Toshiba SSD - Encryption enabled - can't format or anything. Ideas?

Vanilla · 18 Mar 2018 at 14:02

Hi all,

I was given a 512GB Toshiba SSD by a friend who had decommissioned a load of servers at work. The SSD appears to have hardware encryption enabled.

- If I plug it into my PC before I even get a post I get a Toshiba screen asking for the password
- If I plug it into the PC after I boot I can see the volume in windows disk partitioning but I can't do anything with it. Can't assign, partition, nothing.
- I have tried a better program like EaseUS but if I format the drive it actually doesn't do anything - it doesn't show up in Windows as a drive. It seems this hardware encryption is locked in.

Anyone has this before with freebie drives from companies? Don't want the data, just want to wipe and use!

Vanilla · 18 Mar 2018 at 15:58

Rroff said:
There is a procedure - unless it is more than bog standard protection - you have to unplug it after the machine has booted and plug it in again after 3-5 seconds or something.

This might be useful https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/toshiba-ssd-secure-erase.2352280/

Program doesn't even see it. It shows up in partition manager tools but you just can't do anything with it. No changes or formats work. Must be hardware encryption at the SSD layer.....it's just how to disable this!

Vanilla · 18 Mar 2018 at 16:04

From partition magic, says bad disk but they all say that (I have three). I think it's hardware encryption I just can't disable it

Vanilla · 18 Mar 2018 at 16:51

Sorry but how do I do all that! I'm using Partition Master which I think is what partition magic became? Can't even find a terminal

By the looks of things this may be a bricked drive without the password....... :/

edit: I see, getting parted magic now, althogh it's a trial doesn't seem to be a free version

Vanilla · 18 Mar 2018 at 19:37

Rroff said:
Do you know if this is a bitlocker protected drive or actual hardware protection?

Also careful if you mess around with TPM data trying to wipe it as this can have implications for your other drives if they have bitlocker in effect especially if you don't have a backup of the recovery keys for them.

I think actual HW protection. Came from a proper enterprise system........