SD Card Reader says the card is write-protected

[Guest]

I was happily scanning film negatives on my HP3313 AIO, and a fine job it was doing. Suddenly it stated an error had occurred with the (CF) memory card and to press "OK" to proceed.

So I inserted another spare CF memory card and away I went, for a while, and it too stopped accepting data.

Then I used a Sony MS card and for a while it too was OK but later stopped being able to write data. To solve this Sony MS stick problem was easy, I used my camera to "format" the card, and the "write protected" nonsense dissappeared.

But I no longer have a Camera with a CF card and can't remove the write protect status (which I think is a software stunt pulled by the HP printer).

So, until my grandson arrives next month with his Minolta camera, I'll not be able to use these two FC memory cards.

Truthful James

 

[Guest]

hi every one.......
I was facing the same problem.If you are getting the msg "Disk is write protect", when u try to copy a file or format disk.
Just pull out your "sd card adapter" from your "sd card reader". see carefully ...on a side of your sd card adapter you will find a small switch,just set it to unlock side,then insert it again into ur card reader.
Wow......I think u will be happy now..
Regards
Nikhil Bhardwaj
nikhil.nikh172222@gmail.com

 

[fionajm]

i am ussing a micro sd card,and an adaptor,so i can put songs on my cell phone,
ive tried the tape
i put the switch on unlock,ive tried putting it in the middle,
ive dusted the slot.
but all the time i try to format it computer says,u "do not have rights to perform this operation" i dont know what else to do be cause am verry mad i spent 13 $ on it,and it doesnt work

 

[bobspez]

Well my success was short lived. After submitting the following comments my player
once again lost the ability to read/write and save files. The final solution that
does work:

I bought a stand alone card reader at Best Buy for $20. When I write the card
from my PC through the reader, I lock the card with the write protect tab. That works.

The fault is somewhere in the mpg/mp3/jpg viewer or it's /usb connection. But no matter. The player works fine now as a read only device. As long as the card is locked with the write protect tab, and I use the external reader to add / delete files from the card, all is well.

................

Previous short lived success:

I had a similar problem with a Photoshare mpg/mp3/jpg viewer that takes a 2gb Kingston SD card. I had two of these viewers and on the first viewer the SD card updated from my PC (XP) with a usb 2 cable with no errors. I loaded the player with music and videos and gave it as a Christmas present, and kept the second viewer for myself.

When I tried to transfer files from my PC to the to the SD card in the second viewer, I got a "?cyclical redundancy check error?". When I tried to format the card in the second viewer from my PC, I got a "Track 0 bad - unusable disc" error.

I downloaded SDFormatter 2.0 to try to format the SD card in the second viewer. SDFormatter said the card was write protected, but it wasn't.

I went to the Kingston site and it said the chance of a bad card was like 1 in 800,000.

Putting it all together with the other posts in this thread I figured it must be the write protect sensor in the card slot that was faulty. I opened the case on the player, and unscrewed the circuit board because the card slot was on the back of the board. Looking at the outside of the card slot where the write protect tab on the card would be, I saw a small metal arm about a third of an inch long and the thickness of a pinky fingernail. I probed it with a miniature screwdriver and it didn't seem to have any spring or movement. I depressed it a little harder (into the card slot) and it seemed to spring into the slot more than it had been. I figured nothing happened, but when I reconnected everything, the card reader worked! Apparently the arm was supposed to spring into the card slot enough to contact and sense the write protect tab on the card, but had been stuck outside of the slot. Thanks, guys. Because of your comments, I saved the cost of buying a card reader and/or another SD card...... (see update at top,
buying a card reader is what I finally had to do!)

 

[kirtlander]

Had the exact problem described by others. Tried different cards of different sizes from various manufacturers and was careful on the lock tabs and no cards were SDHC. Alas, it was not the SD card(s), it was the internal multi-card reader in an HP v2000 series laptop. After reading about how these card readers operate, I simply inserted the card slowly and didn't jam the card in as deeply as before. Problem solved and writes fine now to all the cards previously not working. Hope that helps. Let me know your results. RRVaughan

Yours was a brilliant observation. I had the exact same problem. I also have an HP rig, but a desktop m8307c desktop. My first inclination was to try to jam it in harder. Who knew that would exacerbate the problem? Once I stopped jamming the cards into the drive slot upon your recommendation, things worked as they should; I can now write to the cards again. Thank you much!

 

[guruerror]

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.

Worked like a CHARM!

 

[Guest]

Try putting the switch into lock, then it will turn off!!!! It works!!!!!!

 

[koze]

One thing nobody mentioned that I know is a cause of this is the following: If you use the "safely remove hardware" option when you have the SD card in one PC it WILL show as protected in a different PC. You need to just pop the card out of the reader slot when you're done with it and NOT use the "safely remove" feature. Taking the card back to the original PC and then just popping it out and then trying it again in the second PC seemed to work for me.

 

[donamcco]

Believe it or not, I had a similar problem and I finaly found that my micro SD adator (to regular SD card) was the problem, the same micro SD card with another adaptor and the "write protect" problem was gone...
That means "Be carefull with SD adaptor!"
Frenchi Don, Canada

 

[Guest]

i bet the card is locked. I just slid up that lock and it works now!!YAY

 

[dnv19191]

if its not locked switch it to lock believe me this hapennd to me

 

[lil g 812]

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

thanks bud that worked out just fine for me

 

[LocalHero]

I just got a sandisk micro sd card and sandisk adapter. It is also write protected and none of these solutions worked for me. I've moved the switch in every conceivable position, taped over the switch, the "slot" opposite the switch, used clear tape, opaque tape.....My phone can write to the card but my HP computer won't even find it and the slot in my printer finds it but tells me it's write protected.

I paid extra for this card and adapter to get the Sandisk name. Silly me.

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem with my micro SD card - and like you, none of these solutions worked for me...

 

[arabinda samantaray]

 

[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?

(I too am having the same problem but heres whats dazzling my mind. my sd card used to work fine after i first got it, now it asks me format it every time i want to put something on it. Major pain!! then it wouldnt let me format it said it was unable to. So i did a little reading and found a panasonic sd card reformatter . Worked great but i had to place the card it self in my girls laptop and not in the card reader or it wouldn't work. So i transfered my files to the card and when I tried to put them on my desktop which doesn't have an on board card reader, it said i had to format again(I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT I DO KNOW ITS THE CARD READER CAUSIN THE WRITE PROTECTION)

 

[Guest]

Same reply! I just moved the switch down on my Fuji SD by about 1mm and Bingo! no tape needed.

 

[flamey678]

i have the same problem but i know why. i plug in my SD card into my comp and took it out and the chip to slide it up fell out! it is really small its for the cellphone. and i lost it
so my SD card sandisk has no thing to slide up so it is locked. how do i unlock it?
i have windows vista and im only 12 years old can someone please help me i want some pics and music and dont wanna pay for another

 

[Guest]

it realy did sound lame to put tape over tha lock area but it TOTALLY worked 4me since i had broken tha lock to tha usd card..thanx mayne!!

 

[twarren76]

I never knew that the sd cards had a sliding switch on the side of them! When I slid it to the oposite direction, it worked! Learn something knew everyday.

 

[Guest]

Here is my problem.... i have an sd mini to sd scan disk chip, tape is no help, there are no screw to take it apart, the sd card works on all other types of computers but all other types of sd's work on this computer.... its like this one hates me... the problem is i have all my wedding photos on this and my camera broke so i can't use usb....in need of solution.

 

[saint19]

Sorry this thread was solved long time ago.

 

[saint19]

This topic has been closed by Saint19