Dell HD Passwords

[vacunita]

It seems this is a new trend with some laptops, Dell and Fujitsu are the ones I've found references to.

You can set an HD password to lck the HD from unauthorized acces.

This is a completely different thing to a regular BIOS password. This in fact prevents access to the Hard Drive itself.

If the HD is removed, then no password is requested. I'm assuming if you had another HD with a fully functional OS on it that could be boot into on the machine that it would also boot fine.

The question is, anybody know of a way to remove the password for the hard drives? Clearing the BIOS by removing the battery and what not does nothing. The password is still going to be there.

Now I don't have the PC here yet, so can;t try anything but would like to have some idea of what to do when the client gets here with it.









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Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[BadBigBen]

It seems this is a new trend with some laptops

actually not... been around for years, first time I seen it was in 2001 or 2002...

here is a commercial app that can unlock the drive... (I haven't tested it)

http://www.hddunlock.com/

this may be helpful also:

Removing a Hard Disk Password

http://home1.gte.net/johnfull/n57.htm

the only other advice I can give, is to contact DELL about this...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[cmeagan656]

You could ask the client for the password. If he/she doesn't have it then they, in theory, aren't authorized to access the HD.

I don't think that anyone on these forums will give you information on hacking or removing a password. Its against forum rules.

Cheers.

 

[vacunita]

You how users are. They can just easily set a password to something as they can turn around and forget it.
Its not like no one ever forgets a password.

The client has the original invoice for the laptop, that in my mind means he has ownership of the device, and in turn is authorized to access his own files.

I did find another app that seems to do it, its from the Ultimate Boot CD. So I'll give that a try if not I can always contact Dell.




----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[edfair]

They have a backdoor password good for a day that they will share if the user matches the registration.

In my case, there was no match and the new owner was having to scramble to find the old owner.

Not sure of the steps if the machine isn't registered. Also not sure if the password will remain valid if you change the date later.

This is a theft deterrent.

 

[cmeagan656]

You how users are. They can just easily set a password to something as they can turn around and forget it.

Yep, I see your point. I had one of the partners at the firm that I work at change his domain password just before leaving work to go to a "function" (aka party). Needless to say, the next day I had to do a password reset for him.

Cheers.

 

[goombawaho]

I don't think that anyone on these forums will give you information on hacking or removing a password. Its against forum rules."

This would be kind of dumb if people are working on legitimate projects. There's a difference between "hacking" for a legitimate part of someone's IT job vs. doing it for fun or profit when not authorized.

The knowledge shouldn't be withheld. That's like saying, I won't tell you how to use the internet because there's all kind of bad things out there for you to find.

 

[edfair]

The problem is with identifying legitimate projects. And then, since the information would be visible to any visitor, it can be used by people who do not have legitimate projects.

Granted that it hurts people who have a real need. But that is the way the forum managers want it. We live with it.

 

[goombawaho]

I say we should protest. Who cares if we accidentally give out a little bit of knowledge that could be found elsewhere. It's not like this forum is going to become a hotbed of hacking.

Why are the people that run this forum so up-tight???

 

[Johnthephoneguy]

Because no one wants to be responsible for some kid being malicious against any number of people. I think it is a good policy to not give out passwords or work arounds.

JohnThePhoneGuy

"If I can't fix it, it's not broke!

 

[BFOJ]

I purchased a couple of used Dell computers with the HD password and had no problem contacting Dell tech support for assistance in removing the password. The main thing is to ensure the Dell Service Tag in the BIOS is the same as the service tag on the computer label.

 

[goombawaho]

Tell me how the service tag in the BIOS would NOT be the same as the service tag on the computer label!?!?!

Only if someone changed motherboards would it be different - correct????

That would have nothing to do with a hard drive if it were switched between machines. The BIOS and service tag would still match.