Fix Can't Erase USB Drive: A Writable Disk is Required. : (-69772)

Copying or deleting files from an internal or external drive or eliminating a disk to use it for something else are some typical tasks most of us perform while using the MacBooks. Often, there are no issues; nobody gives much thought to it! Nevertheless, sometimes, things might go wrong, and an error text pops up on the screen.

The problem is hassle-free to resolve; on other occasions, it's not! In this article, we will discuss the issue that falls into the latter category and demonstrate what to do if you check the error text stating, "unable to erase USB drive, a writable disk is required (-69772)."

This error text usually pops up when Disk Utility eliminates a volume or disk. It implies that Disk Utility can't find the disk you're attempting to obliterate or can't access it. The reasons for the issue are the following:

• The volume or disk is encoded.   
• An issue with the physical link to the disk
• An issue with Disk Utility.
• Software issue with the disk.

Prior Task: Recover Your Lost Data Due to 69772 Error

Have you backed up the SSD or USB data before obliterating it on your Mac? If not, backing them up is the best thing to do, as the erasure procedure failed. Is your objective of formatting a disk to get the corrupted or inaccessible disk mended? You can't back up the files, but you can employ data recovery software to restore data from the drive.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is the best software in the market that can assist you in retrieving files, even those that are lost or deleted, from a damaged, inaccessible, or unreadable HDD.

Download this professional data recovery software for Mac now! Don't forget to share the data retrieval software to help those who want to retrieve files from an inaccessible HDD. Follow the steps here to recover your lost data on Mac due to the 69772 error:

Step 1. Select the location and scan

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac and choose the disk where you lost data. Then, click "Search for lost files" to start scanning.

Step 2. Filter and preview lost files

After the scan, use the file format filter on the left or upper right corner to find the deleted files you need.

Step 3. Recover lost data or files

You can double-click a file to preview its content, or choose multiple files to recover them at once. Click "Recover" to restore the lost data to a local or cloud drive.

You are invited to share this post with your friends who are facing the same question:

Fix 1. Format the Volume to Fix a Writable Disk Is Required

In case you can't delete the entire USB drive, you may try to format the volume. It's because when you delete a drive, you eliminate every volume and the partition scheme. You can't erase the drive once a volume or the partition map contains errors. On the other hand, if you can't delete the volume, switch to format the whole disk.   

🔴Note: This method will erase all your data, so you better back up your critical files before.

Fix 2. Run First Aid to Check the Disk Error

Are there unrecognized errors on your external drive? If yes, you obtain this error message when trying to erase the drive in Mac Disk Utility. You may run First Aid to verify and mend the HDD. The steps are the following:

Step 1. Launch "Disk Utility" and hit "View" on the toolbar to exhibit all devices.

Step 2. Opt for the top listing HDD under External.

Step 3. Hit "First Aid" and then hit "OK" on the confirmation window.

Once First Aid completes checking, verify if you can erase your disk now. 

Fix 3. Erase the External Drive With the Terminal to Fix Error 69772

Employing the Mac Terminal to eliminate the external HDD is best when Disk Utility can't accomplish its task. Go through the steps below to erase the external drive with Terminal:

Step 1. Launch "Terminal" from Launchpad > Other on your Mac.

Step 2. Type the command: diskutil list and hit "Enter" to list every disk information on your Mac.

Step 3. Locate the identifier of your external disk.

Step 4. Copy & paste the command diskutil list to format the drive on Mac.

Step 5. Alter the word format with the format you want the disk to format to, alter "name" with the name you wish the disk to be called after eliminating, and alter "identifier" with the external drive's identifier. Now, hit "enter."

Step 6. Type your admin password if necessary.

Step 7. Verify whether the drive has been successfully erased in Disk Utility.

Final Words

The error text "Can't erase USB drive: A writable Disk is required (-69772)" usually pops up when you attempt to move or copy a file or eliminate a disk. Hopefully, you can successfully eliminate the -69772 error with the steps mentioned above. If you have lost data while fixing this, installing the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac is essential.

FAQs

Go through the FAQs below to understand the topic better:

1. How do you format SSD to FAT32 on a Mac?

To format SSD to FAT32 on a Mac, you can use Disk Utility to eliminate the disk and then opt for the FAT32 file system with the steps below:

• Launch "Disk Utility."
• Opt for the disk you would like to format.
• Hit the "Erase" button.
• Opt for a partition scheme in the "Erase" dialog.
• Hit the format pop-up menu.
• Opt for MS-DOS (FAT) for disks 32GB or less.
• Type a volume name.
• Hit "Erase" and finally, "Done."

2. How do I make a writable disk writable?

To make a writable disk writable, you need to right-click on the drive, which is currently read-only, and then hit "Properties." Now, check the option of "Read and Write" under the "Security" tab, and finally hit "Apply."

3. How do you fix a writable disk? Is it required (-69772)?

To fix a writable disk is required (-69772) error, you need to verify if the disk is encoded. You cannot access a disk that has been reconfigured in an encoded fashion if you are attempting to copy files to it or eliminate it. Click it to verify in a Finder window. The message is safeguarded if it requests a password. To transfer or remove files from it, you must enter the password.