HDD PASSWORD!

I was using my tohshiba´s hdd in a external case and its fall down in ground.

My friend sold me a new 40gb Hdd before his travel to Spain.
The only problem that I have is a password in hdd.
I can not install the drive in my toshiba because the system requires a password to open the drive to format, install windows etc...

The question is:
How can I crack this password to use my drive?

 

If this is a brand new HDD that has never been used before when your friend gave it to you, then there should be no passowrds on it, get it replaced. If it has a drive password locked into it, then there's a couple possibilities:

1. This drive is not new and your friend sold you a used HDD
2. If your friend doesn't have the password, it's possible it's stolen
3. It was a new drive, but your friend popped it into a system to test it that had a HDD password protected system. The password will automatically apply itself to any new drives used in the system.

I know for a fact that the IBM HDD password protection is pretty damn secure. If a unit is stolen, and the system has the HDD password enabled, changing the HDD will not fix the problem (password gets re-applied to new HDD). Changing just the systemboard will also not fix the problem, the HDD will re-apply the password onto the systemboard as well. So, the HDD & Systemboard must be replaced at the same time to eliminate the password protection. This way, it's a pricey way to get the notebook working (theft deterent) and the data is totally not accessible.

There's a company in Canada that can remove the password from the HDD & systeboards, but it'll be cheaper to just buy a brand new HDD for your system. Just make sure your friend doesn't put it into any systems to test, other than yours. If the drive is new and just happened to have a password, get a replacement as this is an old/used drive.

-Vb-

 

Hi cybernoot, I work for a disk drive company (maxtor) and I'll tell you the hard drive password feature is not easy to crack. It's not quite like venom said as the password is in the drive itself, no copy is kept on the notebook as that is usually entered by the user at bootup. As far as I know the only way to crack it would be by brute force. A programmer who has extensive knowledge of the ATA spec might be able to write a program to brute force guess passwords, but there might be other protections I don't know about. I do know that there is no easy back door way unlock them as recently an OEM computer maker who wanted to use this feature told us they required way for customer support to reset the password in case a customer forgot their password, we told them it ws not possible and to not password portect if you think it will be forgotten. Your friend will have to supply you the password to the drive or it is useless.

good luck
Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

Bootleg,
Yes, you are correct that the password is stored on the HDD itself (that's how it re-applies the password to a replacement systemboard if plugged into another IBM system), but when you enable the Admin Password on the system it's stored on both the HDD & system . This is the password that must be cleared from both HDD & system before the system is usable again (if it's not your unit). Otherwise the password gets applied back to the replacement part (if only replacing one at a time). I know this because I used to repair notebooks (Toshiba, IBM, Compaq/HP). This is what IBM's ASP tech's informed me when a customer had this similar issue (forgot his password). IBM's answer was to replace both parts (HDD & M/B) as there's no way they can remove the password.

Cybernoot,
Your best option is to check with your friend for the password as Bootleg2go suggested or just go and buy a new HDD as I indicated previously.

-Vb-

 

? 2 Venombite:

how does one enable the HD password??? I'd like to.

 

It's located in the BIOS, for HP, I believe it's F10 right at power-on. Just remember, you must remove the password before using the HDD in another system, otherwise you might not be able to access it. Oh, and make sure you don't forget it.

-Vb-

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Venombite

 

[/quote]

Thank you, now I feel much better than with the Windows's XP "password" that can be easily bipassed. Now I wonder if there's a way to make BIOS not beep when prompting for the HDD password?..
[/quote]
What do you mean by easily bypassed? if XP is setup right, your not going to be able to boot into the OS without entering the right password. Of course you could reinsatll the OS and change the password to whatevr you wanted if that is what you meant.

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

Venombite, I figured my BIOS has no Beep OFF option. But I am not going to disable the HDD password, that's for sure [ ]

 

Alekkh,

Regarding the beep, I don't think you can get rid of it unless you get rid of the password for the HDD. You may want to check the BIOS settings for any settings to disable "Beep On Error".

-Vb-

 

I think Alekkh is saying that XP's security can be bypassed if the HDD is plugged into another system (slave drive). All the files on the drive should be accessible (I believe). With an HDD password this prevents anyone from taking your HDD and running it as a slave.

-Vb-

 

What do you mean by easily bypassed? if XP is setup right, your not going to be able to boot into the OS without entering the right password. Of course you could reinsatll the OS and change the password to whatevr you wanted if that is what you meant.

Jack

//////////////

I mean, for example, booting from a Linux CD. I can browse/modify HD content of anyone who has left his WinXP laptop for a few minutes, even he *thinks* his Win password prevents unauthorized data manipulations [ ] The moment I did it with my own desktop made me think again about privacy/laptops being stolen...

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by alekkh

 

"NTFS is widely used today, and not only on NT. The NT model presumes that NTFS is an entirely secure file system. However, the security of this file system is based on the Access Control List (ACL) and Audit Control (AC) mechanisms, which are available inside the NT operating system itself. Data is stored unencrypted in the NTFS volume. Remember that NT in a C2-compliant configuration must have its floppy drive disabled or removed; otherwise, it is possible for someone to boot another operating system from a floppy and gain access to the NTFS volume.

You can handle inaccessible NTFS partitions (e.g., a partition with lost administrator passwords) in many ways. One way, and the most obvious, is to connect the hard drive to another computer with NT installed on it. The administrator of the new NT machine has a full access to this newly installed hard drive. Other ways of gaining access to an NTFS partition and bypassing its permissions are listed below: "

BTW, I have FAT and the NTFS wouldn't work for me. Also it is much easier to set one HDD password than wonder around XP protection, pay the extra for the XP Pro which, I have the suspicion, will not present a serious barrier to anyone dedicated enough, unlike the HDD protection.

 

I guess you better turn on the hard drive password then.
You could also get a thinkpad if high security is needed, they have an encryption chip built into the motherboard to do hardware encryption of files on the fly and I've read that even the government offices like the FBI cringe at the thought of trying to get data of a thinkpad with the encrpytion chip enabled.

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill