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Hope you are all fine,

I was using Lenovo T520 laptop with SSD upgrade until it died due to Motherboard issues, Being said that! I was using both Admin Password and HDD Password, the whole time on that device until its demise. After I bought a new Laptop, I connected the SSD from that device, only to know the HDD password prompt and the existing password isn't working on it. Need help on recovering the hard drive by any means and no data recovery necessary.

Thank you in advance.

User_47
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1 Answers1

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The "Admin Password" is part of the system that died. It is not relevant for the new system or the relocated HDD.

The "HDD Password" is a feature implemented in the ATA standard, so also known as "ATA Password". The password is store and managed by the HDD firmware, the computer's BIOS only remembers the string, so the user does not have to remember it. The data on the disk itself is not encrypted.

As a consequence:

  • The requirement to enter a password to access the HDD will not vanish by just moving the hdd to another computer.
  • If you manage to remove the password or change it to a known one, your data will become accessible.
  • You are bound to the gatekeeper called BIOS. If the BIOS implementation is somehow crude or buggy (not a rare thing) you might face the problem you describe.
  • As this is an ATA impelemtation, connecting the drive by an ATA/USB-converter might prohibit the the correct password exchange. You have to connect the HDD directly to the SATA port.

After this entrée have a look at the answers of this question:
How to unlock an ATA password-locked HDD with an upper-case password if the BIOS accepts only lower-case?

dodrg
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