HDD Password

Last week I locked my Gateway Notebook with a HDD password and a Bios setup password. Both passwords were set in the BIOS Setup program and included a "+" sign (i.e. password = "ab+cd" without quotes).
The BIOS setup program (AMIBIOS) accepted the passwords and set them. To my great sadness, the "+" is not a valid character during "power on" so I cannot unlock my HDD. The supervisory bios password is also invalid because of the "+" in the password.

I was able to open the notebook - remove the CMOS battery and reset the supervisory password, but not the HDD password. The BIOS setup program has that feature still locked.

Apparently, the HDD password is written to the HDD firmware by the BIOS setup program. I removed the HDD (Hitachi 2.5" 80GB) an put it in another notebook - still locked.

After researching on the web I have discovered that the HDD password must be entered correctly before the HDD firmware will spin up the platters, so it is not even possible to reformat the drive. I found on site that claims to be able to retrive the data and unlock the HDD for about $500.

Long explaination - now my question -
Does anyone know of a program what would allow me to enter the proper password with the "+" and then attempt to "hot swap" in the HDD via a usb connection or some such senario???

Stumped???

Thanks

 

I would think the Site Rules preclude members from providing such information.

I may be wrong, but I'd be surprised if such isn't stated.

 

As a newbie - could you please refer me to the Site Rules? I want to follow those.....
Thanks

 

Here's a good starting point;
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/faq.php?faq=vb_faq#faq_vb_board_usage

Or here's another;
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=41

 

I took a look thru the rules, and didn't see anything that really pertained to this type of question, but I might have missed it. I don't want to get myself of anyone else into trouble here, so if a moderator could let us know if this is taboo thread, I'd appreciate it!
THANX!

hd2k

 

Same here hd2k. I didn't see anything specific regarding this.

I checked when this came up as I've never read them here either. ;>) Matter of fact I had to really hunt for the two links I provided in my # 4 post. However, in my defence, it's because I'm a Moderator on two sites, and contribute to several, and they all have the same basic rules. I find it kind of surprising there's nothing mentioned on this site.

 

Owing to the information being used by the wrong people, genuine lockouts should seek this sort of help.
I would first of all contact gateway.

http://support.gateway.com/support/customer_care.asp

Other possible help

http://www.uel.ac.uk/it/PasswordRecoveryService.htm

http://www.forensic-computing.ltd.uk/password_recovery.htm

 

Thanks for these leads - Gateway was unable to help. Their tech support suggested removing the CMOS but had not answer for the HDD password entry. Just to remind - - I know the password. The "+" sign is not a valid character at "power up" That early in the boot process only alpha-numeric keys are options. I am waiting for responses from Hitachi and the two UK recovery services listed above. If anyone else has any thoughts - that would be appreciated.

 

well i dont know for sure but u can download a program that will unlock ure computer at THE AMBIOS menu but if any 1 was locked them self out of windows and carnt login in right....
first when u turn ure comp on and the windows login screen comes up u can press "CTRL+ALT+DELETE TWICE" and this menu will come up. then u type in administrator and press login and u should of hacked into the admin of ure comp. but for me i have changed the password. so when u get in u can c everything and then u have loged out and loged in as u!
u can go on start then run and type in "cmd u will get a black command prompt wich is a system command processor then type in "net user then ure name or who ever so i make this up net user bob and u can delete there account or change there password so to delete there acount it would be net user bob /delete lol and to change t here password net user bob gold and there password is changed to gold.if u type in net u can get lots of info about users/admins even back doors "I KNOW THIS BECASUE I AM A RETIRED HACKER!
i hacked lots of things but im not going into detail about that
lol
hack the planet !crash override¬
DONT ASK ME ABOUT RUNESCAPE IVE DONE THAT ENOUGH TIMES 2 I HAVE THERE IP ADDRESS OF THEM!

 

crash-override,
CJ532 is talking about his HARD DISK. The bios issue has been fixed.

From CJ532's first post:

"... After researching on the web I have discovered that the HDD password must be entered correctly before the HDD firmware will spin up the platters..."

You're an observant hacker........

 

Just got an e-mail from Hitachi - They are not aware of any software that will allow me to access the password on the firmware of the HDD. They claim they have no utilities. They are unable, or unwilling to have me send them the HDD and remove the password - EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THE PASSWORD.

I may need to send the HDD into one of those data recovery services. They want about $500 to save the data.....

I'm still searching for ideas....

CJ532

 

If you could find another exact HDD you may be able to switch the drives circuit boards. I've seen this done with 3.5" IDE drives. Just a thought.

Good luck to you....

 

I feel further information might not be a good idea, and for the sake of anyone who has lost notebooks, and laptops, I recommend this post be closed.

 

I've reported my own post to bring it to the Mod's/Admin attention.

Since the thread has not been "regulated" thus far, I continued with suggestions. The reported post should bring it to the "front" for appropriate action.

 

Thank you.

 

Good call Major. It's tough enough having to deal with unwilling tech support, but to be denied help on a help forum is just ignorant.

 

I agree. Good call.

"... to be denied help on a help forum is just ignorant."

I agree here too. However, (I feel) there are ethics/morals involved when the help provided could be giving aid to a thief. There are plenty of hacking sites out there, I've been to a few myself. The better you are (with computers) the easier it is to find whatever you seek.

I own six guitars. One of them is a Gibson J-45, which was made before I was born. (1946, I came along in '50) It's irreplaceable. NO amount of insurance would/could matter. If it were stolen it would be like loosing an arm. I'd hate to see a website assisting the thief in disposing of it for quick cash.

 

Catch a thief, cut his hand off. Works in Turkey, and the crimerate is surprisingly low. You don't want to know how I feel about spammers...

 

Thanks for the o.k Major Attitude, and I am pleased that Dan can see my concern.
Capt.quirk,
My input was not in ignorance, but to ensure we were being monitored, by the moderators as password cracking is a difficult issue, as Dan described ,the wrong people could benifit.
The manufacturers , especially on laptops and notebooks deliberately make it difficult to get past a password , obviously for the same reason, and it seems wrong that a genuine owner cannot be helped by the manufacturer, but that is life.

 

Yes, I can see the possible concerns you folks had. However, instead of actively seeking out and punishing the wrongdoers, it turns out that the rightful owner in trouble is screwed, because he can't find a solution.

 

CJ532, I hope you understood the ethics,of what was said.
Perhaps these links can help.
I was reluctant to add more previously, until a moderator, had looked in.

If you remove the hard drive, and connect it to a pc, you could be able to retrieve your data, and possibly more, but I here is a link to explain more on password protection
http://www.laptoptips.ca/security/bios-password/

Cheap utility
http://www.spotmau.com/products/package/pw_recovery.htm

Free , possibility
http://www.password-crackers.com/en/category_107/

Main page for above.
http://www.password-crackers.com/crack.html

Or, you can try Hiren's Boot CD 8.9 that has several bios tools on board - completely free download
http://www.gospeedtest.com/hirens.html

If none of this helps, come back, and one of us will try to help further
Good luck.rolleyes

 

Thanks for those tips Baklogic. I'm sure that at somepoint down the road, I am likely to do something similar to CJ532... except now we both know that symbols aren't meant for passwords

 

You are welcome, just a worrying issue.

 

Yes, it is. But again, who is ultimately paying the price? Hackers have their own sites and tools, and wouldn't bother with a place like this- I hope. On the other hand, you have poor Joe Blow (CJ532 in this case) who needs help to get his machine running again, and nobody will help. So much for spending big bucks on products and getting any type of support. They just expect you to throw down more hard earned cash and buy new stuff from them.

 

The problem is that majorgeeks links are easy to find on the web....If you do a lot of subject searching, you will come across them -- good for Majorgeeks, on the whole, but this sort of issue is, as I said , delicate.

 

This thread certainly has sparked some interesting views. I appreciate everyones concerns.

Thank you for the links. I will look at each one and let you know if there is a solution. I have discovered that Hitachi makes a VERY secure HDD. The password is written to the firmware controller in the drive and also to the platter. If I were able to replace the firmware the drive would still not run because the password must match on the platter and in the firmware to open the drive for operation.

I have a new HDD on the way - now my worry is that the new HDD might somehow become corrupted once installed with the invalid password?!?

We shall see.

Thanks
CJ532

 

You would think the program would not allow the + character if it causes this problem.

 

But then, you wouldn't need to buy a new drive from them, would you?

 

I highly doubt they're trying to cash in on that sweet sweet + money.

 

Well, the new HDD has been installed, restored with the Gateway software that came on the notebook. The old HDD remains locked. Thank goodness for a recent back up. Except for about 2 weeks of e-mails, all the important files are back and running.

There is very little reason to do anything more with the locked HDD. Anything I would do more would be for academic purposes only. I doubt that sending this in to a data recovery firm is worth the $$'s.

The HDD password won! I lost.

Thread might as well be closed
Thanks for everyones help ----
CJ532

 

I had the same problem while trying to fix a friends Toshiba lap top at the beginning of the year. The password beat me too...

But than he took it to this guy who actually fixed it! Guess he knew more than I did. I tried 7 days for hours a day trying to fix it for him. All I got was $50 in return. But he was a good friend so I didn't want his money anyways. I just wanted to help.