HP 50G says the SD card is write protected

[Daniel Perry]

I have know idea what is going on! I have bought a new SD card after HP told me that the problem must be with the HP card that came with the calculator when I purchased it. The calc won't format the card or let me store things on it. The memory does appear in my filer on the calc but that is the best I can do. I have tried formating the sd cards in my laptop (HP also). I format as FAT, though I am a little skeptical about that because windows7 only shows Fat as fat 32. The options for formating the card are as follows: Fat 32, Fat (default) with an allocation size of 32kb, which makes that fat32 right? There is an option under Fat (default) for default allocation size, but even formatting the card like that hasn't given the calc access to it.

Please help I really love this calc and want all the option available to me.

Oh yeah, the calc's format option doesn't work on either card.

[Vieira, Luiz C. (Brazil)]

Hi;

what is the memory size of your SD card? I succeeded formating 1GB SD cards in a PC and fully use them in the HP50G, but I never succeeded formating SD cards bigger than 512MB in the calculator itself. Also, even after formating a 2GB SD card in a PC, the calculator never reads more than 1GB. I tried to format the 2GB in the HP50G and, after an error message (don´t recall which one), the calculator identified about 997MB and the card could not be red in a PC (the computer asked me if I wanted to format the media...).

I also recall reading something about format error due to discharged batteries, because the formating process demands some extra current.

Because you can format the cards in your computer I guess that there are no chances that the LOCK switch is in the wrong position, right?

In time: OS Rev. #2.15

Not much of a help, though...

Success!

Luiz (Brazil)

Edited: 7 July 2010, 12:25 a.m.

[Andrés C. Rodríguez (Argentina)]

Just to mention that FAT32 is not related to 32-kBy allocation untit size (a.k.a. "cluster"). Succesive versions of FAT included the original FAT12, for the IBM PC diskettes and 5-MBy hard disks (1980-1981). FAT12 cannot manage drives larger than 32 MBy. FAT16 then replaced it (around 1988, if memory helps), to allow for drives up to 2 GBy. To manage large drives, FAT16 needed to use large allocation units (32 kBy), which may be inefficient. FAT32 (around 1998) moved the limit to TBy heights, allowing for small-cluster options at the same time.

Suggestions:

a) Check that the SD card capacity is not greater than 2 GBy. Larger cards follow the SDHC standard, and are not backwards compatible with plain SD devices.

b) Format the card in a PC with the FAT16 option (your FAT with 32 kBy allocation units may do).

Good luck!

[Mike Reed]

I currently have a 1GB EP Memory (brand) SD card in my HP-50 - the calc sees and formatted it just fine. I notice on the side opposite the clipped corner there is s switch to lock/unlock the card; mine is in the unlocked position. I have used up to 2GB SD cards of several different manufactures in my calc with no problems at all. I have also used microSD's in SD adapters with no problems. The only time I have ever had problems was if I exceeded the 2GB limit, or if I tried to use SDHC - for some odd reason, the HP-50 does NOT like SDHC cards. Hope this helps!

polarbear Mike

[Tim Wessman]

A card greater that 2GB will not function. It actually isn't an SD card, but rather an SDHC card.

If the card is smaller than 2GB, your lock switch on the card is down.

TW

Edited: 7 July 2010, 10:55 a.m.