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Can't format internal storage micro SD card

jjwenman

jjwenman

Lurker
So at the time I wasn't aware sd cards became encrypted when formatted as portable storage. Since then the tablet had issues and I had to factory reset it, losing the key file. I can view the files and folders on the card on every device I put it in, but I don't need the files. I just want to be able to use the 128gb micro in my camera. I tried formatting it using my tablet and my phone with it just erroring out. I used disk management, CMD , disk part, mini partition tool and easeus partition. I even tried gnome disk utility, gpart and mkusb. I even tried it on my wife's Mac. No success. I tried it in safe mode too. Renaming or individually deleting files doesn't work either as any changes I make to the card revert back as soon as it's refreshed or remounted. I tried encrypting the card with Vera crypt as I don't have bit locker but it said failed. I scanned it for bad sectors with it saying the card is healthy and scanned it for viruses with nothing. I know it's easy to say just buy a new card and I might have too but know I'm legitimately curious and how to format this thing short of taking a blow torch to it.
 
That's what encrypted means. Without the encryption keys it's dead in the water with no means of reviving or salvaging what's left.
Toss it and buy a new one is your best option
 
Dannydet said:
That's what encrypted means. Without the encryption keys it's dead in the water with no means of reviving or salvaging what's left.
Toss it and buy a new one is your best option
Click to expand...

That's the confusing part though, if it's so encrypted why can I copy files off it from a different device using plain windows explorer? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the encryption
 
jjwenman said:
That's the confusing part though, if it's so encrypted why can I copy files off it from a different device using plain windows explorer? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the encryption
Click to expand...

I don't think that it is encrypted, if as you say it was formatted as external and you have access to the files on other devices.

If you had formatted it as internal, then it would only work on the device it was formatted in- no exceptions- and would essentially be encrypted.

I think that you are running into compatibility issues.
I have had this even among android devices when swapping SD cards that were formatted as external.

The best bet in my experience is to have a card in each device that stays there for its entire useful life.

All it takes is for one device to place a folder or file that another device doesn't understand or recognize, and part or all of the card might not work.
Maybe it will work fine.
Who knows?

Don't beat your brain up looking for answers from a $20 memory card.
Trust me, they don't care.

That is why guys like me buy multiple $20 cards to put inside 8 year old androids, and other phones that cost $20 themselves.

It is just not worth the effort to even question why, when, where, or how one of these cards takes a dump.

I know that it sucks, but it is what it is.

Untill we can easily connect to and carry around a real drive with 1TB or more storage these finicky, issue riddled cards are what we have.

For what it's worth, after a few huge problems (3 to be exact) I now only use SansDisk cards. I have not had a failure yet, and when I do I will get another SansDisk to replace it.
 
Yeah, if it were formatted as internal only the device it was formatted in would be able to read it (though you could read files using a computer if you connected the computer to that device, since then the android device is decrypting them). So if you can just put it in a different device and read it it isn't encrypted.

You should however be able to reformat it in the same device that originally formatted it.

Some of what you describe makes me think that your devices are treating it as read only.
 
It's a Kingston 128,GB micro SD card. The only things stuck on the device are android folders and some movies in the torrent folder. And what ever is in tha Lost.dir folder. The files themselves aren't marked as read only but the folders are. But I can't clear that for some reason neither through properties or 'clear attributes readonly' command.
 
jjwenman said:
It's a Kingston 128,GB micro SD card. The only things stuck on the device are android folders and some movies in the torrent folder. And what ever is in tha Lost.dir folder. The files themselves aren't marked as read only but the folders are. But I can't clear that for some reason neither through properties or 'clear attributes readonly' command.
Click to expand...

So just taking a shot in the dark here-
What if you were to creste a new folder, and then try to move the files (not the folders) into this new folder?

I am just thinking that you may be able to then delete the files.

Hell, why not even try to compress those files into zip?
Then see what you can do with them.

It sounds like you left the card in the device when you factory reset it.
I have never factory reset a device, so I am just guessing that this may have done anything to the card.

I do know that out of paranoia I would remove the card from any device that I was going to factory reset.
Like I said, I have never done it, but I was taught to CMA as much as possible.
 
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