How to Change Read/Write Permissions on External Hard Drive?

External hard drives/ disks are extremely useful for storing big amounts of data. They can hold anything from family pictures to your work files, and they support an easy way to back up data or transfer files between different computers. Even so, sometimes you may encounter a consequence where you can not modify, delete, or create files on your external drive. It may be due to restricted permissions that prevent you from making changes. In this article, we will explain how to change read and write permissions on external hard drives or win10 not showing portable SSD as writable so that you can access, change, & erase files freely. Whether you are using a Windows or Mac computer, we will cover both OS systems.

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What are the Read/Write Permissions?

Before moving into how to change permissions, it is important to comprehend what they mean. Read/write permissions control what actions can be executed on files & folders:

• Read Permission: It allows you to view the contents of files and folders. You can open & read them, but you cannot change or delete them.
• Write Permission: This lets you change, add, or remove files & folders. In absentia this permission, you can’t change or save new files on the drive.

Sometimes, these permissions may be set to Read-only or No Access, which restricts you from doing what you want. Thankfully, changing the permissions is fairly simple.

User’s Queries

“I have a Sandisk memory card, which restricts me from saving new data. Then, I think, the written permission changed. Can anyone suggest to me steps for how to change permissions on an external drive, flash or SD card?”

“I am using the external solid-state drive on my Windows 10 PC. But when I tried to transfer some files from my PC’s internal hard disk,. It prompts me with an error message, i.e., hard drive write-protected. Is it possible to win10 not showing portable SSD as writable or remove write protection from micro SD card?”

Change Read and Write Permissions on External Hard Drive -Manually

There are different ways to enable write access to external hard drive, memory cards, and SSD drive-related issues. Here, we have chosen to discuss two commonly used techniques step-by-step.

Technique 1:Changing Permissions on Windows

1. Initially, connect the external hard drive to your Windows system and wait until the system detects it.
2. Then, press Windows key+ E together to open File Explorer.
3. Select the drive letter for the external HDD and right-click on it to choose Properties.
4. Choose the Security tab from the Properties window.
5. After that, click on the Edit button to make changes to the permissions.
6. On the next screen, you will see a section called Permissions for Authenticated Users.
7. Check the Allow boxes corresponding to the Full Control, Modify, Read, and Write options.
8. Finally, click on Apply >> OK to allow read and write permissions to every user.

Task 2: Change Permissions on External Hard Drive Windows Using CMD

If the previous technique failed to obtain external hard drive permissions in Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 or below versions, try this one.

1. Press Win + R together and type cmd in the box to hit Enter.
2. Run the command prompt as the administrator.
3. Write diskpart and press Enter.
4. Type list disk and press Enter again.
5. Now, type select disk X and press Enter. (Here, replace X with your drive letter.)
6. Write attributes to disk, clear read-only and then hit Enter.
7. Close the command prompt. You will see that the write permission has been changed on the external hard disk.

After saving the changes, try to create or modify a file on the external drive to make sure permissions are not playing a role.

Task 3: Change Read/Write Permissions on External Hard Drive on MacOS

If you are working on a Mac, the method is quite different, but still very easy. Here’s what you want to do:

• Assure your external hard drive is linked to your Mac.
• The drive should appear on your desktop computer or in Finder.
• Right-clicking on the external drive sign or click Control + Click.
• Select Get info from the context menu. It will open a window with complete information about the drive.
• In the obtained Info window, move down to the Sharing & Permissions segment.
• You will show a list of users & their approvals. The default permissions for drives are usually Read Only.
• If the account is set to read–only mode, you cannot write or change files.
• To modify permissions, tick the lock icon in the bottom right corner. You may use it to enter your administrator password to unblock the settings.
• Formerly the settings are unlocked, Tick the Read-only or No Access drop-down next to your user account, and change it to Read & Write.
• You can additionally add precise users/ groups and set their permissions accordingly, but for individual use, making changes to your own account is usually sufficient.

After adjusting the permissions, close the Get Info window. Test the changes by trying to create or edit a file on the external hard drive.

Why Can’t I Change Permissions on My External Hard Drive?

In a few situations, you may discover that you cannot change the permissions even after following the steps above. Here are the various possible reasons why:

1. Drive or Disk is Formatted for Dissimilar File System

If the external hard drive or disk is formatted in a file system that is not fully compatible with your operating system, such as NTFS on Mac or exFAT on Windows, you may encounter permission issues.

• NTFS is the deficiency file system for Windows, but mac OS only has limited read and no write support for NTFS drives without third party software.
• exFAT is repeatedly used for cross platform compatibility between Windows and Mac, but it may not support all permission features.

To rectify this, you might necessity to reformat the drive to a supported file system for your OS. Acknowledge that reformatting will erase all data on the drive, so be sure to backup your data first.

2. Drive is Locked or Encrypted

External hard disks come with built in encryption or a hardware lock. If your disk is locked or encrypted, you won’t be suitable to modify permissions until you unlock or decrypt it. Search the manufacturer procedure on how to unlock or decrypt the drive.

3. Administrative Rights

In a few cases, you may not have administrative rights to change read/write permissions on external hard drive, especially on shared or company computers. You will like to have the right admin privileges to make these modifications. If required, ask your system organizer for assistance.

Concluding Words

The above discussion focused on how to change read and write permissions on external hard drive, SD card, SSD on Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7. Here, three popular methods have been shared with the readers that they can implement to enable write access to external hard drives, memory cards (micro SD), and SSD. It is expected that the users will be able to perform the techniques by following the guidelines.