backup drive, so I decided to check hard drive for errors after some Google. However, after I typed chkdsk F: /f in CMD, only to find that the drive was write-protected. It says: The type of the file system is NTFS. Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected. I don’t remember to set up write protection. What should I do to remove write protection on my external hard drive and run CHKDSK on write protected drive successfully?”

Did you come across similar issues? Write protection problem exists on not only external hard drive, but also USB flash drive, SD card, USB hard drive, and even internal hard disk in Windows 7/8/10. When you run CHKDSK and get write-protected message, you did not give rise to the issue but discover it. Other behaviors like creating new folder and modifying existing data will trigger the write protection error as well. Then, how do you get hard drive write-protected?

Possible causes for write protected

Generally speaking, write-protected status can be understood as read only. That is to say, you can read files on write protected drive but you cannot add new files or make changes for existing data. Following are possible reasons that account for why your drive get write protected.

There is a write protection tab on your hard drive. Usually, it is produced by manufacturer. Check your hard drive or disk enclosure. If yes, switch it to the Off side.

The partition file system is corrupted or damaged due to virus infection or other unknown reasons. A bad file system may cause the data cannot be accessed.

The attribute of selected drive is set as ReadOnly. The attribute may be modified unwittingly.

After knowing why you can’t run CHKDSK on write protected drive, let’s learn how to remove the write protection with different solutions.

Quick fixes to remove write protected for CHKDSK in Windows 10/8/7

To clear the write protection and perform CHKDSK, you may need different solutions under different situations. Some workable fixes are illustrated below.

Fix CHKDSK write protected disk in CMD

According the support of Microsoft, when you encounter the CHKDSK /f volume is write protected issue, you can try another command in CMD: chkdsk / f / r / x. For example, chkdsk F: /f /r /x and press Enter. You can replace F with another drive letter.

However, some users report that that command does not resolve their problem. The write protection error still prompts.

If you have faced such situation, it is suggested to try other methods showing in the next part.

Remove write protection in Diskpart

This method applies to the drive that has been set as readonly. It will clear readonly attributes.

1. Type diskpart in CMD and hit Enter. Click on Yes in the pop up confirming dialogue.

2. In Diskpart, type following commands in sequence and each of them comes with an Enter.

select volume n (where n is the write-protected drive, here is 6)

attributes disk clear readonly

3. Go back to CMD and type CHKDSK F: /f, you’ll find the disk checking runs smoothly.

Modify WriteProtected key in Registry Editor

Another way to clear readonly of a drive is to modify registry. Typeregedit in Run and navigate to this path:

Right click the WriteProtected key and select Modify. Change the value from 1 to 0.

Tips: If you cannot find the StorageDevicePolicies, you can right click Control folder and then New > Key. Name it with WriteProtected and open it.

Remove write protected by completely formatting

If the write protection in CHKDSK is caused by corrupted or damaged file system, you need to format it thoroughly. When format the drive with Device Manager or Diskpart, you may receive format write protected error.

Fortunately, you can format the write protected drive with AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. It is free hard drive partition manager that will help you better manage internal/external/USB hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, Pen drive, etc. To solve the CHKDSK write protected trouble in Windows 10, free download and have a try.

Important: formatting will cause data loss. Think twice before you leap.

1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant. Right click the write protected partition and select Format Partition.

2. Edit partition label, select file system and change cluster size if you wish to in the pop up window.

3. Click Apply and then Proceed after your confirmation.

Tips: Except for formatting the partition, you can Wipe Partition if there is no important data stored on that drive.

Run disk checking with third party tools

To solve “unable to CHKDSK write protected” error, you can run disk checking with another tool. Aforementioned AOMEI Partition Assistant supports performing not only partition checking but disk checking. Let’s get to know these two features. In the first place, start AOMEI Partition Assistant.

1. For partition error checking, right click the drive and go Advanced >Check Partition.

2. For disk bad sector checking, right click the disk and select Surface Test.

Tips: covered methods also apply to “CHKDSK write protected USB”, “CHKDSK NTFS write protected”, and “unable to install Windows because the partition is write protected” issues.

Fix: Windows cannot Run Disk Checking on this Volume Because it is Write Protected

The error ‘Windows cannot Run Disk Checking on this Volume Because it is Write Protected’ is caused when your volume/drive is damaged or attributed to Read Only. CHKDSK is a command-line utility in Windows that lets you search for bad sectors in your volume and verify the integrity of system files stored on your drive. Sporadically, running the utility might prompt you with an error which stipulates that the drive is either corrupted or write protected.

If one of your drives is write protected, this means you won’t be able to edit the contents of the drive which includes editing the files or removing them. To put it simply, write protected indicates that the volume is attributed to Read-only. A prime example would be the write protection of USB drives which, now and then, occurs to everyone in which case you are unable to copy the contents of the USB drive to the computer or vice versa.

What causes the Windows cannot Run Disk Checking on this Volume Because it is Write Protected Error?

It won’t be wrong to say that everyone encounters this error every now and then which is usually caused by —

• Write protection on your drive. If your drive is attributed to Read-only, the error will naturally appear due to restricted permissions.
• Damaged drive. Sometimes, if your drive is damaged or corrupted due to a bad system file stored on it, it can cause the error to pop up.

You can apply the solutions mentioned below to fix your issue.

Solution 1: Resolve CHKDSK in the Command Prompt

To start off with something easy, there have been reports that the error was resolved using a different chkdsk command. This was advised by the Microsoft Support itself, therefore, it is definitely worth the try. What you have to do is:

1. Open an elevated command prompt by pressing Winkey + X and selecting Command Prompt (Admin) from the list.
2. Once it opens, type in the following: Chkdisk – Windows

3. Where D: is the faulty drive, replace it accordingly.

The parameters mean the following:

/f parameter searches your drive for any errors and tries to fix them.

/r parameter will scan your drive for bad sectors and resolve them.

/x parameter dismounts your drive meaning if your drive is in use, it won’t be any longer until the search is completed.

It is important to note that some users reported that their problem persisted even after trying this in which case you’ll have to follow the other solutions mentioned below.

Solution 2: Modify the Attribute via Registry

If the solution provided by Microsoft doesn’t work for you, you can try to remove the write protection using Windows Registry. Windows Registry can cause certain critical issues so make sure you follow the steps very carefully. Here’s what to do:

1. Press Winkey + R to open Run.
2. Type in regedit.
3. Once the Windows Registry opens, paste the following in the address/location bar:

4. There, double-click the ‘WriteProtect’ key and change the value from 1 to 0.

If you can’t find the StorageDevicePolicies folder in your Windows Registry, here’s an alternate way for you:

1. Paste the following path in the address bar:

2. In the middle pane, right-click and select New > Key.

Windows Registry – New Key

3. A new folder will be created, name it ‘StorageDevicePolicies’. Make sure you don’t type the name incorrectly.

4. Afterward, highlight the newly created folder, right-click on the middle pane and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.

A New entry to clear Readonly Attribute

5. Name it WriteProtect and set the value to 0.

Solution 3: Using DiskPart

DiskPart is a command-line utility that you can use to create partitions on your drive. It can also be used to change the attributes of a drive which is what we’re going to do here. Here’s how to use it:

1. Open Start Menu, type in ‘diskpart’ and open it up.
2. Once the utility loads, type in:

3. The volumes on your hard disk will be listed, now type in the following:

4. You’ll have to replace # with your drive alphabet.

5. After that, type in the following:

Using Disk Part to Clear Attribute

6. Wait for it to complete.

Solution 4: Scanning your drive for corruption

One last thing you can do to fix this error is to scan your drive for corrupted files which is one of the roots of the problem. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open up ‘This PC’.
2. Right-click the faulty drive and select Properties.
3. Switch to the Tools tab.
4. Once there, click the ‘Check’ option. Checking the Drive for Errors
5. If you’re prompted with a UAC dialog box, select Yes.
6. Wait for the scan to complete.

[Fixed] Windows Cannot Run Disk Checking on This Volume Because It Is Write Protected

The error ‘Windows cannot Run Disk Checking on this Volume Because it is Write Protected’В is caused when your volume/drive is damaged or attributed to Read Only. CHKDSK is a command-line utility in Windows that lets you search for bad sectors in your volume and verify the integrity of system files stored on your drive.

Depending on the reason why you receive «Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected», the solutions to the problem vary.В Five Fixes for Chkdsk Write Protected:

Fix 1. Remove Write Protection via CMD. Full steps
Fix 2. Remove Write Protection via Diskpart. Full steps
Fix 3. Clear Read-Only in Registry Editor. Full steps

Fix 4. Recover Files from Corrupted Hard Drive. Full steps
Fix 5. Format Corrupted Hard Drive. Full steps

Causes of «Windows Cannot Run Disk Checking on This Volume Because It Is Write Protected» Error

«Tried to boot up my computer this morning and was given the message: ‘Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically.’ And it wouldn’t let me boot into the Safe Mode. Having no system restore points, then I ran theВ chkdskВ command. But it gave me the ‘Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected’ error message. Is there any way to fix the issue? I’m running Windows 10 Professional.»В

Chkdsk is a built-in Check Disk utility for Windows PC to help you fix disk errors or startup issues. But usually, when you run ‘chkdsk /r’ via a Command Prompt after getting the message: ‘Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically’, it will not work and at most times will give you the error message reads:В

‘The type of the file system is NTFS.В
Cannot lock current drive.
Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected’.

Why did you receive this error message? Generally, there are two common causes:

• The disk volume attribute is set to read-only
• The file system of the partition is corrupted or damaged.

If you happened to be caught in one of the two situations where you were unable to run CHKDSK to check and repair your disk, don’t get frustrated. We will show you effective ways to cope with it.

To enable chkdsk running again, you just need to remove write protection from your hard drive so to get rid of the «Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected» error.

Follow to learn how to remove write protection on a hard drive and make CHKDSK work properly in Windows 10/8/7. Except for PC hard disk, the tutorial is also applicable to an SD card, USB drive or other external memory devices.В

Fix 1. Remove Write Protection via CMD

Step 1. Press «Windows + X» buttons to bring up the power users menu.В

Step 2. In the power users menu, select theВ «Command Prompt (Admin)» option.

Step 3. Click «Yes»В when you are presented with a UAC window requesting permission to launch the Command Prompt as Administrator.

Step 4. In the new Command Prompt window, typeВ chkdsk E: /f /r /x and press «Enter». Here you should replace «E» with the drive letter of your PC hard drive, SD card or USB drive.

This command will unmount the disk, SD card or USB drive and remove any write protection status on the device. In this case, you can get CHKDSK working again and will no longer seeВ ‘Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected’ error message.

If this tip won’t work, no worry. There are other ways to remove write protection.

Fix 2. Remove Write Protection via Diskpart

Via diskpart, you can clean the read-only attribute on your hard drive.

Step 1. Run «Command Prompt» as an administrator.

Step 2. Enter diskpart and click «Yes» in the prompt asking for notification.

Step 3. Enter the following command in order:

list disk
select disk X (Replace «X» with the number of your write-protected hard drive.)
attributes disk clear readonly

Step 4. If you get the message «Disk attributes cleared successfully», enter exit and then go back to CMD to run the chkdsk command. This time, you will be able to check and fix your disk error easily.

If you are not professional in computing management and not familiar with command lines, don’t worry. EaseUS R&D team has promoted a fresh kit for helping you resolve the write-protection issue on your hard drive, external hard drive, USB or SD card, etc., devices.

EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It’s a perfect alternative to the command line.В

Use this one-click tool to solve the write-protection issues on your own:

If you are not professional in computing management and not familiar with command lines, don’t worry. EaseUS R&D team has promoted a fresh kit for helping you resolve the write-protection issue on your hard drive, external hard drive, USB or SD card, etc., devices.

EaseUS Tools M is a practical computer fixing tool that is safe and light-weighted. It’s a perfect alternative to the command line.В

Use this one-click tool to solve the write-protection issues on your own:

Step 1: оњљ DOWNLOADВ and install EaseUS Tools MВ for free.

Step 2: Run EaseUS Tools M on your PC, choose the «Write Protection» mode.

Step 3: Select the device which is now «Write-Protected» and click «Disable» to remove the protection.

Fix 3. Clear Read-Only in Registry Editor

Method 2 still won’t work? Don’t get upset, here is another way worth trying.

Step 1. Press «Windows + R» simultaneously and enter regedit. In the window asking for permission, click «Yes».

Step 2. Go toВ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies.

Step 3. Find and right-click the «WriteProtect» key and set the value as «0».

Don’t see «StorageDevicePolicies» in the specific path? No worry, follow the steps below to achieve the same goal.

Step 1. In Registry Editor, go toВ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control.

Step 2. On the right pane, right-click in the space and choose «New» > «Key». Name it as «StorageDevicePolicies».

Step 3. Make sureВ «StorageDevicePolicies» is selected. Go to the right pane, right-click and choose «DWORD (32-bit) Value».

Step 4. Input the name as «WriteProtect» and set its value as «0».

These are all the possible ways to remove write protection on a hard drive. In most of the cases, using one of the methods above could help to solve the issue «Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected». If the issue remains after trying the fixes, you should consider whether the chkdsk reports write protected due to file system errors or hard drive corruption.

Since the ways to repair corrupted hard drive have been provided, here you can only find the fixes for a hard drive with file system errors. When the file system of your hard drive is corrupted or damaged, you have no access to the data on it. It’s likely that you will receive the message «Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected» in such a case. To make your hard drive work normally again, you need to assign a file system to the hard drive by formatting. However, since the formatting will erase all the existing files on your disk, you are recommended to recover files first.

Fix 4. Recover Files from Hard Drive

With the hard drive recovery software — EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, you are able to retrieve files from disk with file system errors like disk becoming RAW, file system missing, and more. This professional software can rescue almost all existing file types from a computer, external hard drive, USB, memory card, and more after deletion, formatting, file system becoming RAW, etc.

Step 1. Select a location and start scanning.

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, hover on the location(hard drive partition, external HDD, Card devices) where you lost data, then click «Scan».

Step 2. Preview and select the files.

Wait until the scanning completes. If you need to double-click the item to preview the file, then select the data you attempt to recover.

Step 3. Recover lost data.

Click «Recover», choose a location to save the recovered data, then click «OK». You should store the data in another place instead of the original one.

Fix 5. Format the Volume

As you may know, there are many ways to format a hard drive. The easiest one is:

Step 1. Go to «This PC».

Step 2. Find and right-click your problematic hard drive partition.

Step 3. Choose «Format».

Step 4. Set the new file system and other options, then click «Start».

Conclusion

The causes leading to «Windows cannot run disk checking on this volume because it is write protected» are relatively specific. Thus, the ways to fix the error are clear, either by removing write protection or fixing file system errors. Hope one of the methods above can help you fix your problematic hard drive perfectly.

FAQs About Windows Cannot Run Disk Checking On This Volume

If you have more questions about Windows Disk Checking or CHKDSK on a locked drive, check the following questions and you may find the answers to listed questions may interest you somehow.

1. How do you fix Windows Cannot run checking on this volume because it is write protected?

The basic cause of this error is that the Windows disk checking command is disallowed for executing as the target device is write-protected. So the best way to resolve this issue is to remove write protection from your device.В

There are 5 ways that can help to unlock a write-protected drive or device. For a detailed guide, you may revert back to the detailed operations of 5 Fixes on this page for help.

2. How do I remove write protection from a hard drive from command prompt?

To remove the write protection of a hard drive from Command Prompt, you should be careful while executing the following steps:

Step 1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.В

Step 2. TypeВ diskpartВ in Command Prompt and hit Enter.

Step 3. Click «Yes»В to open DiskPart.

Step 4. TypeВ list volume,В select volume X,В attributes disk clear readonlyВ and hit Enter each time. (Replace X with the volume drive of your hard drive.)

3. How do I run chkdsk on a locked drive?

To run CHKDSK on a locked drive, you should first unlock the drive by using CMD command or a third-part write-protection removal tool. You may refer to Remove Write Protection on Windows 10/8/7 for a guide.

After this, you can follow the next steps to run CHKDSK:

Step 1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.В

Step 2. Type: chkdsk E: /f /r /xВ and press «Enter». (Replace «E» with the drive letter of your hard drive.)

Workable Solutions	Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Case 1. Chkdsk Write Protected Because Hard Drive Is Write Protected
Case 2. Chkdsk Write Protected Because File System Corrupted