How to unlock this ssd without paying much money?

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Massimo

Hello,

I have a ssd here from Crucial, the C300 series, 64 GB. This was the
system disk for the W7-computer of a friend and has been replaced by a
bigger one. I do not remember what i have done with it but when I took
a look at it again some days ago, it seemed to have become
inaccessible.

A partition manager said "bad disk", it was invisible in Windows, etc.
But if I take a look at it while it is in the sata-dock connected to
my Vista-computer and through the Intel Rapid Storage Technology
program then I see "locked/unlock". Then having clicked on "unlock"
they ask for a password and... that I ignore.

My friend does not remember tot have chosen a password for the disk
*ever* and the same goes for me. Now I have googled in order to find
something that would allow me to reuse the disk but I do not really
find anything except a program (HDD Unlock Wizard) that cost Euro
49,00 and as I will only need it for probably one time in my whole
life I am not prepared tot pay this amount for this program.

Has somebody here a tip how to reuse the ssd without high costs?

Massimo
 
Massimo said:
I have a ssd here from Crucial, the C300 series, 64 GB. This was the
system disk for the W7-computer of a friend and has been replaced by a
bigger one. I do not remember what i have done with it but when I took
a look at it again some days ago, it seemed to have become
inaccessible.

A partition manager said "bad disk", it was invisible in Windows, etc.
But if I take a look at it while it is in the sata-dock connected to
my Vista-computer and through the Intel Rapid Storage Technology
program then I see "locked/unlock". Then having clicked on "unlock"
they ask for a password and... that I ignore.

My friend does not remember tot have chosen a password for the disk
*ever* and the same goes for me. Now I have googled in order to find
something that would allow me to reuse the disk but I do not really
find anything except a program (HDD Unlock Wizard) that cost Euro
49,00 and as I will only need it for probably one time in my whole
life I am not prepared tot pay this amount for this program.

Has somebody here a tip how to reuse the ssd without high costs?

Massimo
Click to expand...

http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-S...quot-disappear-quot-from-my-system/ta-p/65215

Someone else that owns the same device might be able to tell you if it
is an SED (self-encrypting drive). If it is, it won't be usable outside
the laptop the implemented hardware-level encryption.

http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-S...-could-overcome-barriers-to-growth/ta-p/67331

If you put the device into another host that supports hardware-level
locking then its BIOS should tell you if the device is locked or not.
Since you see in the Intel program that the device is locked, you'll
need the password to unlock it. If anyone could simply unlock the
device because they wanted to then there would be no point in locking
the drive to ensure no one could use it or get at your data. One method
of locking is to use whole-disk encryption so no one stealing the device
can extract data off of it. From what I read, the old C300 series don't
support hardware FDE (full disk encryption) so you have to use software
FDE (e.g., BitLocker, TrueCrypt). Another method to lock a drive is to
use hard disk password (between it and the mainboard) so that device can
only be used with that mainboard (aka ATA password).

If encryption isn't the problem but its the device and mainboard sharing
a password so the device is only usable with that mainboard, put the
device back in the old host and unlock it there. I don't remember if
the ATA password is set by the user (in the BIOS) or is a handshaking
processes between the mainboard and the device. If the latter, the
device has to be attached to the mainboard that set the hashed password
for the device to be accessible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA#HDD_passwords_and_security
Note this says you might get back the device by using the HDD's firmware
"secure erase" function. This wipes the device. One secure erase
program (that uses the disk's own secure erase command in its firmware
to wipe itself, not some program you run under an OS) is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDDerase
http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml

However, from what I've read, you still need either the user or master
password to get the device to run its own secure erase function.

You never identified the brand and model of the prior "W7-computer" from
where the old SSD came. Whether that other computer supports ATA
password or not depends on the brand and model. Hey, you said this was
a friend so have your friend put back the SSD in their host to unlock it
there. Otherwise, yep, you'll need to buy unlocking software and hope
it doesn't destroy the data (but then it looks like you don't care about
the data and just want the device to be usable).

Some mobos have bugs in their firmware regarding use of the ATA
password. I've read where one user that always enabled ATA password on
the HDDs he used before got prompted for a password (in the BIOS where
this setting was enabled). However, when he put in a Crucial C300 and
enable the ATA password, he did not get prompted for what password to
use. So you can hope that putting the C300 back in the old host and
going into its BIOS to unlock the password does not prompt for the
password (if your friend is sure they never entered one). I don't
remember the ATA password option as the default in the BIOS (that
supported it) so someone on that old host decided to enable it.
 
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-S...quot-disappear-quot-from-my-system/ta-p/65215

Someone else that owns the same device might be able to tell you if it
is an SED (self-encrypting drive). If it is, it won't be usable outside
the laptop the implemented hardware-level encryption.
Click to expand...
I suppose it is not because it was part of a computer I myself
assembled for this friend and so it never has been part of a laptop
computer.
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-S...-could-overcome-barriers-to-growth/ta-p/67331

If you put the device into another host that supports hardware-level
locking then its BIOS should tell you if the device is locked or not.
Since you see in the Intel program that the device is locked, you'll
need the password to unlock it. If anyone could simply unlock the
device because they wanted to then there would be no point in locking
the drive to ensure no one could use it or get at your data. One method
of locking is to use whole-disk encryption so no one stealing the device
can extract data off of it. From what I read, the old C300 series don't
support hardware FDE (full disk encryption) so you have to use software
FDE (e.g., BitLocker, TrueCrypt). Another method to lock a drive is to
use hard disk password (between it and the mainboard) so that device can
only be used with that mainboard (aka ATA password).
Click to expand...
It would really be a pity if the ata password -I think that is the
password i am speaking about- would tie the ssd to the mainboard it
belonged too... for that mainboard has been thrown away because of not
functioning properly. I bought a new board for him and the old board
is not available any more.
If encryption isn't the problem but its the device and mainboard sharing
a password so the device is only usable with that mainboard, put the
device back in the old host and unlock it there. I don't remember if
the ATA password is set by the user (in the BIOS) or is a handshaking
processes between the mainboard and the device. If the latter, the
device has to be attached to the mainboard that set the hashed password
for the device to be accessible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA#HDD_passwords_and_security
Note this says you might get back the device by using the HDD's firmware
"secure erase" function. This wipes the device. One secure erase
program (that uses the disk's own secure erase command in its firmware
to wipe itself, not some program you run under an OS) is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDDerase
http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/SecureErase.shtml
Click to expand...
HDDErase...I will not use after having read about experiences of other
people with it. ;-)
However, from what I've read, you still need either the user or master
password to get the device to run its own secure erase function.

You never identified the brand and model of the prior "W7-computer" from
where the old SSD came.
Click to expand...

The old motherboard was a Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 and I bought a
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 (AM3+ mobo) as a replacement.
Whether that other computer supports ATA
password or not depends on the brand and model. Hey, you said this was
a friend so have your friend put back the SSD in their host to unlock it
there.
Click to expand...

Hm. I will try and put the ssd into his present computer in order to
see if the new mobo supports setting a ata password.
Otherwise, yep, you'll need to buy unlocking software and hope
it doesn't destroy the data (but then it looks like you don't care about
the data and just want the device to be usable).
Click to expand...
There is no data anymore on this ssd as I already had deleted those
data earlier.
Some mobos have bugs in their firmware regarding use of the ATA
password. I've read where one user that always enabled ATA password on
the HDDs he used before got prompted for a password (in the BIOS where
this setting was enabled). However, when he put in a Crucial C300 and
enable the ATA password, he did not get prompted for what password to
use. So you can hope that putting the C300 back in the old host and
going into its BIOS to unlock the password does not prompt for the
password (if your friend is sure they never entered one). I don't
remember the ATA password option as the default in the BIOS (that
supported it) so someone on that old host decided to enable it.
Click to expand...

I have tried for hours now to unlock the drive and thought that I had
finally succeeded in unlocking it because Parted Magic gave me that
impression, but alas... Going to bed. Here in the Netherlands it's
late in the night now. :-)

Thank you for your exhaustive commentary and links!

Massimo
 
Massimo said:
It would really be a pity if the ata password -I think that is the
password i am speaking about- would tie the ssd to the mainboard it
belonged too... for that mainboard has been thrown away because of not
functioning properly. I bought a new board for him and the old board
is not available any more.
Click to expand...

That might be where you're stuck. Since the device looks to be locked
and asks for a password, it seems likely to be an ATA password issue.
HDDErase...I will not use after having read about experiences of other
people with it. ;-)
Click to expand...

Haven't needed to use it (yet). That's the program that I remember uses
the HDD's own firmware to run its secure erase command. There are
probably other such utilities but remember that the erasing is being
performed by the HDD, not by the software that called the command that
the HDD executes.

I see users in hddguru.com forums talking about removing the passwords,
like http://forum.hddguru.com/ata-password-bypassing-t12257-20.html, and
doing a secure erase to make the device operational again in a new
system. They mention the MHDD utility but I've never used it. It's
listed at http://hddguru.com/software/. The suggestion is NOT to attach
the HDD via USB or other removable-media interface but have it connected
to an IDE or SATA controller on the mobo. It has security commands for
unlocking and removing the password but says you need the password:
http://hddguru.com/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/mhdd_manual.en.html#password.
Well, if you never entered a password, maybe just hitting enter to
specify a null string will work.

As far as some users having bad experiences with utility-grade software
or tools, well that abounds with whatever utility software you find,
including:

partition managers
snapshot backup programs
registry cleaners or tweakers
defragmenters
hardware drivers
S.M.A.R.T. viewers

You can't stop users from using tools they don't understand. If they
can install it, suddenly they consider them an sysadmin.
The old motherboard was a Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 and I bought a
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 (AM3+ mobo) as a replacement.
Click to expand...

As I recall from reading, the password is hashed to store on the HDD so
it has to match the hashed password stored in the EEPROM for the BIOS on
the mobo where you original defined the non-blank password.

I think you're stuck with having to using HDD diagnostic software that
workarounds the ATA password. You might get lucky by trying to unlock
the device in the BIOS. Maybe by hitting Enter for the password (since
you say no password was entered) would work.

I find articles, like http://www.rockbox.org/lock.html, but they always
seems to be iffy in that they'll only work on a small subset of HDDs
that the authors happens to experiment upon.
 
That might be where you're stuck. Since the device looks to be locked
and asks for a password, it seems likely to be an ATA password issue.
Click to expand...
Hm. My friend seems to have kept the faulty mobo. Because I am a total
fanatic as long as it's about computers, I maybe trying to use that
old mobo in my oldest computer when I will be renewing its hardware in
the future... just to have a final peek into its cmos for the
ata-password option.
Haven't needed to use it (yet). That's the program that I remember uses
the HDD's own firmware to run its secure erase command. There are
probably other such utilities but remember that the erasing is being
performed by the HDD, not by the software that called the command that
the HDD executes.

I see users in hddguru.com forums talking about removing the passwords,
like http://forum.hddguru.com/ata-password-bypassing-t12257-20.html, and
doing a secure erase to make the device operational again in a new
system. They mention the MHDD utility but I've never used it. It's
listed at http://hddguru.com/software/.
Click to expand...

I looked at the MHDD software but in the documentation is repeated the
fact that you have to know the password in order to remove it.
The suggestion is NOT to attach
the HDD via USB or other removable-media interface but have it connected
to an IDE or SATA controller on the mobo. It has security commands for
unlocking and removing the password but says you need the password:
Exactly.

http://hddguru.com/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/mhdd_manual.en.html#password.
Well, if you never entered a password, maybe just hitting enter to
specify a null string will work.
Click to expand...
Hm. I tried that with the Intel Storage Manager program and it did not
work. I have tried NULL, idrive, [ENTER] and others.

Well, thanks again for youw thoughtfull reactions. :-)

Massimo
 
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