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Trying to re-use old laptop hard disk but... 1

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mp9

mp9

Programmer
Sep 27, 2002
1,379
GB
Trying to re-use the hard-disk from my old laptop as a USB storage device.

Removed the disk from the laptop, popped it into a nice new enclosure and plugged it in to my desktop PC at work (where I have administrator priv's). No joy. What happens is this:

- The PC recognises a USB mass storage device.
- No drive letter is assigned.
- The device does not appear is Disk Management (so no, I cannot manually assign a drive letter)
- However, USB Mass Storage Device appears under USB Serial Bus Controllers in Device Manager
- And Generic USB Disk USB Device appears under Disk Drives in Device Manager
- BUT when I look at the properties of Generic USB Disk USB Device the Volumes tab tells me Disk: Unknown, Type: Unknown, Status: Unreadable, etc

I have tried putting a jumper on, to force the disk to be a slave, but to no avail.

Also, the cable that came with the enclosure is doubled-ended, and I have tried it with both ends plugged into the PC, so power shouldn't be an issue, presumably? The disk spins up, it just isn't recognised by the PC.

Any thoughts?

[pc2]
 
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No, this adapter is different. Your adapter connects via USB, this adapter connects via the IDE ports on your computer. There's a HUGE difference there - you very well may get much different results using this sort of adapter.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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Excuse my ignorance but where can I get such an adapter from, and at what cost? Thanks.
 
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Ah! Have just found one on ebay for £2.99...
 
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As kjv1611 explains, a direct IDE adapter is many times better than a USB. As USB ones tend to be pickier at how functional a drive has to be for a USB to work,.

Usually a direct IDE adapter will read the drive even when USB enclosures cannot.

Not sure of the going rate between pounds and dollars but it sounds pretty cheap.

Make sure it works though. ebay is known to pass damaged goods for working ones.

And there are plenty of online electronic stores that will carry such an adapter.




----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
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.
 
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If you're in the US, mp9, and you want to find a legit online retailer that will likely have one of the cheapest prices, good return policy, shipping, etc, look at
Have a look at this list, but of course avoid the USB ones for your need. Also, you can probably filter it down by the links on the left, I just did a basic search, "2.5 to 3.5":

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. As luck would have it, have managed to lay my hands on another old laptop, so can pop the hard disk in that directly. Have also downloaded a BIOS upgrade from Toshiba so can burn that to CD, boot from the CD and then flash the BIOS on the hard disk. In theory all should be well, just haven't had chance to try it all yet.... fingers crossed.
 
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mp9 said:
To clarify, the disk definitely had a BIOS password set, not a HD password.
Click to expand...

mp9 said:
As luck would have it, have managed to lay my hands on another old laptop, so can pop the hard disk in that directly. Have also downloaded a BIOS upgrade from Toshiba so can burn that to CD, boot from the CD and then flash the BIOS on the hard disk.
Click to expand...

Unless there is something that I'm not aware of how to access (which is possible), if it's a BIOS password, then it's not on your hard drive at all. If you place the hard drive into another laptop, it won't have a password. The password (if it's a BIOS password) is located on the motherboard, specifically in the CMOS/BIOS cache memory. That's why you can remove the battery (except for some newer laptops, apparently) and/or clear the CMOS via the clear CMOS jumper pins, and remove a BIOS password as well as any custom BIOS configurations.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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Try to put the drive back in the laptop. see if it works. If it works and you do not need the data on it or, if it works and you then BACK IT UP, Delete the partition and then try it in the USB housing.
You will have to re-partition the (NOW USB) drive on the machine you are going to use it with.
The OS should not matter once you have deleted the partition and re- partitioned on the new system.

Ps. What kind of Laptop is it?
 
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@kjv1611 - I am misled, the disk works but prompts for a HDD password, which I don't have.

What would be the best way to remove that? Can I do something with it if I am able to boot from a CD?
 
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I should add that I don't need the data on the hard disk, so if I could somehow boot from a CD or other device and then reformat the hard disk in question, that would be an acceptable option for me.
 
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If you haven't tried it yet, you could try to download the latest "Ultimate Boot CD" It's got tools for all sorts of things for a PC. Amongst them, tools for getting you back into Windows if you forgot your password. So, I'd imagine they might also have a hard drive password "unlocker", but I've not really looked. Fortunately, this isn't a problem I've come across in my personal experience yet.
[wink]

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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mp9,

One person at the bottom of this forum thread offers some possible options, such as connecting it as a slave in another PC, and opening with Windows XP, or else booting from a live distro of Linux from the same laptop/PC... booting from live distro of linux on CD/DVD:

Take a look at the last thread. I think if you want to try the WinXP option, you'll have to use one of the adapters that vacunita mentioned.

Or if by now you can determine the data isn't really important, just demolish the hard drive to ensure no one else can get to the data later, and dispose of it. I mean, at the cost of hard drives and RAM these days, it just doesn't pay to spend too much time on either.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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BTW, mp9, I'm sure you're aware of this. But be very wary and careful about clicking on links that mention such fixes. Do your best to make sure they are safe before messing with them. That's why I didn't link to the last one, nor even link to the Google search. I'm on my work PC, and I SURE don't want to risk anything here! [wink]

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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put the HDD in the PC and get a friend to download win 7 and burn you a DVD/CD then boot with that disk and when setup asks delete partition say yes. that will let you partition and format the disk. PROBLEM SOLVED?

As kjv1611 said DON'T GO TO PC FIX SITES MOST ARE MARKETING SITES THAT WILL HIJACK YOUR PC AND HOLD IT HOSTAGE UNTIL YOU BUY THEIR LOSEY SOFTWARE.
 
 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx
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So, Windows 7 will bypass the hard drive passwords? Surely not. If it did it would nullify that method of data security... then again, if it's deleting the partition(s), then I suppose data security wouldn't matter anymore anyhow?

It'd be an interesting try. I'd like to know if it's possible in Windows 7. I've got a virtualPC instance running 7 at home - one of the beta releases, but i've not touched it in a while.

mp9, anyone can download the release candidate of Windows 7 for a couple more weeks I believe. It'd be worth giving a shot. And if it didn't work out, then at least you tried, AND you got to get an early taste of Windows 7. [wink]

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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Can't mp9 use ERD Commander to remove the HD Password
 
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Well, that'd be worth a shot I suppose. It's got a 30 day trial, so a one time use test would fall well within the trialware period.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me
 
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Maybe this helps, if not ignore:

What is HDD Password?

All hard disk drives have the possibility to set a hardware password, thus making the drive completely inaccessible unless a correct password is provided during the BIOS POST test. When you set a password on your notebook, the drive becomes locked as well. XBox gaming consoles and some desktop computers can also lock hard disk drives. This is usually called "HDD password" or "ATA password".
Click to expand...
source: HDD Unlock



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.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"
 
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