Format locked SDHC

B

burnin8r

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
1,211
I am asking for help here because I have searched everywhere else with no luck. I purchased an Eee PC and an 8GB SDHC card. I was following the procedure from a write up to make the SDHC card into a boot device, and now the card is locked. The lock on the card itself is not in the locked position, but I am unable to write to the card, delete any of its contents, or format it in Windows. Can anyone advise how I would approach either resetting the permissions to unlock the card OR some command to force reformatting ? I have an SDHC to USB converter if it would be easier to accomplish this using XP instead of Linux, please help.
 
burnin8r said:
I am asking for help here because I have searched everywhere else with no luck. I purchased an Eee PC and an 8GB SDHC card. I was following the procedure from a write up to make the SDHC card into a boot device, and now the card is locked. The lock on the card itself is not in the locked position, but I am unable to write to the card, delete any of its contents, or format it in Windows. Can anyone advise how I would approach either resetting the permissions to unlock the card OR some command to force reformatting ? I have an SDHC to USB converter if it would be easier to accomplish this using XP instead of Linux, please help.
Click to expand...

is the disk recognized as /dev/sd* ?

what does "fdisk -l /dev/sd*" show ?
 
wow, I didn t think I was gonna get a response, thnx !

I think it was /dev/sdb but I will verify when I get home.
 
when I used sudo fdisk -l to identify my drives, it comes up as /dev/sdb

Disk /dev/sdb: 8068 MB, 8068268032 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 980 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00080aa0

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 932 7486258+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 933 980 385560 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 933 980 385528+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

unfortunately, I tried fdisk -l /dev/sdb in my terminal session and received this message:

Cannot open /dev/sdb

anything else I could try ?
 
/dev/sdb:
readonly = 0 (off)

the contents are still read only though =/
 
How are you mounting this thing? What does the mount command show when you run it as root without any arguments?
 
help me out here, there is a reason I use noobuntu =P

I was going to try to run the HP format tool on a windows box, I just haven t got around to it because I ordered a 16GB SDHC card since originally posting.
 
Just plug in the card and type "mount" into a terminal, then post the output. I was thinking that your card is getting automounted read only, maybe due to a HAL issue.
 
I am installing LinuxMint on the 8GB SDHC card right now, so much for unlocking it.

Wish I attempted this sooner... thnx for the assistance regardless.

edit: I was able to use the "entire disc" install option which formatted and installed LinuxMint on the SDHC, however, it wouldn t post on reboot. checking the properties on another box showed that I am not the owner of this card and none of the contents could be modified. how odd.
 
Bones said:
Just plug in the card and type "mount" into a terminal, then post the output.
Click to expand...

/dev/sda5 on / type ext3 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
/sys on /sys type sysfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
varrun on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=0755)
varlock on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=1777)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
devshm on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,gid=5,mode=620)
lrm on /lib/modules/2.6.24-19-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw)
securityfs on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
gvfs-fuse-daemon on /home/joseph/.gvfs type fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon (rw,nosuid,nodev,user=joseph)
/dev/scd0 on /media/cdrom0 type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev,utf8,user=joseph)
/dev/sdb1 on /media/disk type ext3 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=hal)
 
Doesn't look like a mounting issue. As long as the permissions on the dev node are correct, you shouldn't be having any problems with writing to the card. I'm stumped. If you figure this one out, would you post the solution, please?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top