Dell XPS Series HDD Password Help

mickinblack · Mar 9, 2011

My dell XPS Series laptop gives me this message

Hard disk hard disk # the system primary hdd is protected by a password

Is it possible just to put in a new hard drive or would this not stop the probem. Been on the phone to dell but its not easy to prove i was the owner as brought this second hand 2 years ago?
Would my idea of just putting in a new hard drive work or would i come across more problems?

iain.t · Mar 9, 2011

mickinblack said: ↑

My dell XPS Series laptop gives me this message

Hard disk hard disk # the system primary hdd is protected by a password

Is it possible just to put in a new hard drive or would this not stop the probem. Been on the phone to dell but its not easy to prove i was the owner as brought this second hand 2 years ago?
Would my idea of just putting in a new hard drive work or would i come across more problems?
Click to expand...

Hi,
At what stage do you get this message, is it at the log in screen of windows or before??? have you tried to remove the password in safemode??.

If you have another machine you can try Ophcrack to access the password...

http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/download.php?type=livecd

download the iso for your systems OS and create a bootable disc with this ...

http://majorgeeks.com/InfraRecorder_d6206.html
or
http://majorgeeks.com/ImgBurn_d4870.html

all of which are free. once you have created the bootable disc put it in the cd rom of the machine with the lost password and re-boot, at the boot load press any key to load from disc follow the on screen prompts, depending on the complexity of the password it may take a while for it to complete, take note of the passwords and the program it is for.

iain.t :major

DavidGP · Mar 9, 2011

Hi

As far as I know that error is a BIOS password lock on the HDD and those are not easy to break, in short the ones that can remove the password are DELL and you have tried them already, I would try them again.

If you add another HDD and its worth trying, however I believe that as the password is in BIOS or the BIOS stores it in a seperate security portion of the chip and it will block any HDD access to the primary HDD controller.

Weird though but try entering the service tag of the XPS system into the password box, likely wont work but worth a try.

TimW · Mar 9, 2011

In most motherboards CMOS battery is soldered, which makes it difficult to remove the battery. In this case you will have to use another method.

Almost all motherboards contain a jumper that can clear all CMOS settings along with the BIOS password. The location of this jumper varies depending upon the motherboard brand. You should read your motherboard manual to check its location. If you don't have the manual then look for the jumpers near the CMOS battery. Most of the manufacturer label the jumper as CLR, CLEAR, CLEAR CMOS, etc.

When you find the jumper, look carefully. There will be 3 pins and the jumper will be joining the center pin to either left or right pin. What you need to do, is remove the jumper and join the center pin to the opposite pin. e.g. if the jumper joins center pin to left pin, then remove it and join center pin to right pin. Now wait for a few seconds and then again remove the jumper and join the center pin to left pin.

Make sure to turn the PC off before opening the cabinet and resetting the jumper.

You can try How to Bypass the bios password if you know the motherboard make.

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Dell XPS Series HDD Password Help

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