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Under Windows 7, what would be the easiest way to make data on an external hard drive or usb flash drive such, that it cannot be deleted nor overwritten, using various (regular, nothing that would fit into "security" category) software like word processors, image viewers and so on.

The idea is to make the data on the disc/drive non-modifiable.

Rook
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1 Answers1

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Approach 1: Set the following value to write protect ALL connected USB devices. You may have to unplug and reconnect the device after setting WriteProtect for it to take effect.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect

http://www.ghacks.net/2011/03/18/how-to-enable-write-protection-of-usb-devices-under-windows

Alternate Approach For a specific set of files (ie: a rescue disk), you may consider storing the files on an SD card that has a hardware lock switch. Pair this with a USB adapter and you have a solution that the OS can't override. Unfortunately, this won't work for existing USB hard drives and flash drives.

Steven
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