How To Resurrect An Intel SSD Locked By The Intel SSD Toolbox

I have an Intel SSD in my work laptop, an HP Elitebook 8440p, I installed a couple weeks back by cloning the original hard drive over to it. It's been running OK, but I wanted to install Windows 7 fresh onto it, and finally got the opportunity today to do just that. So I connected the SSD to my desktop, backed up all the important data, and tried to do a secure wipe through the Intel SSD Toolbox. It stood at 3% for over 30 minutes, so I closed the Toolbox, rebooted the desktop, and no SSD when it came back up! Only Device Manager saw it. Not Drive Management or the SSD Toolbox. Using Intel Matrix Storage Console I saw it was locked, and I did not know the Master or User password to unlock it. After several Google searches, no luck. After an online chat with an Intel rep, no luck. I was ready to give up, but had to try one more thing, and that worked!

Here's what you need to do if this happens to you.

1) Find or make an XP install with SATA set to IDE mode
2) Install .NET 2.0 & Intel SSD Toolbox
3) Shut down
4) Connect up your 'bricked' Intel SSD
5) Turn on system
6) Start Intel SSD Toolbox, and the SSD should now show up
7) Start another secure erase on it, and it should go through
8) Your Intel SSD is now unlocked again

Hope this helps out someone in the future!

 

How does an SSD become locked in the first place?

 

Before an ATA drive can be secure erased, a password has to be set in the drive. Then once the secure erase is completed it is unlocked. Mine never finished the first time and didn't unlock.

https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/ATA_Secure_Erase

 

contact who-ever sold you the drive for a replacement?

or directly intel according to the guarantee?

good luck anyways

 

Thank you, this actually worked for me and I was surprised! A couple notes:

I had to follow this Microsoft KB in order to boot in compatibility mode for the IDE controller.

Also, the first time I tried secure erase, it failed. But a subsequent attempt succeeded, horray!

 

it is an Intel which support TRIM, so you don't really need to SE it. A quick format under W7 has more or less the same effect. Under XP, a quick format then use the toolbox to TRIM is the same.

 

had exact same problem, on Intel X25 80GB.
i tried using XP32, installed on same machine, unsuccessfully; the drive was still not seen. what finally unlocked it, was using the second set of SATA controllers on my MoBo. i disabled the first set the board defaults to, and enabled the second set (Marvel), leaving them on AHCI. i booted into Parted Magic, and had no problem running the secure erase. i did use the password 'password' as mentioned by some, but i suspect that didn't matter. it appeared to me that each secure erase operation sets its own password, overriding any other. also, my Sony laptop allowed Parted Magic to see the drive, but would not run the secure erase. i wish i had a better understanding of what was happening, but at least i reclaimed my expensive drive.