Help! - Can't retrieve HDD data - broken T43

[Therlane]

Hey,

my T43 is broken - it's freezing during startup, thus no POST-Screen with booting devices, memory etc. - the following problem thus has nothing to do with the T43-problem, except that I don't have a working T43.

THE PROBLEM I can't access my HDD (Fujitsu MHT2060AH, Lenovo P/N 13N6914 or 13N6877, both don't work in lenovo.com) - all I want is my files.

I've tried two USB/IDE-Adapters, that are both working with other 2,5" P-ATA drives.

I've tried Vista, XP and Linux Fedora.

The HDD (under Vista, via USB, thus as an external drive) is recognized as Fujitsu MHT2060AH, but is displayed as "not initialised" and Partitioning = "Not applicable" (my own translation from German OS). With a size of 57232 MB, the OS is even recognizing the 60 GB - drive, though maybe net of the hidden rescue-and-recovery-partition. Via drive manager I could format and/or partition the drive (which obviously I didn't test). I assume, this is where the problem is located.

On my T43, I used a BIOS-Password, and during Windows-Startup again a password from the IBM-Tool (ThinkVantage) - which may, though I don't think so, since it was requested only late during startup, imply HDD encryption.

Can anybody help me? Will any kind of driver help me? Any special tool to access a drive that is not partitioned?

[richk]

Is it possible that the drive has a password?

[Brad]

If there is a known password you would need to remove it before being able to access the data. You would need another ThinkPad. Install the drive in the other ThinkPad and then remove the password. Well if you have another ThinkPad you probably wouldn't be asking the question.

Brad

[Therlane]

But I don't think I could then see any drives or so.

Or do you suggest that because it is encrypted (which I don't think it is) I can't see drives and stuff?

[Brad]

If there is a hard drive password you would not be able to access your passworded hard drive like you describe.

There are power on passwords and supervisor passwords which are used separately and would not limit access to your hard drive.

Brad

[Therlane]

hmmm.... - although now I'm not that sure that no encryption is involved.

The normal boot-up process was the following
1) Power-On-Button
2) Enter BIOS-Password
3) Windows starting up
4) Enter Client Security Solution password
5) --> immediately: Windows available.


... so I think that first the Client Security Solution password shouldn't matter, because boot-up was possible without it.

Secondly, the BIOS-Password might imply an encryption, but this would be quite surprising.

My original hypothesis is that the partitioning table can't be read, because there is a hidding Rescue-and-Recovery-Partition as well as a normal partition. Normal Windows may be incompatible to that.

My second hypothesis is that since the drive has two label-stickers on it (one Fujitsu and one Lenovo), it needs a Lenovo-Driver instead of a Fujtisu one. However, the P/N on the Lenovo-sticker doesn't grant any help on lenovo.com .


I have access to some people with Thinkpads, thus a T3x, T61 and an X3x. Would any of those be able to work with my T43-HDD?

[rkawakami]

If that was your normal boot-up procedure, then you were NOT entering a BIOS password but DID enter a hard drive password. You will not be prompted for the BIOS password unless you actively attempt to access it. A normal boot should not invoke the BIOS password prompt unless the backup battery is dead.

The difference between the BIOS and HD password is shown by the tiny icon to the left of the lock icon. A BIOS password prompt has a square icon (representing a monitor), while the HD password prompt looks like a cylinder (common notation for a disk pack).

It sounds like your drive has a password on it. You will need to install it in a Thinkpad and go through the BIOS to remove it. Out of the systems you list, I'd try the T30 and X30/X31 first.

[Therlane]

Wow - thank you, that was helpful so far, I think. At least it's a start to exclude that possibility.

Now - you CAN actually configure the BIOS to ask for a PW with every startup, which I did. I assume in that case there is ONLY the lock displayed with the PW-prompt. Can this be true?

However, looking at the images of the lock with the HDD-symbol next, they don't seem soooo unfamiliar.

[rkawakami]

A Power-on password (POP) does prompt you each time you turn on the system. When you were saying that you had established a BIOS password, I assumed you meant the supervisor one (that password is called BIOS or supervisor). The picture you show is a hard drive password; the cylinder icon representing a HD and the number 1 for the first hard drive in the system.

[Therlane]

Thank you a lot for the hints! That was exactly the point - I (accidentally?) passworded the HDD.

I put the HDD into the T30 today and there via BIOS removed the HDD-password.