Alan Dayley wrote: > If the hardware manufacturer implemented the ATA spec correctly, the > password cannot be bypassed by any normal means. That is, after all, > what the password is supposed to do. > > With special knowledge of the specific hard drive model, not just the > manufacturer, the model and even the specific firmware, one can find > where the password is stored and erase or nullify it. Oh, and you > might need special equipment to get to that password on the platters. > > To put it another way, throw this hard drive away and go buy a new > one. It'll be less costly of your time. > > Alan > I have to agree with Alan on this one. If you have a passworded laptop hard drive, you might as well toss it and buy a new one. I had one that I experimented with just to see if I could wipe it out entirely, and had no such luck. I even exchanged the board with an identical drive, and in the end ran strontium magnets over the disk itself (like I said, it was just an experiment - I didn't need the drive, and it was useless to me as it was) Big NADA~ The password is stored in a special section of the disk itself, and is virtually impossible to get rid of by any means available to ordinary human beings. Save yourself the headaches, and get a new drive from Newegg or Geeks. They're cheaper than your wasted time. Stu > On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 8:51 AM, James Finstrom > wrote: > >> Greetings All, >> So my dad bought a Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 and apparently the drive is >> password locked at a hardware level and requires some sort of voodoo to >> report back anything other than vendor data. Anyway I guess there is a byte >> code you send to the drive and then a password then you live happily ever >> after. Needless to say we don't have the password. I am sure there is data >> on the drive but none that we own so don't care if all data is lost. Looking >> for suggestions on breaking in or clearing the drive. Again total data loss >> is ok. Tried DD in case it was in the partition table and no dice.. >> >> -- >> James Finstrom >> >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> >> > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss