Hello, first of all, i would like to apologies my bad english. i have a big problem with my Notebook HDD, my sneaky ex locked in a HDD password, so i cant get my data. I have searched now for 2 day my ass off, how to unlock the HDD.
For my luck, the its only a user password and the masterpassword is unchanged. So i want to unluck the HDD by using the masterpassword. Its a Seagate Momentus 500GB Drive.
I tried MHDD, but with the unlock command it says "device is not ready", also the HDD and DVD ROM devices are not listed. On secondary controller with the command "id" i get the right response from the DVD ROM, but not on the primary controller (should be the HDD), there on the primary controller is the response to the ID commant like the unlock command "device is not ready".

http://666kb.com/i/cg8cv7nyji11s7wtf.jpg

I also tried HDAT2, i think i am doing something wrong, whats is the "fill" option? Is it possibly, that the master pw is no longer "seagate +25x space"? I found a post, that says that the masterpw is printed on the HDD itself, but where? Is it on a sticker or on the metalcase?
Some pictures of my try, maybe someone see a mistake.
http://666kb.com/i/cg8cvtd4i1ifkch5v.jpg
http://666kb.com/i/cg8cwd3mtdzkc3pwj.jpg
http://666kb.com/i/cg8cwmdqwej6zdwpv.jpg

I would be very gratefull, if someone could help.

No one who can help?

atapwd dont recognize the HDD.

You will need to send to a professional with the right tools.

_________________
Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery

hardware recovery only now

software wont help you out masterlock on it

ask your x girlfriend for the password pay her

What does this mean? The lock is still on high, not maximum, since im working on it, nothing changed on the parameters.

So it is not possible to unlock with masterpassword? or is it that hard to get the right masterpassword? I´ve read the workaround with the serial-cable, the hw-side would not be a big deal for me, but im not good at programming, eg i dont know how to copy from read buffer to write buffer and send it to the hdd and so on.

whats about security erase? would it restore the password to null?

i ve read, that mhdd have problems with sata and activated ahci, my next try..

It would disable the User password at the end of the erase, but you still need to know the Master password to be able to start a Secure Erase on a locked drive, so this is a dead end for you at the moment.


Yes - your first image suggests that MHDD didn't recognise the drive at all, probably due to incorrect SATA controller settings (should be set in BIOS to ATA / IDE / legacy / compatibility mode - the setting's name varies in different BIOS). Therefore the "drive not ready" messages from MHDD were erroneous.

However, FYI you cannot rely on the information from HDAT2 that the Master password is unchanged. That part of the ATA specification should not be interpreted in the way that HDAT2 (and many other utilities) interpret it. The Master password on that drive may, or may not, have been changed. In modern laptops, the Master password typically is changed, either by the laptop manufacturer in the factory or later by the BIOS, when a User password is set.

Found out, that my G41M-P25 even dont have AHCI mode.

So the last thing left is the trash for this hdd?

dont know if this is better, but i get this, if i start mhdd from flash not from CD ROM:

http://666kb.com/i/cgfptqdb7440503rz.jpg

http://666kb.com/i/cgfpv8m1pjlvicylb.jpg

is this better? atapwd still dont detect the hdd but the CD/DVD ROM also no change in HDAT2.

in case if the masterpassword is not changed, but is not know in the www, do i have a possibility to ask it from the manufracturer?

where did tinkerdude found his masterpassword? viewtopic.php?t=15948&start=