How to unlock locked USB drive

Question

I have this nice USB stick that I would like to use but it won&#x27;t allow me to modify it. I then went to disk utlity to see what the problem is and this is the info it showed.Name :           POKEN Touch &amp; Connect Media          Type :           Disk          Partition Map Scheme :           Master Boot Record          Disk Identifier :           disk1          Media Name :           POKEN Touch &amp; Connect Media          Media Type :           Generic          Connection Bus :           USB          USB Serial Number :           12345678          Device Tree :           /PCI0@0/USB7@1D,7/@5:0          Locked :           Yes          Writable :           No          Ejectable :           Yes          Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed :           No          Location :           External          Total Capacity :           18.5 KB (18,944 Bytes)          S.M.A.R.T. Status :           Not Supported          Disk Number :           1          Partition Number :           0How do I make it&#x27;s locked status no?

a brody · Answer

Most flash drives have a slider that lets you change its locked state while it is not connected to anything.   The other thing to check, especially for any of 8 GB or more, is if it was formatted ExFat at the factory.  If it was, you&#x27;ll need to upgrade to 10.6.4 or later or reformat it for the Mac alone to be able to use it.  ExFat is only supported on 10.6.4 or later.

a brody · Answer

Alternatively, you can format it for NTFS, but that means to be able to write to it, you&#x27;ll need an NTFS tool, such as is described on this tip: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3003