Hi
I have a thumb drive that is MS-DOS (FAT12). It only gives me permission to read.
Is it possible to change the permission to read write?
I don't mind if I have to reformat the drive.
AS
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7)
Hi
Thanks for the rapid reply. When I open DU for this drive it shows the drive had been partitioned. DU will let me access one partition and make the changes listed above. I am unable to manipulate the other partiton, all the options are greyed out when I click on partition, erase, etc.
Is there a way to get this locked portion to open?
Wish we had the slider tabs like the floppies used to.
Thanks
AS
As in the instructions, you need to select one partition from the Partition Scheme drop down menu. You do not need to manipulate the extant partitions, you need to replace them with one new partition for the whole drive.
Just follow my instructions.
Hi
Thanks. I've followed your steps for the 1 GB portion of the drive that I had read/write permssions to access. I am unable to get to the other partition. I can see your instructions are accurate, but for some reason I still cannot get to the locked portion.
I've ejected the disc multiple times, with no change.
Do you have any other advice?
Thanks
AS
I'm not sure what you are doing, but it sounds like you are trying to change each displayed partition rather than repartitioning the drive in its entirety.
Take a screen snapshot of what is displayed when you have selected the drive and clicked on the Partition tab (use COMMAND-SHIFT-4 then use the crosshairs to select the screen part.)
Thanks.
Here is what I see when I reinsert the drive
file://localhost/Users/dogtor/Desktop/Screen%20Shot%202011-11-13%20at%206.15.59% 20PM.png
Here is what I see when I get to the 1GB partition, which I was able to manipulate with your instructions.
file://localhost/Users/dogtor/Desktop/Screen%20Shot%202011-11-13%20at%206.17.35% 20PM.png
Here's what I see when I want to get to the 3GB portion that I don't have permissions to write to.
file://localhost/Users/dogtor/Desktop/Screen%20Shot%202011-11-13%20at%206.19.25% 20PM.png
Does this help explain my inability to get to the partition?
Also, I am not sure if my screen shots will paste properly. I am dragging and dropping into this reply.
Thanks for your help
Are there two different USB drives? That's certainly what it appears to be. What was this flash drive used for originally? Does it have any sort of write protection slider on the outside to lock the drive in a read-only mode?
Can you select the disk icon on the Desktop for the 3.1 GB device? If you can then select the icon and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom is the Ownership and Permissions section. If any of the displayed items - owner, group, or everyone - is shown as No Access and the box to "Ignore permissions, etc...." is checked then do this:
Click on the lock icon in the lower right corner. Enter your admin password as prompted. If the "Ignore permissions, etc...." box is checked then uncheck it. If any of the user entries is shown as No Access, then change it to read/write. If Everyone is No Access then change it to read-only. Then click on the lock icon. Close the Get Info window. Quit and re-open Disk Utility. See if that partition is now accessible.
Thanks. The USB drive came already partitioned. The 3GB portion contains info I no longer need but is write protected. The drive was a promo gift from a company. The 1GB portion I can access and went through the steps listed above to reformat. But I cannot manipulate the 3GB portion in any way.
There is no switch to slide, and I took it completely apart to check.
When I check permissions with command-I, there is no lock to unlock on the 3GB portion. I am unable to select ignore permissions.
I tired reformating on a PC at work this morning and have the same roadblock.
Can you think of a way around the write protection?
ALL BEWARE
I have just followed Kappy's advice and instruction to the letter. Unfortunately he failed to mention anything you had on the drive (in this case very important software from a client) would be permanently deleted !!
Joke!!
Thank you! I had trouble getting permission on a 2TB disk I created for Windows. The answer for me was to use the GUID setup, then set the partition to ex-fat. I want to share the files between Windows and my Mac. This led me down the right path as I have large files from my time machine USB 2TB disk.
I think some of these people need to take classes in how computers work 😁. You sure have more patience than I do with people.
Here are the images in order as above. AS
Then I'm afraid I'm at a loss. Where did this device come from? Who makes it and what was it for originally?
For a Mac do this:
Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
How do I change permissions on a USB drive?
