[SOLVED] SD Card reader isn't detecting/mounting an SD Card despite trying workarounds

[Someone567123]

Hello, Linux Mint forums. I am a new user here and I am also pretty new to using Linux Mint. I had freshly installed Mint onto my Mac Mini. (I have no idea what version it is, but from the looks of it, it's somewhere around the 2010's.) I've had the worst of luck trying to get the SD Card reader to work trying various workarounds, some even being outdated and others working once or twice. It probably doesn't help that I accidentally removed all partitions from the SD Card itself, so I have a lot of unallocated space, and when trying to fix that using Gparted or Disks, it just wouldn't let me create a new partition table. I've also tried formatting to FAT32, but not even formatting works. Any clue what my issue may be? Again, I am a new user here, so I would really appreciate help with posting screenshots or text from the terminal. Thanks!

[IYmEVDc]

It probably doesn't help that I accidentally removed all partitions from the SD Card itself, so I have a lot of unallocated space, and when trying to fix that using Gparted or Disks, it just wouldn't let me create a new partition table.

if you can see the sd card in disks or gparted, it sounds like the reader is at least detecting the card. does it only show up in either or both sometimes?

I've also tried formatting to FAT32, but not even formatting works. Any clue what my issue may be? Again, I am a new user here, so I would really appreciate help with posting screenshots or text from the terminal. Thanks!

are you sure the card still works? do you have a different system you could use to verify that it is still viable and possibly format it?

regarding posting text from the terminal, when typing a new post or reply there should be a button above the text entry field to the right of the quote (") button that looks like </>. you can either click on that and put your text between or highlight the text and then click it. i find it quick to just type them myself sometimes instead of taking my fingers off of the keys.

just an example of what that looks like:

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lspci -knnd ::0805
02:00.0 SD Host controller [0805]: O2 Micro, Inc. SD/MMC Card Reader Controller [1217:8520] (rev 01)
	Subsystem: Lenovo SD/MMC Card Reader Controller [17aa:2211]
	Kernel driver in use: sdhci-pci
	Kernel modules: sdhci_pci

[Someone567123]

if you can see the sd card in disks or gparted, it sounds like the reader is at least detecting the card. does it only show up in either or both sometimes?

I'm pretty sure Disks and Gparted don't detect the SD card because it doesn't show up as an option.

are you sure the card still works? do you have a different system you could use to verify that it is still viable and possibly format it?

I have a laptop also with Linux Mint installed, but I can't edit or add files to it because Mint thinks it's write protected. (It clearly isn't, the pin isn't in "locked" position and even as super user/root, I am unable to make changes.)

[IYmEVDc]

does the sd card reader on the mac work with any cards or does it have an issue with just the one that the other system thinks is write-protected?

[AndyMH]

Get an SD/USB adaptor, they are cheap. I have issues with the SD card from my camera, in the card reader in my T430 no joy. Plugged into a usb port via an adaptor, no issues works fine.

[Someone567123]

does the sd card reader on the mac work with any cards or does it have an issue with just the one that the other system thinks is write-protected?

I tried a completely different SD card and it still didn't pick it up. It would be likewise for the other system as no matter what SD card I put in it, it will still show that it is "read-only" and write protected. I've heard that USB adapters could work as a solution, but I have yet to try that.

[Someone567123]

Get an SD/USB adaptor, they are cheap. I have issues with the SD card from my camera, in the card reader in my T430 no joy. Plugged into a usb port via an adaptor, no issues works fine.

I'm aware that that is one of my possible solutions but I'm trying to get my system to detect the card via the SD card slot... I will consider getting a USB adapter sometime soon.

[IYmEVDc]

I tried a completely different SD card and it still didn't pick it up.

that sounds like it is possible the card reader isn't working. i had a mid-2014 macbook where the card reader would come and go. you could try taking a look at some of the following to see if you can find the device:

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lspci -knn | grep -iE 'sd|mmc'; journalctl -b | grep -iE 'sdhci|mmc'

the first takes a look through your pci devices to see if it can find one that has sd or mmc in the description. the second looks for the driver or mmc in your system journal.

or possibly this. make sure the card is out. run this in a terminal:

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dmesg -W

then insert the card to see if you get any output. you may need sudo with dmesg and journalctl if you are running lmde. not sure. don't use or test that one much.

[Someone567123]

I tried a completely different SD card and it still didn't pick it up.

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lspci -knn | grep -iE 'sd|mmc'; journalctl -b | grep -iE 'sdhci|mmc'

the first takes a look through your pci devices to see if it can find one that has sd or mmc in the description. the second looks for the driver or mmc in your system journal.

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Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: Timeout waiting for hardware cmd interrupt.
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: ============ SDHCI REGISTER DUMP ===========
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Sys addr:  0x00000000 | Version:  0x00001502
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Blk size:  0x00000000 | Blk cnt:  0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Argument:  0x00000000 | Trn mode: 0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Present:   0x1fff0000 | Host ctl: 0x00000001
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Power:     0x0000000f | Blk gap:  0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Wake-up:   0x00000000 | Clock:    0x0000e8c7
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Timeout:   0x00000000 | Int stat: 0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Int enab:  0x00ff0083 | Sig enab: 0x00ff0083
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: ACmd stat: 0x00000000 | Slot int: 0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Caps:      0x176ec8b0 | Caps_1:   0x03002177
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Cmd:       0x00000102 | Max curr: 0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Resp[0]:   0x00000000 | Resp[1]:  0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Resp[2]:   0x00000000 | Resp[3]:  0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: Host ctl2: 0x00000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: ADMA Err:  0x00000001 | ADMA Ptr: 0x0000000000000000
Dec 26 15:31:17 mypc kernel: mmc0: sdhci: ============================================

I keep getting the "Timeout waiting for hardware cmd interrupt" error almost every time when I tried some workarounds during rebooting my system.

[Someone567123]

Also, I tried using

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sudo dmesg - W

but it just kept loading and wouldn't prompt me to a new line.

[IYmEVDc]

no idea what those journal messages mean really except that maybe the kernel can't get the info it needs from the device. i have two systems with mint (21 and 22) installed and sd card readers that do work. nothing like that in the journal. maybe the register dump is for devs or could help with troubleshooting/debugging? at this point it sounds like you'll need an adapter to have a shot at getting cards to work on that system.

have you tried any other distros on the system even if only live? maybe some version of debian (lmde possibly) with an older kernel? that's about the only other thing i can think of to try.

[Someone567123]

I'll have to try with a USB adapter. For now, I'll mark this as solved.