"This Drive is Security Locked" - Help

[tom.w]

I was wiping a hard drive using darik's boot & nuke, when a power failure happened. I tried to re-initiate the wiping however boot&nuke felt there might be some bad sectors and stopped. So I boot up with a DOS version of SeaTools and it mentioned that "This Drive is Security Locked". I can assure you, I never set a User Password for the hard disk. SeaTools short test passed, the drive is visible by the bios (albeit not at full capacity), but the long test failed to run because LBA=0. I can't seem to run any other diagnostic/wiping tools because the device seems to be locked down. Is there a way to disable the security lock, so that I can wipe the drive and start all over? Been exploring the user manual for HDAT2, but @ this time of night, everything seems foreign to me. Any help would be appreciated, Thanks.

Device Info: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620A 320GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 3.5" Hard Drive

[BlackST]

A firmware problem has developed (maybe the power failure was the latest cause). Seen it many times, but as it is most probably a firmware problem, it's not a DIY. It's a simple repair (for pros). I am at the opposite corner of the world so I suggest you to get help from the nearest valuable member of this forum (BTW where are you located ?)

[harddrivespecialist]

If you wanted to erase data from your drive, you might want to get a new drive and move on, at least it would be cheaper than a repair of original drive.

[BlackST]

Uhm... if it is only a repair / refurb (WITHOUT RECOVERING OF DATA) I charge a small quote, for example. Usually if possible and accepted , also a "express exchange" is possible (I get the "defective" drive, see if it can be repaired or the drive has to be discarded, and at a small fee you get a repaired drive quickly)... it depends on who you contact.

[BlackST]

Sorry for posting one after another ....

Try again to use the same procedure/SW used for "wiping" and LET IT COMPLETE , if it uses internal security functions of the HDD. Be sure to use the same thing, hoping it doesn't use each time a random PW set...
If it doesn't work, there's need for firmware fix.

Before the question comes : NO you cannot "flash" or "apply" firmware to the drive without dedicated gear and knowing what to do.
I'm even not sure if the drive will "accept" firmware in its actual state, maybe some intervention is needed in any case. A pro can deal with the problem quickly and effectively.

[tom.w]

Thanks for the responses guys. But lady luck was smiling on my today. In case anyone else stumbles on this forum, as a last ditch effort I boot the device with HDAT2 (similar to MHDD) and used it's security menu to ERASE UNIT. Fortunately the MASTER PASSWORD had not been change, so I used the default SEAGATE MASTER PASSWORD (wont share it here, not sure if it violates the forum rules) to initiate the erase. Once I received the successful confirmation, I CTRL+ALT+DEL out of the application, logged into the BIOS and shut the system down. It's critical for the hard drive to be power cycled. Turned back on the system booted with Seatools DOS V1.09, and voila the disk was no longer "This Drive is Security Locked". Did a sector scan, all seems to be good.

For the sake of brevity I didn't provide a step-by-step tutorial. Please read the application's documentation/manuals they are invaluable.