16GB USB Stick (FAT32) is Read-only on Mac, What to Do?

I have a 16GB USB stick for my Mac. Today, I wanted to put some files onto it, only to find it didn't work. I have checked the info, and under Sharing & Permissions, it shows that you can only read. No options to change the permissions. Then, I tried fixing the issue with Disk Utility but it is coming up with an error that says: Could not change the partition type for /dev/disk0s2 - Resource busy. I also failed to erase the USB with an error hint: Unable to write to the last block of the device. When I run First Aid again, another error: This disk needs to be repaired. Then, I found the buttons in Disk Utility are greyed out, including Verify Disk Permissions, Repair Disk Permissions, Verify Disk, and Repair Disk. The USB only stores one unnecessary file but I want to continue using it.

Best Answered by

Connie Yang

Answered on Tuesday, August 27, 2024

There's little chance that you can fix the USB drive with Disk Utility as you say almost all the buttons to fix the drive are greyed out and error messages come out one by one when you try fixing the USB stick with Disk Utility.

But there are still some tips for you to fix the USB drive that is read-only on your Mac, though the help may be very small.

Disconnect your USB stick and reconnect it to your Mac slowly.
Restart your Mac.
Reformat the USB stick to FAT32 on a Windows machine and check if it can work on your PC.

If no luck, go to a local repair center to ask for help.