Thinkpads Forum

HELP!!! I probably did not look in the right place, but I have a problem that I cannot find a solution for. A couple of months ago I purchased a Fujitsu 40G hdd to install in my Thinkpad 600. I received the computer from my brother which he purchased refurbished. The computer worked fine, but I damaged the screen and decided to purchase another computer (Dell Latitude PIII 1G, 256ram). I installed the 40G drive and the first screen tells me that I have to provide a password. I thought this strange since I didn't apply a password. So I decided to boot to a floppy and then to a cd. The problem is that no matter what I do the same screen turns up. I called Dell, thinking it was a Dell problem. They tried to help but couldn't. So me being the bright fellow that I am, put a 1.3G drive from an old pentium 133 notebook into he 600. As I watched in horror, the bios proceded to move to the supervisor lock, unlock it, move over to the hdd, lock it, move back over to the supervisor lock and relock it. I am thinking "now that's different". Anyway now the 1.3G is an orphan. IBM says such behavior is not possible, and I would agree, except I saw it with my own eyes. The drives will not even work in an external housing now. Thanks in advance to the genius who can help me. Jimdevon

I would guess that the Supervisor password has been set on the 600. Read the Hardware Maintenance Manual (June 1999) - ThinkPad 600 to get more information on passwords. IMO you need to know the Supervisor password to fix. If you don't know the Supervisor password, you probably need a new motherboard.

Thank you for the reply. I expect you are right. Problem is the 600 screen is a gonner. If I could get a replacement screen reasonably, I'd give the computer to my wife, and get a new hard drive. As it is the drive is useless (won't even work in a USB housing). All I want is to reclaim the hard drive, then throw the computer in the trash. Thanks again for the response.

The drive can be unlocked but this will wipe out any data. I've done this before using a hack for UltimateTV. Go to the link below, download mhd3.zip, extract the executable then follow the instructions. When I did it, I used a desktop PC and a 3.5-2.5" drive adapter but that was because I had the backup image on the PC, not because it is required (as I recall).

http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/showt ... hp?t=25827

This link doesn't require registration to download:
http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show ... did=363885

Jim,

You said the 600 screen is a goner, but have you tried plugging in an external monitor and reading what you need to off that?

Plug in the ext monitor, turn on the 600, as soon as it starts up, press the Function(blue) key and F7 to switch to the ext monitor. You may have to press it two or three times to cycle to the CRT, or CRT/LCD. Once you have the CRT running as your display, you can tackle the password problem.

Good luck,

TJ

FWIW, don't throw the old 600 away. There are plenty if users that are more than willing to take it off your hands, even with a busted screen.

Edit: make that even willing to pay for it.

I know of a couple people that use Thinkpads with busted screens as a desktop replacement by plugging in an ext monitor. Cheap, low profile, and lottsa parts!

Hello

1st xcuse my bad "english"

@jimdevon
The Thinkpad , as mentioned , has the
supervisor password (SVP) set +
automatically locks every harddisk
you connect to its harddisk-bay ,
or with adater to the ultrabay .
So the HD password (HDP) , same as the SVP ,
is stored in your TP600 in an eeprom .
Dont give it away !!! , cause
easiest way recovering the HDP ist to read out
the SVP from the eeprom of Your TP600.
You need some parts, cheap + easy to get ,
+ more important , good skills in
soldering small wires , maybe a friend can help.
Ask google for : "how to read" combined with "ibm unlock"
+ you will find "useful links" (3rd 1st 10th 2nd)
"how to read" the eeprom contents.

Regards tom_k