Many cameras from the 1990s and early 2000s use SmartMedia memory cards.
Originally conceived as a replacement for the aging floppy disk format, SmartMedia memory cards are no longer manufactured and rarely seen. Although no new SmartMedia cards are being produced, many professional-quality digital cameras manufactured in the 1990s and early 2000s require them. If you are unable to write to a SmartMedia card and are receiving an error message about the card being write-protected, check to see if a write-protect sticker is being used in the device.
Instructions
1. Turn the card over so that the underside (identified by a metallic contact area) faces you. Below the contact area is a small circle. This is the write-protect area for the SmartMedia card. If the card is currently write-protected, the circle is covered by a shiny circular sticker.
2. Peel the circular sticker off of the bottom of the card. Be careful not to scratch the surface of the card while doing so--as scratching or scuffing the card could cause the circular write protect area to develop a shine, which in turn can cause card readers to behave as though the write protect sticker were present.
3. Insert the card into a card reader or camera. With the write-protect sticker removed, the card can be written to successfully.
Tags: 1990s early, 1990s early 2000s, circular sticker, contact area, early 2000s, memory cards, SmartMedia memory