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USB can't reformat or delete files due to partition map

I've tried formatting (now on MS DOS32), using disk utility, and dragging and dropping files to the trash, but my SanDisk USB won't take files—some of which were loaded on before the problem started—or remove any. This USB stick was specially purchased for my work CPU, however it hasn't functioned from day one. A notification stating that the partition map prevents the USB from reformatting or deleting files appears. Any help?

Best Answered by

Amanda Wong

Answered on Tuesday, August 27, 2024

If you can't add or delete files from the new USB drive on your Mac, the drive could be physically locked, therefore, you can first check whether there is a physical lock on the USB and whether it is toggled down to prevent you from writing data to it.

If so, you should remove the write protection from USB/SD card on Mac so that you can continue use the drive to read and write. In addition to this reason, you may also encounter the couldn't modify partition map when you reformat, partition, and repair the drive due to corrupted partition map and damaged files and disk errors. 

If you need to recover data when you can't modify partition map, try iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to save your data!