Solved My Drive D: is locked into an attribute of Read-Only

TheTechGuy

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Hello:

Actually the title above doesn't due this problem justice.

I have a 1.5 yr. old ASUS notebook which has been upgraded from the initial WIN8.0 to 8.1 and then to PRO several months ago. The PRO was done in an attempt to install the encryption technology, Bitlocker. Shortly after the install of Bitlocker, I found it would not work and traced it back to a discussion with ASUS who said this particular notebook was not built with the ability to be encrypted. (This is the second notebook/laptop in several months that I ran across this!) In any case, Bitlocker is not turned on anywhere, and unfortunately, I can't find any tool to remove it from my harddrive as of yet. I only mention this as a possible bearing on the issue since apparently it embeds itself in the root directory, if I am correct. This problem recently started for some unknown reason I can't contribute anything to.

My drive D: is an extension on the physical drive. When I try to manipulate and files or folders, it comes up with "the media is read only" or "the disk is write protected" all dependent on what I am trying to do and what application is open. It will, of course, allow me to copy files to C:.
I have tried the following:
-CHKDSK which found nothing
-FILE CHECKER which found nothing
-PERMISSIONS checked and everyone and everything has full permissions
-DISKPART/ATTRIBUTES ran to check everything and according to the attributes on this volume, there is NO READONLY! I ran the CLEAN command 2X anyway which came up "successful" each time.
-I also ran some quality DISK MANAGEMENT software which could not make any modifications since it views the drive as "Read Only".

Help!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN8.1PRO
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    Intel i5-3210M 2.5Ghz
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Update 1 Pro 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pavillion H8-1202
    CPU
    I7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    PEGATRON
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVDIA GeForce GT 520
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC656GR CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080 32 bit color
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 EVO SSD 500GB
    Keyboard
    Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
Shot in the dark here, this site shows how to remove Bitlocker although written for Win 7, it should work in Win 8

how to remove bitlocker

Also any help here

Unlock a BitLocker-protected drive - Windows Help

Unfortunately no help here :(.
The machine apparently does not have TPM.
I'm not sure if "locked" is the proper word. With all the things that have been tried including the suggestions from all the helpful respondents on this and other sites, what really comes up is the drive is write protected or read only. The read only has not been able to be removed no matter what. So the real issue is trying to remove the write-protection. I don't believe Bitlocker was ever properly or completely installed. I have limited ability to manage Bitlocker and removing it is not one of them. It could never encrypt Drive C:, only D:.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN8.1PRO
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    Intel i5-3210M 2.5Ghz
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Does the machine have a TPM?
It lacks TPM. Due to this and the manufacturer failking to offer encryption even with WIN8.1PRO, I could never encrypt drive C: and believe a limited functioning Bitlocker exists. It is only on D: and is not turned on. It cannot be turned on in C:
But everything points to the fact that my machine had D: write protected, but nothing allows me to remove it. All permissions are set.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN8.1PRO
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    Intel i5-3210M 2.5Ghz
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Did you check the policy editor?

Windows Key + R > gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Public Key Policies

Check the policies under all three nodes (Encrypting File System, Data Protection, Bitlocker Drive Encryption)

Also, try to copy something to D: to force the error, then check Event Viewer to see if you can find any more details
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8 Pro
Thanks for the suggestions, Lastof.
I checked all 3 as requested.
No Encryption file system policies defined
No data protection policies defined
No bitlocker drive encryption data recovery agents defined
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN8.1PRO
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    Intel i5-3210M 2.5Ghz
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
techguy,

Go back into the policy editor, to this node specifically : Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Bitlocker Drive Encryption>Fixed Data Drives

Is this policy enabled? : "Deny write access to fixed drives not protected by Bitlocker" ?

If it is, disable it and reboot. If that doesn't work, change it to 'Not Configured', reboot. The setting will depend on whether or not bitlocker is active in the system. If it is "not configured"

Check all the nodes (Operating System Drives, Removeable Data Drives) and their policies, and reset everything to 'Not Configured'

Let me know.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8 Pro
Lastof, you are a genius! YES, it worked! I was a little skeptical due to many trying and this being rather complex with remnants of Bitlocker as a possible issue. I was able to write to the drive now. You were correct. Many Kudos! :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN8.1PRO
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    Intel i5-3210M 2.5Ghz
    Memory
    8GB
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Glad it worked out for you. I knew Bitlocker changed some policies when it is enabled, just wasn't sure which ones - just like all troubleshooting, it was just a matter of trial and error.

Take care.

Jason
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8 Pro
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