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Q&A Why can't I change any data on this micro SD card or format it?

I have an old microSD card that I'm trying to wipe. I've backed up all the files to somewhere else, and now I'm trying to clear the card. However, I can't seem to change anything on the card. Whe...

1 answer · posted 1y ago by Mithical‭ · last activity 1y ago by Pogo‭

Question formatting sd-cards

#1: Initial revision by

Mithical‭ · 2023-03-30T10:04:29Z (over 1 year ago)

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Why can't I change any data on this micro SD card or format it?

I have an old microSD card that I'm trying to wipe. I've backed up all the files to somewhere else, and now I'm trying to clear the card.

However, I can't seem to change anything on the card.

When I plug it into my computer, I can move around files and delete them normally &mdash; or, you'd think so, at first glance. The changes last as long as I have the card plugged in, but as soon as I eject it and check it again, all the changes I've made have reverted themselves.

This started happening while I was sorting files on the card; at some point, the changes just stopped applying after I ejected the card. The files were moving and being saved in their new spots, and then all of a sudden writing to the card stopped taking.

When trying to delete the files, I also noticed something else odd happening. I'm pretty sure I don't have 1.8 billion files on the card:

![Trashing 10 files: 3 / 10 - 1 minute left (1879084368 files/sec)](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/38q70ecgyqsz98o4xpz13g4igypx)

Checking the properties of the card, there are 6,116 files on the card.

![Contents: 6,116 items, totalling 15.4GB](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/dx7etgo8uflvxht65rakscp24wbu)

Since just deleting the files from the file manager system didn't seem to be working, I went to try to format the disk. I selected "wipe", and it warned me that it would delete all data on the disk:

![Warning: all data on the volume will be lost. Confirm the details of the current volume before proceeding. Device: Partition 1 of 32 GB Drive - Mass Storage Device. Volume: vfat. Used: 24 GB (73.9%). Location: /dev/sda1](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/h17pplwvl3vd28k1hj8r1glo9luf)

Interestingly, here it says the card is using 24 GB, whereas when I checked the properties in the file manager it said 15.4 GB was used.

And, then, when I confirm that I want to wipe it, I run into an error:

![Error formatting disk | Error wiping device: Failed to probe the device '/dev/sda' (udisks-error-quark, 0)](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/vfsm7x72f8dzb6zw6l2gv7yy9ius)

**What is going on with this SD card**? Why can I read data from it, but not be able to delete files or format the card? (I've confirmed that the card does not have a physical lock.) What does the "Failed to probe the device '/dev/sda' (udisks-error-quark, 0)" error mean?

I'm running Ubuntu 22.04.2, and I'm using an [SD-to-USB adapter](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1305122-REG/vidpro_cr_sdhc_4_in_1_usb_sd_sshc_card.html) since my computer doesn't have an SD card (or micro SD card) slot. I've confirmed that I can write to other cards with the same adapter.

The SD card in question is a [generic "Mixza" microSD card](https://he.aliexpress.com/item/1005003183647434.html).

How can I wipe this card, short of physically destroying it?

formatting sd-cards

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