CODEWITHSUNDEEP
windows-xpusb-drivegroup-policydata-protection
Robin Rodricks
Robin Rodricks

Reputation: 114046

Is there a way to disable formatting of a USB Flashdrive?

Can any script or setting be written (autorun file?) to disable formatting of a USB Flashdrive? (Win XP, via Windows Explorer > Format)

I'm aware of write-protection, but I don't want to completely prevent modifying files, instead something like what a Group Policy setting could do?

Edit: Really what I'm asking for is a registry setting or else that I can modify on USB drive startup to tell Win XP not to format drive X:

Upvotes: 2

Views: 7620

Answers (2)

jnimmo
jnimmo

Reputation: 21

Registry key 'MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\AllocateDASD' restricts the formatting and ejecting of external drives (see this helpful Microsoft spreadsheet full of registry keys that the Group Policy editor controls).

Set it to 'Administrators' or another group which you can trust not to go formatting where they shouldn't.

Upvotes: 2

MSalters
MSalters

Reputation: 179991

Format the things as NTFS. That should give you sufficient security. You need admin rights to the volume to reformat the USB stick. Anyone with those rights can by definition disable any protection you could enable. If you allow Everyone to create and modify files in the root directory and below, users can still write files as demanded.

Upvotes: 2

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