My sdhc card shows a 'locked' icon when i put it into my gopro 2 recorder

It's a lost cause. The A540 works with SD cards. While SDHC cards will fit into the slot, they are electronically incompatible and will not work in devices not designed for them. You need to stay with SD cards, 2GB and smaller.

Look at your memory card. SD/SDHC cards have a slide switch along one edge. The position farthest from the metal contacts locks the card, protecting it from writes. The position nearest the contacts unlocks the card.

You declined to specify what model Olympus camera, so I'm assuming it uses SD/SDHC cards. I'm also assuming it actually says "write protect."
SD and SDHC cards have a slide switch along one edge. The position farthest from the metal contacts locks the card, protecting it from writes. The position nearest the contacts unlocks the card.

You didn't specify the make and model of your camera, so I'm going to assume it uses SD/SDHC cards.
SD and SDHC cards have a slide switch along one edge. The position farthest from the metal contacts locks the card, protecting it from writes. The position nearest the contacts unlocks the card.

There are several possible causes for "memory card locked", "memory card error", or "no memory card". The most common cause is having the tiny slide switch on the side of the card in the wrong position. The second most common is trying to use a 4GB or higher SDHC card with an older camera made before SDHC format came out. There are also other common causes if the above didn't help, with troubleshooting steps for this problem listed here. If these don't help, and you do end up having to format your card, see the recovery software, along with the corrupted card procedures in this blog article.

I found out that my GoPro was saving data on the card that was not in any file. If you have lost data, when the camera runs for a while and the PIC file shows zero K, then when you delete the file, the random data stays. I got the first few minutes of a couple of sessions, then the camera shut down. Put your card in a card reader on the computer and right-click and check the card for usable space. You might find that it's full of random data not assigned to any file. Then you have to reformat the card to clear it. Just deleting any PIC files so it says 'no files found' doesn't mean the card is cleared.

If the card has space, you have some other problem, sorry. But I regularly reformat the cards just to make sure they are clear after deleting files. The GoPro doesn't care, it just thinks it's a new card and inserts it's file routine.

Hi I found this:- Record up to 2.5 hours on a single charge and up to 9 hours total on a 32GB SD card (not included). Can you try another card, is the card correctly formatted is it a duff card.
Look up the user guide and that should help.

David

Do you mean 8GB SD card? There are no 8GB SD cards. Any card that size is an SDHC (High Capacity) card.

SD and SDHC cards fit the same slots, but many cameras won't work with the SDHC cards. SDHC is not backwards compatible.

A Class 6 memory card is required for recording HD quality video. Not sure if yours is HD or not. Anything lower than Class 6 (such as Class 4 or Class 2) will result in recording issues and possibly skipping some video here & there.

As for the 30 seconds of filming limit...

1) It may be the memory card...that is if it's lower than Class 6. As a rule of thumb, when it doubt, buy Class 6 or better. Class 10 is the next step up, but it's a quite a bit more expensive.

2) Make sure you are using good, Lithium batteries...not Alkaline. Alkaline batteries will shut the camera down after a very short period.

Here are more tips on shortened recordings from GoPro's Website, followed by their Support Contact Info:

The batteries do not last very long.

• It is not recommended that you use Alkaline batteries. Lithium batteries have the best results and longest battery life. Rechargeable NiMH are another option in mild weather.
• Is it cold out? Battery life can definitely be affected by the cold! Please make sure you only use Energizer Lithium batteries in the cold, as any other battery type will perform poorly. In cold temps, you can expect about half of the normal run time when using the Energizer Lithium batteries.
• Still having shortened records with a good set of the recommended batteries? Please email our support team through http://gopro.com/support for further assistance.

http://www.gopro.com/support

There is small button on the card which needs to be unlocked so that the card is ready for recording. Also make sure you have changed the media from internal memory to Card in the settings section.

Thanks