How to remove a hard drive password?

XeNoN89

XeNoN89

XeNoN89

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Joined
6 Mar 2007
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Hi,

Somebody has put a password on one of the disks on a computer, i cannot access the bios or boot menu as it prompts for the HDD password first. This is NOT a BIOS password, i put a different HDD in the computer which worked fine and put the passworded drive in a different computer and it still prompts, so its clear this is something stored on the actual drive. How can i remove the password, it doesnt matter if the drive has to be wiped as everything on it is backed up, i just need to get it working again.

Drive is a WD3200AAKS and the password was put on it on a Dell Optiplex 760.

Thanks.
 
If you don't know the current password then the drive is only useful as a paperweight. The password is designed not to be recoverable.
 
Can't see how a HDD can kick in before the BIOS does tbh. But can you not just put the HDD in another machine as a second drive and format it?
 
Even though the reverved RPStewart has said its a brick, I can't believe that its not just a case of the data being unrecoverable rather than the whole hard drive. Not having any technical knowledge advantage here but, if I was designing a password system that is what I would do: make the data irretrievable not the hard drive, that its a very stupid waste.
 
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Enable AHCI in secondary computer, plug in dodgy HDD in Windows, format then.
(If I understand correctly, the second computer prompts when you plug in the HDD before bootup?)
 
It doesnt matter. If the actual hard drive has the password enabled, then it is a brick. You will not be able to format it, you will not be able to recover it.

I had something similar with my Velociraptor

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17958946

Use the diagnostics, if this comes up:

Drive Is Locked Code 0220
Password: Set
Password level: Maximum
Security Mode: Locked

Then its dead.
 
You use a special utility. Cannot be done through messing. A program called ATAPWD does it. Or failing that, usually laptop BIOS' have it in there.
 
most BIOS have an option to set an HDD password (some auto put it on the HDD as well when you set an password in the bios) very hard to remove unless you can do an firmware update that ignore it
 
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