Vista - USB Hard Drive Write Protect Error

Hi,
I'm running Vista x64 on a T61 notebook. I have a Western Digital Passport
usb hard drive. I need to copy files larger than allowed by FAT32 so using
my WinXP Pro desktop I shrunk the existing FAT32 partition, created a new
partition, formatted it as NTFS.

Using any WinXP PC, I have no problems accessing the NTFS partition on the
hard drive. However, using Vista, I can read the partition, but not write to
it. When I try to write to the NTFS partition, I get an error saying the
drive is write protected. Any idea how I can fix this problem? Thanks.

Regards-Michael G.

Michael,

Since you're not getting any action on this, I though I'd throw out a
suggestion to consider. Try partitioning and formatting the drive in Vista
using Disk Management. Just a thought that maybe Vista doesn't recognize
something about WinXP's way of doing things.

Also, does your USB port provide sufficient power for the hard drive. Try
using an external power source, if you're not already doing so. Laptops
sometimes provide little power to USB ports to conserve battery. Just some
thoughts.
--
freddy


"Michael Gerbasio" wrote:

> Hi,
> I'm running Vista x64 on a T61 notebook. I have a Western Digital Passport
> usb hard drive. I need to copy files larger than allowed by FAT32 so using
> my WinXP Pro desktop I shrunk the existing FAT32 partition, created a new
> partition, formatted it as NTFS.
>
> Using any WinXP PC, I have no problems accessing the NTFS partition on the
> hard drive. However, using Vista, I can read the partition, but not write to
> it. When I try to write to the NTFS partition, I get an error saying the
> drive is write protected. Any idea how I can fix this problem? Thanks.
>
> Regards-Michael G.
>
>
>

Freddy,
Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't even bother with disk manager because I
couldn't format from explorer. I tried it in disk manager, it formatted and
is working now.

Regards-Michael G.

"freddy" <fkirschen@tidalwave.net> wrote in message
news:1CAF4033-AB74-40F7-95B7-8E4A4FD36458@microsoft.com...
> Michael,
>
> Since you're not getting any action on this, I though I'd throw out a
> suggestion to consider. Try partitioning and formatting the drive in
> Vista
> using Disk Management. Just a thought that maybe Vista doesn't recognize
> something about WinXP's way of doing things.
>
> Also, does your USB port provide sufficient power for the hard drive. Try
> using an external power source, if you're not already doing so. Laptops
> sometimes provide little power to USB ports to conserve battery. Just
> some
> thoughts.
> --
> freddy
>
>
> "Michael Gerbasio" wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>> I'm running Vista x64 on a T61 notebook. I have a Western Digital
>> Passport
>> usb hard drive. I need to copy files larger than allowed by FAT32 so
>> using
>> my WinXP Pro desktop I shrunk the existing FAT32 partition, created a new
>> partition, formatted it as NTFS.
>>
>> Using any WinXP PC, I have no problems accessing the NTFS partition on
>> the
>> hard drive. However, using Vista, I can read the partition, but not write
>> to
>> it. When I try to write to the NTFS partition, I get an error saying the
>> drive is write protected. Any idea how I can fix this problem? Thanks.
>>
>> Regards-Michael G.
>>
>>
>>

Had the same problem.

the solution was disable write caching on the usb hdd in device manager.

You can choose in the disk propeties for optimize for quick removal or optimize for performance. CHOOSE optimize for quick removal.