cant set "hdd power-on password"

[skanky]

i upgraded the 100gb sata hdd in my t60 for a wd scorpio wd1600bevs (160gb 5400rpm).

anyhow, i went into the bios to try and set a hdd password, tried both "user" and "user+master" settings but when i enter the password in there is a 10 second pause then it pops up "changes have been made" but the option still says disabled.

a reboot confirms that its not using the hdd power on password.

any ideas/suggestions?

[andyP]

Did you have a hdd password with the first hdd?
AFIK you need to put the old hdd in and delete the hdd pw before can can create a pw for a new drive.

[skanky]

i did have a password on the old hdd, will see if i can put it back in to take the password off!

thats a bit stupid though, what if the laptop went to a repair shop and hdd was faulty then they replaced it..

[jdhurst]

I keep a Hard Drive power-on password on my T41 and have do for years, and then years before that on earlier ThinkPads. I know for a fact that a hard drive with a password collapsed on my T41 (Hitachi Air Bag debacle in 2004). I put in a new hard drive and set the hard drive password and moved on.

The one thing I have done is use the same password, and there may be something to that approach. Otherwise, you can change drives and do not have to remove the password on the old drive first. Maybe it just needs to be the same.
... JDH

[skanky]

im pretty sure i tried to set the same one as my power on pass is the same as the hdd. since i changed the hdd, i thought it would just be a case of setting the hdd password for the new drive to be the same as the old.