The dashcam icon was gray this morning. The USB was cool and off. Took it to a computer and flashing blue appeared on it instead of steady blue. Video files were intact. Tried to reformat it but failed because it was write protected which is probably why the icon was gray. Sentry mode was not on. I've been unable to turn the write protection off.
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USB for TeslaCam write protected.
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RayK
Active Member
Several possibilities...
If your flash drive has a physical write protect switch, check to see what position it's in.
If you are using a microSDHC card inside a USB adapter, check the setting of the write protect switch on the card.
If neither of those are the cause, you might have a drive that has accidentally been write protected. In that case Google/YouTube is your friend: "USB drive remove write protection"
Those methods use some arcane commands or programs that aren't used by "normal" users and can cause damage to your software setup if you are not careful.
If that is too intimidating, then your best course of action is to simply buy another (larger) USB/microSDHC and keep the locked one for another day.
If your flash drive has a physical write protect switch, check to see what position it's in.
If you are using a microSDHC card inside a USB adapter, check the setting of the write protect switch on the card.
If neither of those are the cause, you might have a drive that has accidentally been write protected. In that case Google/YouTube is your friend: "USB drive remove write protection"
Those methods use some arcane commands or programs that aren't used by "normal" users and can cause damage to your software setup if you are not careful.
If that is too intimidating, then your best course of action is to simply buy another (larger) USB/microSDHC and keep the locked one for another day.
Thanks. I tried regedit with my Win XP but there was no "storagedevicepolicies" folder to get to the "write protect" to change the "value data" to 0. Off to get a bigger drive.
This drive has been working OK for months. Do you think when the car shutdown last it caused this? I charged in my garage last night but that shouldn't cause it. The whole drive is write protected and unusable.
This drive has been working OK for months. Do you think when the car shutdown last it caused this? I charged in my garage last night but that shouldn't cause it. The whole drive is write protected and unusable.
I haven't used USB drives or any cards much but did think I remembered reading that if one's drive becomes corrupt...flash memory has a limited life of writing (cards are rated for this feature) and when cells become bad the space will become more limited until it can't write any more...it basically become unuseable. However what I also remember though was that files that had already been written to the drive would still be readable, so protected for that purpose, but as far as writing any more, not going to happen. Time to buy a new drive and tossing the drive if you don't need the written files. I suspect that's what happened to your drive if I had to guess.
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RayK
Active Member
Flash memory does indeed have a limited number if times you can write/erase. It used to be rated in the 100s-of-thousands of times, but recent memory cells may only be in the 10s-of-thousands. I'm not up to speed on the latest memory controller protocols but it is possible that when faced with an array that has seen a majority of the rated number if write/erase cycles, it will self-protect in order to minimize data loss.
For dashcam usage, get memory that has been rated for high endurance and the largest you can afford. This should maximize the length of time it will work for you.
Found this and hopefully it sheds some light on how corruption happens (from Car Cam Central: MicroSD Cards We Recommend for Dash Cameras )
"All MicroSD Cards Have a Limited Lifespan
We started with a simple and important fact: Writing data (your video files) to a microSD card permanently damages its memory cells. When video files are overwritten, the memory cells are hit with electrical energy which degrades the semiconductor layer and increases data corruption. When too many cells are affected, the memory controller will lock the microSD card from writing new files. While this protects existing video footage, the SD card and therefore your dash camera will stop working."
BTW the words "permanently damages" above is linked to an article that further explains this degradation process.
"All MicroSD Cards Have a Limited Lifespan
We started with a simple and important fact: Writing data (your video files) to a microSD card permanently damages its memory cells. When video files are overwritten, the memory cells are hit with electrical energy which degrades the semiconductor layer and increases data corruption. When too many cells are affected, the memory controller will lock the microSD card from writing new files. While this protects existing video footage, the SD card and therefore your dash camera will stop working."
BTW the words "permanently damages" above is linked to an article that further explains this degradation process.
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I had the same problem with my First 32gb USB, it kept going grey on the Tesla screen but I was able to format and try again. It worked for a day and stopped. Thinking it was a bad USB I bought a SanDisk 16GB, but it only worked for less than 24 hours. There was still 9 GB free. I cant format obviously since its write protected. I tried the command prompter and followed various methods online but none worked. I also found out that you can only remove the write protection from the computer it had been put on from. And in our case, the Tesla Model 3 was the "computer" that put the write protection. I'm going to be taking it to Tesla and see what they can do. Will keep you guys updated. If anyone knows a way that i can fix this without buying yet another USB let me know! Would a simple reboot of the car do anything?
You can't do anything about it. Write protection can't be removed period, regardless of 'what' activated it. The flash drive itself enabled write protection because it feels that the flash memory is damaged and won't be able to sustain more writing.
Your method of corrective action is this: throw out that flash drive (save anything on it you want), and buy a new one. Preferably a larger one. And preferably one that isn't super cheap, they're not going to have a long-last flash.
xpitxbullx
Member
It's unfortunate that this happens. Happened to me too yesterday. Had a PNY 256GB usb drive for maybe 2 months and it locked up and can't unlock it. Anyone have any suggestions as to what would be a good choice? USB or maybe jump to an actual SSD. Funny thing is my cheapo 8 GB usb has worked far longer and is still working.
Tam
Well-Known Member
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