Some cards have a write protect 'switch': is this true for your, if so change
the setting.

If this is for a Camera, then some of them use a unique format that allows
for PCs to read the files when using the manufacturers software but the card
cannot be manipulated as a 'removable' hard disk drive in explorer.

Check with the manufacturer for further troubleshooting tips.

"CalZon65" wrote:

I have a USB SD card reader connected to my Windows XP Pro (SP2) system.
When I Explore the SD card, the names of the files and folders on the card
all contain illegal file/folder characters (e.g., / \, etc.), I believe the
data on the card is corrupted.

Anyway, I would like to format the card and start again. So I right click
on the SD drive in My Computer, select Format, use the default settings but I
continue to get an error telling me that it can't format the card because
there are programs accessing the card, which I believe to be untrue. If I
try to Explore the card and delete the files/folders individually, I also get
an error message telling me I can't delete the file or folder.

Can anyone help me format and/or erase this SD card?