Unable to erase El Capitan from SD card

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Sorry if this is not the correct forum, but??

I have been looking through some of the SD cards and found one with the instal for El Capitan on it. I opened the Disk Utilities application and tried to erase it and it fails with 'the erase process has failed. Click 'done'. Then I tried to use Finder to put it in the Trash and after trying to earse it it has now vanished from the Finder listing? I can take the card out and there is no warning that I haven't ejected it.

I then replace it and it once more shows on the Finder kisting. Then when I tried to drag the contents to the Trash it tells me that it can't be moved to Trash because it can't be deleted.

As I am now on High Sierra there is o way I'm going back so I want this card. Has anyone any idea just how I can erase this please?
 
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Try to erase the card again? I have noticed, with some drives, Disk Utility fails to unmount the drive, and the process fails. Then if you try it a second time, it works. What macSO version are you currently attempting this with?
 
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Jonzjob
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High Sierra Bob. I have tried removing and retrying about 3 times now with the same result.

It's after try the erase proceeduree that it vanishes from the Finder listing. Removing and reinsurtion puts it back on that listing but it still won't erase in Disk Utilities.
 
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Sounds like the card has failed. SD cards have a high (relatively) failure rate, so it's not surprising. I've had 2-3 fail in the past few years. I never put anything on a card that I really cannot afford to lose. And I don't have a camera any more, so I don't really have much call for SD cards at all.
 
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Jonzjob
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Problem solved thanks to you Jake:Smirk::Smirk:

I put it in my camera and promptly got the message that I couldn't use a locked card! So I unlocked it, tried the erase in Disk Utilities and hey-presto it's now erased and renamed.

Cheers mate. I had locked it so that I wouldn't loose the instal fascility for El Cap :[:[
 

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