I am looking to acquire a WD USB SED locked drive that does not have access to ROM or RAM. It can have bad sectors, and can be suffering from the “slow” issue. And actually if it does have bad sectors and is suffering from the slow issue, that is a bonus to me. I do not want one with a bad head. I also don’t really want one that has been “refurbished” where I don’t know what has been done to it to “refurbish” it. The purpose of the drive is for experimentation. If anyone can help, please either reply or PM me with details.

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Posted on Ace Forum :

http://acelaboratory.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=8508



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^^^ That's an old post from AceLabs. The current software revision is more like 6.5.18.

They do not yet have a solution for these latest encrypted models, such as Palmer Passports.

If the OP is looking for a Palmer drive, a typical model number is WD10SDZW-11UMGS0.

The ROMs on these do not appear to be locked.

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I guess I should clarify. I am not looking for the newest model. I just want one of the common ones that has the ROM and RAM access locked so that the slow fix cannot be applied through USB using the likes of HDDSuperTool. My purpose is to be able to read ROM and access SA with only a computer and my software with hopes to be able to apply the slow fix, all without any fancy expensive hardware.

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FYI, the drives you further describe offer access via the serial port.

The newer ones that don't interest you don't.

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What is the definition of no solution? Does that mean that SA cannot be accessed even with a compatible SATA board? Or just that they can't decrypt them with a SATA board?

I have no intentions of attempting any decrypting, that is beyond me. But if a SATA board can currently be used to apply the slow fix, and then the USB board has to be put back to clone, I would hope to eliminate the need for a SATA board just for the slow fix, and be able to access SA through USB. It would be the same process as the models I was originally intending, IF it works. If SA can be accessed with a SATA board with the normal procedure (that starts by patching ROM so it doesn't load SA), then one of the newer drives should work for my experimentation.

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For now Palmer family can't be read SA. Some kind of encryption that still doesn't allow access to modules.

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I can access those

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Handy to know

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Just curious, do you gain access through USB, or after converting to SATA?

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So what are some model numbers of the SED locked drives prior to these new ones? I am still looking to get one as long as the price is right.

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Not willing to share, do you??

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I just purchased a used WD10JMVW-11AJGS1 that is supposed to be in good condition, as data that I have shows this is one of the SED locked drives I was asking for. When it arrives, I will be able to test if my method is possible or not.

And then I went crazy and purchased a WD10SDZW-11UMGS0 that is considered a parts drive, but is supposed to be functional with only 1 bad sector. I really doubt I will get anywhere with that drive, but the price wasn't bad, so I just had to buy it to try. Maybe I will surprise myself, or maybe it will just be a waste of time and money. No way to tell without trying.

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With WD10JMVW SED drives the SA is locked. But the SA can always be unlocked by converting the board to SATA, putting the drive in kernal mode, changing the SA regions, using an overlay from a donor and then disabling the SA lock which will also disable the decryption. Then the slow fix can be applied or any other changes to the SA, then the SA lock and decryption can be put back to normal.

Is this not possible with WD10SDZW? is there no way to access the SA as of yet?

See viewtopic.php?t=37418

I don't know why it works, but the trick was applied to a WD10JMVW-11AJGS2 to circumvent a BSY problem. I expect that it won't work with WD10SDZW models, though.

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My goal is to be able to perform this operation on drives such as the WD10JMVW with the USB board, not requiring SATA conversion. I won't know if I can do that until I have the drive and do some testing. I have some crazy (probably delusional) hope that I would be able to access the WD10SDZW like that also.

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The WD10SDZW-11UMGS0 arrived, and I cannot get USB access when trying to put it in kernel mode. So no chance of me doing anything with that drive.

I will have the WD10JMVW-11AJGS1 soon, but I don't have high hopes. If I end up with the same results, my idea for USB access to these drives will be dead.

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The WD10JMVW-11AJGS1 arrived, and my hopes and dreams have been killed. No USB access in kernel mode. I had hopes that it would work like the older passport drives I have, but to no avail. This attempt is now dead, case closed.

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WDC WD10SDZW-11UMGS0

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How does one do this? Which pins do you connect with?