Disable write-protection on Micro SD

Posted by Tim on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Tim
Published on 2012-03-30T17:27:48Z Indexed on 2012/03/30 17:33 UTC
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sd-card

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write-protect

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micro-sd-card

My task today is to open up and copy some files to 700 brand new micro SD cards.

As I get going on this task I am finding that some of the Micro SD cards are telling me "sorry this drive is write protected"

To copy the files I am using a standard SD to micro SD card adapter, and a USB SD card reader / writer.

I have ensured that the switch is set to OFF on all of my adapters. As soon as I get a Micro SD that tells me it is write protected I can use the same adapter with another micro SD and it works fine, so I know the problem is not with my adapters.

My question is: How can I disable the write protection on a Micro SD card? This eHow article seems to indicate that there is also a physical switch on Micro SD cards. However I have personally never seen a Micro SD with a physical switch, and none of the ones I am using today have said switch.

Since these cards are brand new and thus empty are the ones that are telling me they are write protected simply useless? Could this be caused by some sort of defect in the cards?

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