Editing Windows installation USB drives (section)

==An untrustworthy solution== 
By late 2016, equally locked down {{Wplink|Original equipment manufacturer|OEM}} Windows recovery USB drives were noted to be using {{Wplink|Phison}} controllers,  which a proprietary program for Windows called Phison MPALL can low level format into a writable state.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Jeff |title=How to Disable the Write Protection on Dell Windows 10 USB Recovery Sticks - ROUND 4 |url=http://www.techunboxed.com/2016/09/how-to-disable-write-protection-on-dell.html |website=tech unboxed |date=27 Sep 2016 |access-date=15 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013173716/http://www.techunboxed.com/2016/09/how-to-disable-write-protection-on-dell.html |archive-date=13 Oct 2016}}</ref> The same applied for the retail installer drives.<!-- (subject to change. An incompatibly new Phison part can be made and put in the drives or a different manufacturer’s drives can be used.) <= Hiding this garbled sentence for someone else to hammer out. - Sojourna -->

Since '''Phison's website does not distribute nor mention the program at all''', there's no way to know for sure that an unofficially redistributed version doesn't have {{Wplink|malware}} packed in or even if Phison made the software. It would be need to be used ''at the user's own risk'', preferably on a device with no sensitive data, and no passwords saved including Microsoft accounts (using workarounds to create a local account) and do another fresh install of Windows / wipe the main drive when finished with MPALL because some malware scan sites claim it installs a driver.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Malware analysis Phison_MPALL_v5.13.0C.rar |url=https://any.run/report/9670e21a30a78af57e5c4b4a702da1e8e8bf587cbc66a837b9e172f3b1a1182b/3fee59f4-c6ab-4cd1-88cc-bf433869f4b5 |website=Any Run |date=22 Jan 2025 |access-date=15 Jul 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708194646/https://any.run/report/9670e21a30a78af57e5c4b4a702da1e8e8bf587cbc66a837b9e172f3b1a1182b/3fee59f4-c6ab-4cd1-88cc-bf433869f4b5 |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</ref>

===Usage===
Its unofficial nature's trust concerns aside, Phison MPALL can brick the USB drive if GetInfo.exe's part data — should be included with MPALL's unofficial redistributions — doesn't match what's inputted into the low level formatting settings. It can also stall and fail for no apparent reason even if the user has followed instructions which is sometimes recoverable by un-plugging and then re-plugging the drive and pressing the update button to refresh the drive list before trying again with the same settings.

Each attempt can take more than an hour and a half. Do not close MPALL or power off Windows (be sure the Windows idle power settings allow such a wait) during the low level formatting.

[https://youtube.com/watch?v=VmyAHmCvILA&t=187 This YouTube video appears to be the best guide on how to use Phison MPALL.] Ignore their use of chipgenius and skip to 3 minutes and 7 seconds in, as it's been known for nearly 9 years that these are Phison drives so the included GetInfo.exe should be all that’s needed to obtain the correct part number and USB type to input.