External Hdd has become write protected

Here are a few things to try:

1. This can be caused by malware, are you sure your machine is clean?

2. Plug in your device, right-click Computer > Manage > Storage > Disk Management, then right-click the
drive graphic of the device and select Change Drive letter, then change it to one nearer the end of the alphabet.

3. Change these registry keys but create a system restore point first, just in case you have problems. Note that the keys do not necessarily exist, so don't create them as it's probably a different issue.

A.
Click the Windows Orb (Start), type regedit, press Enter and in the left pane navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies, double click on WriteProtect and change Value Data to 0 (zero).

B.
Now go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\StorageDevicePolicies, double click on WriteProtect and change Value Data to 0 (zero).

C.
Lastly go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\StorageDevicePolicies, double click on WriteProtect and change Value Data to 0 (zero).


 Good Luck