So basically I have an old IBM ThinkPad laptop I bought from a friend.
The onlt problem with it is….
The HDD has a password on it…
How do I reset this with minimal cost?I don't care much about whats on the hard Drive so if whats on it gets erased in the process it dont matter much to me.
I just want the password gone so I can re-install ubuntu or windows on it.
no, the ubuntu thread is my desktop.
It was set with the BIOS but its on the HDD tried putting it into another laptop and got the same result…
its an IBM ThinkPad 390E
I quote the PDF but advise you download it as it has pics etc.
How to Disable the Password
There are three passwords used at a typical customer site:
the Setup password, the HDD password, and the Power
On password.
. Power On password:
1. Power off the computer.
20 ThinkPad 390E
2. Remove the battery pack and AC Adapter.
3. Remove the backup battery (RTC) for 20
minutes or use a screwdriver to touch the
backup battery (RTC) for 1 second.
4. Put back the backup battery (RTC).
5. Power on the computer and wait until POST
ends.
6. Verify that the password prompt does not
appear.
. Supervisor and HDD passwords:
The Supervisor password and Hard Disk password
(Hard Disk1 and Hard Disk2) are security features
that are used to protect the system and the hard disk
drive data from unauthorized access. No overriding
capability is provided, so it cannot be replaced if they
are forgotten. If the customer forgets the Supervisor
password, the system board must be replaced. If the
customer forgets the Hard Disk password, the hard
disk drive must be replaced.
ThinkPad 390E
I tried it…killdisk wouldnt start it just kept asking for the password.i tried gueesing again…but then it just kept blinking after it stopped me from trying again.
yep.
I've been up against that same situation with other laptops.
Even the lab tech guys don't guarantee being able to subvert a HDD password.
There is a weird screwy way to do it, but the software is expensive and is a one-time use situation, without guarantee.
I just bought two laptop HDs from Craigs List for $20.
Hope you can do as well.
Best Regards
I tried it…killdisk wouldnt start it just kept asking for the password.i tried gueesing again…but then it just kept blinking after it stopped me from trying again.
Install the drive as a slave on another computer then run KillDisk on it.
I have a few drives, all Maxtor ones that have an issue just like this, being the make that is I don't know how to prove it has the same problem, but it feels identical from the sound of it, and basically your going to be cheaper and better off binning it and getting a new one, there are pay for sites who can help, but it's more than a new drive, I have over 500gig of wasted drives I can't use, and no way to solve it, and like you the data on there is irrelevant, I just want to wipe them to use them, the data can go, but the makers will charge for recovery which I don't want, catch 22 really.
What I suspect is they are security locked, when I run the utility from Maxtor on my drives they show in red they are security locked, and if this is the case your stuffed, there is no way I have found to format the drives to make them usable again, tried many tools, but being security locked it makes no difference if you try in it's own system, or as a slave, the security lock refuses to allow ANYTHING to touch the drive, meaning you have a useless drive basically, sorry I can't help, but I am in an identical boat and have tried numerous things over the years to no avail, sorry, we can hope for a miracle, until then it's shelve it and replace it.
✨ Ask AI
AI can make mistakes. Check the cited posts. Archived advice can be out-of-date
Don't include personal information. Questions and selected public posts go to OpenAI. About Ask AI
