Q&A Forum > > Reply To: Suddenly, all of my photos are write protected. Start a new discussion October 6, 2022 at 8:15 am #54749 TeamKomando:JohnParticipant @264458 Hello LeeHearn, Was this USB drive photo backup created on the same workstation you are using now? Take a look here, there are 5 steps to take when your USB drive is suddenly Write Protected. I would first try to copy a few photos directly to your desktop and see if they open.