Clear Disk and Volume Read-Only Attributes Using DiskPart in Windows

The built-in Windows command-line utility DiskPart allows administrators to view, set, and clear configuration flags on storage devices. When a storage device or volume is marked read-only at the software level, DiskPart attribute commands can inspect and clear that attribute.

Supported Operating Systems

According to Microsoft documentation, the attribute commands apply to:

• Windows 11
• Windows 10
• Windows Server 2025
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Azure Local version 2311.2 and later

Disk-Level vs. Volume-Level Scopes

DiskPart maintains separate attribute commands for physical disks and logical volumes:

• Disk attributes: Managed using attributes disk. Setting or clearing an attribute affects the disk that currently holds focus. When displaying attributes, the startup disk attribute marks the disk used to start the computer. For dynamic mirrors, it indicates the disk containing the boot plex of the boot volume.
• Volume attributes: Managed using attributes volume. On basic Master Boot Record (MBR) disks, the hidden, readonly, and nodefaultdriveletter parameters apply to all volumes on that physical disk. On basic GUID Partition Table (GPT) disks and dynamic disks (MBR or GPT), these parameters apply only to the selected volume.

Inspecting and Clearing Disk Read-Only Attributes

A disk must be selected for attributes disk commands to succeed.

1. Select the Disk

Shift focus to the target disk using the select disk command:

select disk <disknumber>

Always verify that focus is on the intended disk before running attribute modification commands.

2. View Current Disk Attributes

Display the current attribute flags for the selected disk:

attributes disk

3. Clear the Read-Only Flag

To clear the read-only flag on the selected disk with focus, enter:

attributes disk clear readonly

Inspecting and Clearing Volume Read-Only Attributes

A volume must be selected for attributes volume commands to succeed.

1. Select the Volume

Shift focus to the target volume using the select volume command:

select volume <volumenumber>

Always verify that focus is on the intended volume before modifying attributes.

2. View Current Volume Attributes

Display the current attribute flags for the selected volume:

attributes volume

3. Clear the Read-Only Flag

To clear the read-only flag on the selected volume with focus, enter:

attributes volume clear readonly

DiskPart also supports clearing multiple attributes simultaneously if needed, such as: attributes volume clear hidden readonly.

Scripting Parameter: noerr

Both attributes disk and attributes volume support an optional noerr parameter designated for scripting only. Without noerr, encountering an error causes DiskPart to exit with an error code. When noerr is included, DiskPart continues processing subsequent commands as if the error did not occur.

Research Method and Limitations

This article was prepared directly from public Microsoft Learn command documentation for attributes disk and attributes volume. No competing coverage was available for comparison. Material limits include the lack of primary documentation in the supplied excerpts for starting the DiskPart command-line tool itself (such as executable paths or elevated privilege requirements), physical hardware write-protect switches, or file system permissions.

Source references

• learn.microsoft.com documentation
• learn.microsoft.com documentation