In a laptop, I used 'ATA Secure Erase' (via Parted Magic) on this 2.5" SSD, thinking to give it a good cleanout before I installed an OS.
Turns out the cleanout was too good, because when I put it into another laptop to install a Windows OS, a boot popup immediately asks for a password.
I've tried 'Apacer', NULL, abc123, partedmagic etc etc but nothing works.

I've tried mounting it into an HDD dock attached to a desktop computer. The computer reacts to the plugin, saying 'Apacer SSD is loading' but the SSD doesn't show up in MyComputer (W7) or in Disk Management.

Thanks for reading this. Any advice would be most welcome.

Try "password".

https://groups.google.com/g/datarecoverycertification/c/WgSBKzuifPs

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thanks, tried that one, no go.