I can't format my Flash memory :(
 

Hello Folks.
I want to format my flash memory but mkfs.vfat command tell me it is write protected, How can I fix it?

Thanks.

assuming an sdcard, there is usually a little switch on the card

switch that switch

No, It have not any switch, I guess it is corrupted :(, How can I fix it?

Have you run the command as root user (or with sudo)?

I honestly don't know, File systems can be mounted readonly,. but actual devices are typically not. I think the only time I have ever come across something like that is with sdcard lock switch.

Flash memory is quite ambiguous, can you be more specific?

Also the command you have used might be helpful

I'm not sure this is a 'root' problem as I would expect it to have come back with permission denied.

Do you see a notch on the side of the card? Maybe the switch is just missing. If theere is, you can put scotch tape on it and it will make it writable. Just need to cover that notch. There is a pin that goes in there and when the pin is blocked, you can write on it.

I use root command too but when I want to format it, Show me :

block device /dev/sdc is write-protected, mounting read-only

What is it?

Can you please describe exactly what kind of 'flash' memory this is.

Is it a card or a USB Thumb/Pen drive?

is it a card that slots into a USB adaptor

can you unplug it, then reinsert and give us the output of
as an example
use
[code]
example
[188962.136052] usb 7-2.3: new high-speed USB device number 5 using ehci-pci
[188962.231923] usb 7-2.3: New USB device found, idVendor=090c, idProduct=1000
....
[/code]


Notice I also removed the serial no.
Not that it really matters,

Some cards may need to have an OEM software to fix this sort of issue.

output is :

[ 435.660408] usb 1-6: USB disconnect, address 8
[ 440.452015] usb 1-6: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 9
[ 440.588816] usb 1-6: New USB device found, idVendor=13fe, idProduct=3e00
[ 440.588821] usb 1-6: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 440.588826] usb 1-6: Product: Silicon-Power4G
[ 440.588829] usb 1-6: Manufacturer: UFD 2.0
[ 440.588832] usb 1-6: SerialNumber: 11060555E6B61B00CE5A0094
[ 440.588964] usb 1-6: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[ 440.589150] scsi9 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
[ 440.589256] usb-storage: device found at 9
[ 440.589257] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
[ 445.588208] usb-storage: device scan complete
[ 445.663440] scsi 9:0:0:0: Direct-Access UFD 2.0 Silicon-Power4G PMAP PQ: 0 ANSI: 0 CCS
[ 445.663777] sd 9:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 0
[ 446.248277] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] 7834944 512-byte logical blocks: (4.01 GB/3.73 GiB)
[ 446.248771] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is on
[ 446.248776] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 23 00 80 00
[ 446.248780] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 446.251386] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 446.251391] sdc:
[ 446.271010] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 446.271013] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk
[ 446.763274] FAT: utf8 is not a recommended IO charset for FAT filesystems, filesystem will be case sensitive!

---------- Post added 07-27-13 at 03:23 PM ----------


I copy and paste output.

Well it looks like a Silicon power Touch 835
as far as I can tell there is no physical "readonly" switch


I have no idea if this will work, as to be honest I don't know why it is write protected..
Was it encrypted using the "SP Widget Software" in windows?

Jefro mentioned in #9 that you may need OEM software to fix this problem,
If you have Windows available install the SP Widget Software, and explore options..

Alternatively ( and I have absolutely no idea if this will work for you )
change the write protection flag using hdparm
hdparm is probably not installed by default.

assuming a deb based system
An rpm based system

This step is a little redundant, since we already know write protection is on..
But lets do it anyway.

as root
Where /dev/sdX is the correct name for your device

Now turn write protection off
again as root
0 = off, 1 = on

Now try to format..
That might only 'half work' it could be that next time you "plug it in" it is write protected again

Not worked :(