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Best Free Way | How to Copy Protected Pen Drive
What is copy protection on pen drive and how to copy protected pen drive? This page shows you all your needed information.
By Jonna Updated on March 25, 2025
Can I Copy a Protected Pen Drive?
I created a protected USB pen drive last month, and I want to copy the protected pen drive to another USB with a larger capacity because I don't want to set the protection again. Is this possible?
A pen drive, also known as a USB flash drive, thumb drive, or jump drive, is a portable data storage device that utilizes flash memory and connects to computers and other devices via a USB interface. You can rely on a pen drive to backup personal files, transfer files from one computer to another, make bootable drive with a USB stick for installing or repairing operating systems, and so on.
On this page, we will show you some basic information about copy proteced on pen drive and how to copy a USB drive with ease.
AOMEI BackupperCopy USB pen drive to another USB drive or other devices with ease.
What is Copy Protection for USB Pen Drive?
Copy protection for pen drives is a security measure designed to prevent unauthorized copying or distribution of the data stored on the device. It is commonly used by businesses, software developers, and individuals who want to protect their intellectual property or confidential files.
A copy-protected USB drive employs various methods, for example:
▶Read-only mode: Prevents users from modifying or deleting files.
▶Encryption: Requires a password or decryption key to access data.
▶DRM(Digital Rights Management): Restricts file usage, especially for software and media content.
▶Hardware-based protection: Some USB drives come with built-in firmware-level security.
If you have ever tried to copy files from a protected USB pen drive and got an error like "The disk is write-protected," you've encountered copy protection in action!
How to Copy Protect Pen Drive
If you want to copy protect USB drive to secure your files from unauthorized access, you can try the following methods:
#1. Physical Write Protection Switch
Some pen drives come with a physical switch that can be toggled to enable write protection, preventing any modifications or copying of the data.
#2. Software-Based Protection
Utilize specialized software to encrypt or password-protect the data on your pen drive. For instance, tools like USB Copy Protection can restrict access and copying capabilities. Here are steps to use the USB Copy Protection software:
1. Insert your pen drive into the computer. Download and install the USB Copy Protection program.
2. Select the USB drive you want to protect and lock it.
3. Apply protection settings (e.g., read access, write access, full access, custom access, etc.,) for different users under Permission Settings.
4. Under Options, set your security strength for your locked files to control copy protection. Then, go to Encrypt Now, enter your administrator password, and click on Protect to save the settings and finish copy protection for your USB drive.
#3. Protect PDF, Videos, and Software with DRM
Implement DRM solutions to control how files on your pen drive are used, copied, or distributed. Popular DRM tools include Adobe DRM, LockLizard, and SecureDocs.
#4. Enable write protection via group policy (only for Windows)
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Removable Storage Access, then double-click on the entry named Removable Disks: Deny write access from the right pane. Select Enable for the Removable Disks: Deny write access option to turn on the pendrive copy protection.
#5. Use BitLocker Encryption (only for Windows)
Windows users can encrypt their pen drives using BitLocker, a built-in security feature.
1. Insert the USB drive into your PC.
2. Right-click on the drive in File Explorer and select Turn on BitLocker. Choose Use a password to unlock the drive and enter a password.
3. Save the recovery key in a secure location. Click Next, then Start encrypting.
How to Remove Copy Protection on USB Drive
If you need to remove write protection from a USB pen drive, you can try the following methods.
#1. Check for Physical Lock: Some pen drives have a physical switch that enables write protection. Ensure this switch is in the "off" position.
#2. Use DiskPart Utility: Windows provides a command-line utility called DiskPart to manage disk attributes.
- Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter to open Command Prompt.
- Type diskpart and press Enter.
- Type list disk to display all connected drives.
- Identify your pen drive by its size, then type select disk X (replace X with the correct disk number).
- Type attributes disk clear read-only and press Enter to remove write protection.
#3. Modify Registry Settings: Incorrect registry settings can cause write protection issues.
- Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Storage.
- If write protection is set to 1, double-click it and change the value to 0 to remove copy protection for USB flash drive.
#4. Format the Pen Drive: If other methods fail, formatting the write protected USB drive can remove protection, but this will erase all data.
- Right-click the pen drive in File Explorer and select Format.
- Choose the desired file system (e.g., NTFS or FAT32) and click Start.
Best Free Way to Copy Pen Drive
After you have removed copy protection on your USB pendrive, you could easily transfer all files or folders on it to another USB drive or other storage devices with one click using AOMEI Backupper Standard. This software offers comprehensive features for cloning and backing up USB drives:
AOMEI Backupper- User-Friendly Interface: It provides a straightforward interface suitable for both novices and advanced users.
- Disk Clone: You can copy USB to another USB and keep the original format, partition tables, etc. It also supports cloning USB to SSD, SD card and other devices.
- Partition Clone: You can choose to clone a specific partition rather than the entire disk to skip unnecessary data to save space.
- Sector-By-Sector Clone: It offers to copy the entire USB drive, including protected files, to another drive, ensuring an exact replica of the source drive.
- Other useful features: It allows you to backup computer files to USB, backup USB to external drive, create bootable USB, and so on.
100% SecureStepwise Guide on how to clone/copy USB drive using AOMEI Backupper Standard:
Step 1. Connect the USB drive to your computer, and make sure it is detectable. Launch AOMEI Backupper Standard to choose Clone > Disk Clone.
*The Disk Clone function in the Standard version is only available to copy data drive. If you need to clone/copy a system drive or system-related partitions, please upgrade to the Professional or higher editions.
Step 2. Select the USB drive that has removed write-protection as the source drive, then choose another disk as your destination drive.
Step 3. Click on Start Clone to copy USB pendrive to another drive.
- ★Tips:
- If you are cloning to an SSD, check the SSD Alignment option to accelerate the writing and reading speed of SSD.
- To copy every sector on the source USB drive, please tick Sector-By-Sector Clone.
Conclusion
Cloning/copying protected pen drive can be helpful to keep sensitive data secure. We have presented you with solutions to copy protect pen drive and remove write protection from a USB.In addition, tools like AOMEI Backupper Standard make the USB to USB copy, USB to HDD copy, and USB to SSD copy process simple and hassle-free.
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