SD Card Reader says the card is write-protected

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

Hi all,

I am hoping someone can help me with a very frustrating problem.

I have an HP Pavillion zt3000, running Microsoft Windows XP Pro.

I cannot copy any files to the SanDisk SD Card (1GB) using the SD Card
reader embedded in the notebook. It throws the "Cannot copy xxxx file.
The Disk is write-protected. Remove the write-protection or use another
disk" message.

So far these are the troubleshootings I have done.

1) SD Card is not locked. I double-checked it numerous times.

2) I have already isolated the problem exists with the SD card reader
and not the SD Card itself. When I plug in a separate SD card reader
via USB, copying to/from the card works just fine. The
problem only exists with the SD Card reader embedded in the notebook.

3) I have downloaded the SD Card Reader program (SP24430.exe) from HP
site that installs the drivers needed. Rebooted and tried again, the
problem still exists.

4) I have already downloaded and updated the ROM and BIOS to latest
from HP site.

Btw, I am trying to use the SD card to transfer files from my laptop to
Treo 650.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

HP guy told me to try couple things.

1) he told me the same thing you suggested, so I tried with my
co-worker's Palm One SD card and that worked FINE!

2) And then he told me to download this HP Enhancement Software for XP
SP2, so I did, but that didn't make my problem go away.

So I am left with the conclusion that HP zt3000 Notebook's SD card
reader is INCOMPATIBLE with SanDisk's SD card.

Anyone got a good idea?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

I am _not_ an expert on SD cards nor on Pavillions, but do you get the
write protected message for all SD cards you try?

rick jones
--
denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, rebirth...
where do you want to be today?
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)

frank409@gmail.com wrote:
> HP guy told me to try couple things.

> 1) he told me the same thing you suggested, so I tried with my
> co-worker's Palm One SD card and that worked FINE!

Good. At least it is now known that the reader in the laptop isn't
completely toast.

Does your SanDisk card work in your co-workers equipment? (Sorry if
you covered that in the original post)

> 2) And then he told me to download this HP Enhancement Software for
> XP SP2, so I did, but that didn't make my problem go away.

> So I am left with the conclusion that HP zt3000 Notebook's SD card
> reader is INCOMPATIBLE with SanDisk's SD card.

That is a plausible hypothesis (I might put it in the other order ,
but first I'd also try another example of a SanDisk SD card of the
same size if you can borrow one, and then perhaps one of the same size
as your co-worker's Palm One SD card. (Assuming it was a different
capacity).

My Photosmart 812 camera is at home right now, (which is where I have
an SD card) so I cannot look to see if write protect is an electical
switch on the card, or something more like the old 3.5" hard floppy
thing that involved physical stuff. If the latter, perhaps there are
some mechanical tolerance issues involved.

I'm also not sure if there may be different versions of the "SD
standard." There are all sorts of versions/options in stuff like SCSI
which makes compatibility, well, fun...

rick jones
--
portable adj, code that compiles under more than one compiler
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway...
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

 

[1n0x1]

I have the same problem. My Gateway MX6131 notebook tells me the SanDisk card is write protected when the disk is not write protected. When I format the card via my notebook, the card becomes writeable through my notebook; however, when I place the notebook formatted card into my Nikon camera, the camera gives me the option to format the card or shut down. Once the card is camera formatted and placed in the notebook, the notebook tells me the card is write protected again. When I access the Nikon camera via the USB cable, the write protect problem does not occur. That leads me to believe the hardware works and the software needs work.

 

[joel]

yeh iv got the same problem but i dont know anything about sd cards
any help?

 

[cobee10]

put a piece of tape over the switch on the sd card and it will work.

 

[kura1]

My friend, I had the same problem, I followed your hint and it worked very well. THANK YOU!

 

[leelee47]

I'm new to this, but I put tape over the lock and it still doesn't work. any more suggestions?

 

[poopy]

I was getting the same thing on a Dell laptop! Old SD card worked fine, new one said write protected.
I moved the switch slightly towards the lock position and hey presto its now writable.
I guess the write switch is just not quite in the correct position to active the sensor.

 

[ShyTech]

This is not a computer specific issue, it can happen on any type of computer..

This is not a reader or sofware specific issue..

To fix this issue put a piece of tape over the lock area..

This will resolve write protection issues with your SD Card.

After having this same issue andgoing through all sorts of methods this is the ONLY method that worked.

 

[fitz1979]

Putting some tape on the card may not solve this. My girlfriend called me this morning and said her card reader is telling her the card is write protected. Both crads she had worked fine previously and one of them is an MMC card and so has no write protection tab.

I'm going over to have a look at it later and se if I can figure out what it's doing.

 

[oldsaw]

An SD interface includes a tiny copper finger which the write-enabling tab of an inserted SD card depresses onto another copper contact thus closing the circuit which enables the writing to take place. I suspect that that tab inside your SD reader is broken, bent, or somehow inoperable.

 

[frr]

Indeed. I used to think that the write-protect tab operated a switch inside the card. Not true - the tab is a purely mechanical flipper, with no electric connection inside the card. Instead, it toggles (or fails to toggle) an electro-mechanical switch in the SD card reader. Oh my, even the venerable floppy drives used to have an optical sensor for the write-protect tab, and I don't remember ever meeting a flawed write-protect sensor in a floppy drive... Whereas with the ultra-modern SD media, it seems to be a popular flaw :-/

Taping over the write-protect tab on the SD card may indeed help, if the mechanical switch inside the reader is flawed in exactly the right way. In my case, it was flawed worse.

On my Fujitsu Siemens notebook, otherwise an excellent reliable machine, I managed to find out that the metallic finger in the slot is free-floating when the slot is empty, but gets grounded if the finger is pressed.
Next, I was lucky several times. Without voiding any warranty sticker, I managed to find the right hood on the bottom of the notebook, which revealed access to the CPU, RAM and basically the whole motherboard, including the SMT pins of the SD reader socket. I quickly found the sensor pin, it was the left-most pin on the socket. And indeed, if I inserted an actual card, the sensor kept trying to close, but remained open most of the time.

Then I finally I got the idea that I could just short the pin to ground "out of band". Put a very sharp tip on my soldering iron, got about 1 cm of hairline wire (a single strand from a piece of left-over stranded wire), and did the micro-surgery. I merely needed to cross a narrow gap between the sensor trace and a nearby ground plane, and I zapped my piece of wire to the right pins of two suitable SMT devices, which provided uncovered tin, easy to solder.

Guess what, the SD card isn't write protected anymore, even if I toggle the tab on the card to the "locked" position. Who cares about the write-protection anyway

Thanks a lot, everyone, for posting your comments about the tape-over trick, and especially about the "sensor finger". That got me started. Your information has saved me from several days without my notebook, and possibly from a replacement of my known-good rock-solid motherboard (if it ain't broke, don't fix it).

 

[Jeco]

I was getting the same thing on a Dell laptop! Old SD card worked fine, new one said write protected.
I moved the switch slightly towards the lock position and hey presto its now writable.
I guess the write switch is just not quite in the correct position to active the sensor.

had this same problem, i have 2 sd cards that i can't write on or even format, then i saw this thread...read the above post, put the switch between notch and bingo!!

not a sweat at all!!

 

[yulbfr]

YES IT WORKS !

This is not a computer specific issue, it can happen on any type of computer..

This is not a reader or sofware specific issue..

To fix this issue put a piece of tape over the lock area..

This will resolve write protection issues with your SD Card.

After having this same issue andgoing through all sorts of methods this is the ONLY method that worked.

My camera didn't read my SD card but my computer could. After moving very slightly the switch it worked on botth

 

[esmdave]

I tried this tape over and it worked the first time but never again. I did the taping myself so I know it was done the same way . Can I buy a SD card that works with Panasonic without this write protect stuff or is there something else I can try. This is getting very frustrating.

 

[mannydeguzmanartist]

The SD Cards' "Write Protection" issue is not a software issue or any computer related problem. It is not the problem with your SD card either. The real problem lies in the Card Reader itself, a stuck WRITE PROTECTION SWITCH in the card slot. Peer inside the slot and you can see on the left a copper lever switch. This is the WRITE PROTECT SWITCH.

If your card reader is out of warranty, you might want to do this simple repair yourself to save bucks:

Loosen the screws and open up your card reader. If you can have access to the card slot metal cover, you can see that there is a certain hole on the left just outside the copper switch we mentioned awhile ago. Confirm the location of the switch and if it is in line with this hole by peering once more inside the card slot.

Now insert a needle or a pin inside the hole and push slightly the lever away from the card slot wall, being careful not to breack the switch. This will cause the copper lever to bend slightly inwards from the card slot.

Test if you're successful with this repair. Without the cover on, connect the card reader to the computer and insert the SD card. If you can now manage to manipulate your files by erasing them, or formating your card, then you're done. Replace everything back inside the cover, and your done!

...I'm currently looking for a DIY CF card to any flash based (cards) conversions such as CF to SD, CF to MMC, etc. If you can find such project, please send it to me at: mannydeguzmanjrartist@yahoo.com

I prefer to do it myself. I want to learn more about data storage and how to hack the hardisk storage of mp3 players such as the Creative Zen Neeon and Zen Micro that I have.

Please visit my site: mannydeguzmanartist.wetpaint.com

My modeling and talent's site at: teenmodels2007.wetpaint.com

 

[jessr2010]

ok i did the slide the lock thing slightly towards the lock and it worked but i put the SD card back into my camera and now i can't view the pictures on my camera but their on the SD card.....please help me!!

 

[mannydeguzmanartist]

jessr2010... I supposed you had accidentally erased or format your card when your card reader accessed your SD card. Verify if you can still open your images using Windows Explorer. If the files are there but you cannot open it, then your card might be corrupted. Try defragmenting it using Disk Tools by RIGHT CLICKing the Card drive, and then PROPERTIES. If this doesn't work, then your photos might not be retrievable, and you had to format the card in your camera. Be sure not to slide the SD into LOck position, or the camera might not be able to format it.

As I have said in my earlier post, the WRITE PROTECTION problem has nothing to do with the SD card but with the card reader itself...

 

[fety]

Just had this same problem with my little SD reader. Except the problem was with the solder joint, needed a touch with the iron and it was back working again. I looked at the write lock pin closely and it was touching the ground just fine.

 

[ynneb]

Thanks to the help in this forum I have fixed my problem. It make sense why tape would work because it moves the contacts more.
Here is a picture of where the problem is and how to fix it. I hope this helps.
Regards Benny
With Nintendo Wii only using SD cards, I expect there will be a lot of users having a similar issue.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE FOR A BIGGER VIEW.

 

[JohnDoe999]

I just got the same problem on my card. After reading some of these posts, I tried with the tape. It did not work. However; after reading all the posts, I decided to use as much tape as possible. I use the kind of tape that you use when you paint so that you do not get paint on the ceiling etc. (Don't know the english word for it). It's rather thick. I used so much tape that I could barely squeeze the card inside the card reader. Now it works just fine.

 

[CoopersMummy]

Thanks JohnDoe999 - I had tried the tape, but after reading your post I gave it another go and IT WORKED!!!

Stupid card reader... I'm not brave enough to attempt deconstructing my PC, but will call Acer (yeah yeah I know, they're crap!) today and get them to fix the bloody thing! SO frustrating - especially with kids, you can't begin to imagine how many photos I have stored all over the place!

 

[xr6ute]

Thanks to manny...

I purchased a new multi card reader and had same issue as everyone here.

If you think back to the old blank cassettes the theory is the same, but in reverse. I found the metal pin inside the SD Card slot was not out far enough, and so the reader thought the write protection tab was in the 'lock' position.

I opened the reader (not really necessary) and using a fine pin gently levered the metal pin away from the inner wall of the slot. Only a real small adjustment, but now it reads the SD cards and allows data transfer...no problems.

Putting tape over the actual SD Card will not fix the issue, only make it worse, as the pin inside will remain against the inner wall, thereby ensuring the reader thinking the card is supposed to be protected.