Dell 9300 SD Card Reader Giving "Write Protected" Message

After a year the card reader on my 9300 has started giving the "write protected" message when trying to delete or load files on SD cards. This has happened after a month of increased usage after buying a new camera and doing a lot of testing of the camera requiring frequent use of the card reader.

My research indicates it is most likely the switch in the card reader that detects the write-protect slide on the card is no longer working properly. Putting a piece of tape over the notch on the SD card is one solution to this problem, but that did not solve it in my case.

Has anyone had this problem and fixed it by opening the Dell and fixing the switch by soldering across the connection (permanently making all memory cards unprotected to the reader) or by some other method?

And yes, I've tested the SD card in another reader and it works fine, I tried reformatting the card and that didn't help, other SD cards get the same message in the Dell, and no, I'm not going to reload drivers or reload XP or reformat my harddrive!

Thanks for your help!

Patrick

 

the easiest fix is to call dell and order a new card reader and install it

 

No doubt, but that involves money which I like to leave as a last resort!