HDD Password Removal – Crack, Clear, Unlock, Reset a Locked Hard Disk

What is an HDD Password

Many people do not know that the Hard Disk in their Laptops also have an option to set up an HDD Password. This is different from a BIOS Password and is stored in the firmware of the Hard Disk.

On the face of it, it looks like a great means of adding an extra layer for your PC Security, but setting an HDD Password can sometimes prove to be very risky, in case you forget your HDD Password. In such case, the Hard Disk becomes unusable and there is almost no way to retrieve the data stored in it.

Moving a locked hard disk to another machine will not unlock it, since the hard disk password is stored in the hard disk firmware and moves with the hard disk. Also, adding a new (unlocked) hard disk to a locked machine may cause the new hard disk to become locked. Also, note that hard disk lock passwords cannot be removed by reformatting the disk, fdisk or any other software procedure (since the disk will not allow and reads or writes to the disk, it cannot be reformatted.)

How to Crack, Clear, Unlock or Reset An HDD Password

In case you have landed in a position that you have set a HDD password and have forgotten it, there are some services, which claim to be able to retrieve the data, but I have no knowledge about the truth in their claims. However, there are tools, which can clear and unlock the HDD password. But in this case, your data will not be usable, but at least, you can use your hard disk.

One such tool is HDDUnlock. Please note that HDD Unlock Wizard only unlocks Hard Disk Drives. It does not remove BIOS user or administrator passwords. In order to unlock a laptop drive, you have to remove it from the notebook and attach it to a desktop PC by using a 2.5-inch 44-pin IDE to 3.5-inch 40/80 pin IDE adapter.
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Tip: If you are like me who want to have your cake and eat it too, then RoboForm is an ideal solution for you. RoboForm is world’s largest used Password manager, which allows you to totally forget about botheration of remembering passwords and also handles their security very well.