How do I undo write protect on thumb drive using terminal

Just make a new partition table on the USB using Windows disk manager.

Open the USB go to properties -> permissions -> Change Access to read & write.
Some distros lock their OS. It is just a matter of changing the permissions for the usb.
I prefer using Etcher it flashes then checks the checksums for you, it works on any OS.
https://www.balena.io/etcher/

I tried that in the GUI of Kubuntu didn't work. This is the message I got

Could not change permissions for /media/jay/Zorin OS 16 Pro
64bit/boot/grub/i386-efi/zstd.mod.

On Mon, Nov 8, 2021 at 4:11 AM Bernard Stafford <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #699393 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/699393
>
> Bernard Stafford proposed the following answer:
> Open the USB go to properties -> permissions -> Change Access to read &
> write.
> Some distros lock their OS. It is just a matter of changing the
> permissions for the usb.
> I prefer using Etcher it flashes then checks the checksums for you, it
> works on any OS.
> https://www.balena.io/etcher/
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/699393/+confirm?answer_id=1
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/699393
>
> You received this question notification because you asked the question.
>

If you can't remove the write protection in Windows and in different Linux versions, then this may indicate that the USB stick is defect.

Thanks Manfred I believe you are correct. That is after trying everything I
know about formatting and or
removing / deleting partitions, using programs like Rufus,BalenaEtcher,
Macrorit, and Windows disk manager, with
no success. However I will try a few more programs and then decide to throw
the stick away.
This problem started after using Rufus 3.17 to copy files from the ISO
image of Zorin 16.0 Pro, which I paid $39.00
to install on a new HDD. I was able to install version 15.3 without any
problems and remove the ISO files from the stick
via windows format option from the drop down menu, but with this 16.0
version I believe it permanently locked the USB thumb
drive. I even tried rewriting the ISO files back onto the thumb drive in
hopes that the files had a script somewhere that would
undo the lock or atleast write over the existing files. It didn't work.
Thanks. If you know of a terminal command using sudo
or some other super user command, let me know and I'll give it a try.
Thanks. By the way I'm using Kubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.04,
and Linuxmint 20.2. Cinnamon or MATE which found the adapter first thing
before the actual install process.
I also installed KDE Neon which couldn't find my wireless adapter made by
Realtec during the install process.
So I deleted that partition and installed Linuxmint in it's place. I don't
particularly like the fact the KDE wrote in my bios it's own
boot script of which it never gave me a choice to choose where to write the
boot commander either on the Windows boot manager
or the new HDD in it's own boot partition. I'm pissed off because that is
in my bios and I want to remove it since I'm not using
KDE Neon on any drive at all. Any suggestions ?
I'm using the LENOVO IdeaPad 3 17IIL05 laptop that only has a wireless
network device, no ethernet port

On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 12:01 AM Manfred Hampl <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #699393 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/699393
>
> Status: Open => Answered
>
> Manfred Hampl proposed the following answer:
> If you can't remove the write protection in Windows and in different
> Linux versions, then this may indicate that the USB stick is defect.
>
> --
> If this answers your question, please go to the following page to let us
> know that it is solved:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/699393/+confirm?answer_id=3
>
> If you still need help, you can reply to this email or go to the
> following page to enter your feedback:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/699393
>
> You received this question notification because you asked the question.
>

" If you know of a terminal command using sudo or some other super user command, let me know and I'll give it a try."

There is the dd command to do unconditional writes on devices or files. You have to find out the device name of the USB stick and can then zero out everything on it with a command like "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdx".
You have to use extreme caution with that command, because if you use the wrong device name, you may delete the contents of your real system instead of the stick.

"KDE wrote in my bios it's own boot script"
and
"and I want to remove it"

I am not sure whether the first one is true.

If you have set up your computer to use UEFI, then you can create and remove boot entries with the EFI tools.
If you are not using UEFI, then there is nothing written to the BIOS, but to the boot sector of the hard disk(s). Information about this can be gathered using the boot-info script.

This question initially was about the write protection of the USB stick.
The boot issue is something different and deserves a separate question document.