Wired HDD Problem to Solve!!! Help

Can someone please help me solve my problem...

My hard disk is lock and I can't access it at all. A password is required during boot. The problem is, I don't have the password and I did not set any.

I can't even format, low level format or anything (I set the HDD as slave on another PC).. i even e-mail seagate and they tell me that they dont have any master password. by the way, my hard disk is a seagate.

How can I save my harddisk? Plzz help

the last time u log in ur pc still able to log in ?
or this the 1st time ur using the pc ?

I am assuming you mean a BIOS password, right?

It is not the bios password, I did not set any password to lock my pc.

This is not the first time I use pc and I am able to log in the last time.
My pc got hang after running for a while. As usual, I hot boot the pc and the next thing I know when I start my pc, the HDD is lock. It is lock when the system is detecting the HDD and request a password. (Still haven't enter window. The very first screen when we start the pc)

I pretty sure such a thing does not exist, and the BIOS password dialog is just coming up after the hard dives are detected? Anyone want to confirm? Prove me wrong?

What about the whole systems locked...ie is there a key in the computer front panel that locks the computer from ANY access??

It is requesting a password, so I don't think it would be a keylock.

That would be a hell of a catch 22: "Please enter password to unlock your keyboard.."

What kind of computer/motherboard is it?

I have been using computer for years and this is the first time i encounter this as well.. I don't even know it exist until today. It is definately not bios lock and keyboard lock.. if i remove the HDD, everything work fine... after the system detect the HDD, it prompt a message just after the message stated that the HDD is detected. The message is something like "HDD is lock. Please enter password to unlock your HDD (5 left)".

I'm pretty sure this do exist as there are people out there facing the same problem.. I'm not sure if they have found a solution to it yet...

Well, I read a few sites and it seems such a thing does exist. There is a password program on the controller board, which is stored in NVRAM. As far as I know, there is no way to get around it becuase it asks for the password before any access to the drive happens. If you can look on the controller board for a NVRAM chip and post the numbers on it, I might be able to help you find what pin to jump to what pin to clear it.

"look on the controller board for a NVRAM chip and post the numbers on it" Where is the NVRAM chip? Can I plug out the HDD and clear the NVRAM (I have to plug out to enter bios and clear the NVRAM, there is an option to clear NVRAM in bios setup) and plug in the HDD back to the PC. will it work?

What is the make and model of your hard drive and computer??

What changed to make it ask for a password, loss of power, installed new gadget etc??

My PC? I assemble the PC myself. My HDD is Seagate Model ST340014A. I did install a software called "tailsman", downloaded from download.com and uninstall it after i found out that it don't suit me. once uninstall, the pc prompt me to restart my pc. i did not do that and choose to restart later. the next thing i know i my pc hang after a while. I reset the PC and it prompt me for password.

I am thinking you mean talisman...

The software site listed it as a shell replacement for MS Explorer is this correct??

If so it could have screwed the NTOS kernel file and left it's finger print there. Over the 30 days it is waiting for a password to start the software and your over the 30 day limit.

Can you boot to a safe mode at all? That still may not work. I don't know how it decides the date, some programs us the system clock, others use an algorythm to find the time.

Try to change the system clock to 1 year ago in the BIOS and restart, re-install talisman, then uninstall it, change the system clock back to normal.

Again these are all guesses after reading the web site FAQ's.

http://www.lighttek.com/talisman_faq.htm

One other thing is to hit their forums and post a question to their tech support. The above link will also get there.

Other than that you may be SOL and have to buy the program ($25 US) or have to FDISK the drive.

One thing to note is not re-booting may have played a major part in it. Make sure you include that in your question to tech support.

Attempt fail.. i plan to get a new HDD.

If your going to get a new one, why not just boot to a XP cd and re-partition this one first? That "should" kill the password. Of course it will also kill all of your data, ut it will save you from buying a new hard drive.