To anyone who can help or shed light on my situation,

I just bought a used laptop off ebay...not too old (Pentium IV, 512, 30 gig, etc)

The reason it was cheap is because it had a bios password hard drive lock. I have read for hours on end about hard drive passwords and how they're usually/almost always in the drives' firmware. Ive read up on utilities like MHDD, ATAPWD, as well as MASTID. I havent tried MHDD or ATAPWD yet, as ive read that they're pretty much useless/the wrong tool for the job at hand. I used MASTID to try and convert the bios hdd ID into a password, but the code provided does not work. All i really want to do is wipe the drive; basically low level format and start from scratch completely. Right now i just swapped drives in the computer to be able to use it until i find a solution to wipe the drive that is locked. I do not want to spend any money on this computer, as it is not worth it. I am willing to work with it pretty diligently, though.

Thanks to anyone who helps!

What's the make and model of the HDD?

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

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You need professional tools like pc3k pci to remove pwd on laptop drives also some hdd require probe as well as the tool .

Its a 30 gig hatachi travelstar. Not sure of the exact model #, as im not at home right now.

Rameez, I was hoping you wouldnt say something like that lol. Thats not what i wanted to hear.

Well gman,

Sorry to say, but if it's a 30Gb Hitachi (probably ATMR or ATCS) then you're outta luck.

These definitely require special probes and PC3000 to unlock, impossible without. Don't even waste your time trying, even a forced erase with AFF Repair station (at $59 or whatever it is) will NOT do it.

You in UK? If so, I'll do you a real good deal!

PM me for details.

Cheers

Sean

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

What is the model number of your hard drive?

Can MHDD do Security Erase?

Hi,

yes, it can. The FastErase function works through Security Erase.

pepe

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Adatmentés - Data recovery

Hi Guys,
Reading The ATA Standards Really Help DR Work Also And Also Provides Solid Understanding About Software/Hardware

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Regards
Amarbir S Dhillon , Chandigarh Data Recovery Labs [India]
Logical,Semi Physical And Physical Data Recovery
Website-> http://www.chandigarhdatarecovery.com

gman4dx266, Please can you post or send a link to download "mastid.exe" I would like to try it - unable to find it anywhere on the internet

Which laptop BRAND? & MODEL

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Kuwait Data Recovery - UNIX GTC
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. By: Albert Einstein

Hard drive would have turned to dust by now as this thread is more than 5 years old.

heheh ur damn right, how come i did not pay attention to post date

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Kuwait Data Recovery - UNIX GTC
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. By: Albert Einstein