"" wrote:
> i use a 16MB Transcend Information linear flash card. (its a card with a
> profile of a man on it and a green square that says "16MB". no other useful
> info is printed on the card, and it seems like it doesnt have any internal
> batteries.)
>
> the card worked for about five days, but then suddenly, during a mail
> session with simple mail, the system crashed. no communication modules were
> stored on the card, but nevertheless, the card is since that day completely
> locked. when i insert the card to a PC or a newt, i recieve the answer that
> the card is unformatted and writeprotected - i should remove, unlock and
> reinsert the card in order to format it. this time nothing works - not even
> the "open prefs" trick or brainwashing the device with card in.
>
> ive also tried to insert the card into a dell laptop with the proper drivers
> in order to read the card, but not even norton could reformat the card - it
> still says its write protected, even though i know its not! (the card is
> recognised as "removable drive :E")
>
> i have tried to erase the card in my wallstreet powerbook, but it seems like
> i need some kind of tool, as the card doesnt want to be erased from the
> special menu (the option "erase card" is greyed out). the card shows up at
> the desktop like a floppy, but i cant do anything useful with it.
>
> ive heard other ppl having the same problem, but after searching the web and
> the list archives for answers, the only (possible) remedy to this problem
> seems to be to reformat the card in a windows CE device. i havent tried this
> yet, but i will as soon as i get hold on someone thet uses a CE PDA.
>
> no information could be found at the http://www.transcendusa.com/ web, but
> ive mailed to their support, so im waiting for an answer.
>
> laurent, if you have any advise to give, please help me out!!
Well, first thing, "brainwashing" (hard reset) the Newton won't erase
the card, only the internal memory gets erased. I even read that leaving
the card in the Newton when you hard reset it might even damage the
card, so that it is generally recommended to remove any PCMCIA card in
your Newton before doing a hard reset. I've never removed any card and
never had any problem in the 3 years I had my 2100, and did a few hard
resets. However, to stay on the safe side, don't do whant I did and just
remove the card(s).
Secondly, I've thought there was a way to remove this "lock" flag,
unless the card is really write-protected. Usually, most cards I've seen
have a little switch on the opposite side of the connectors. When your
crash happened, are you sure that you didn't activate the write-protect
tab inadvertenly when trying to get the card working again?
If not, and if nobody has any solution, I'm afraid you'll be out of luck
and will need to find a CE device to see if you still can format the
card.
Was that card new when you got it?
-Laurent.
=====================================================================
Laurent Daudelin Developer, Adaptive Infrastructure, CIS
Fannie Mae Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 703-833-4266 mailto:Laurent_Daudelin@fanniemae.com
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