Text 43523, 67 rader
Skriven 2008-02-19 15:45:16 av James Bradley (1:134/77.0)
  Kommentar till text 43414 av Jean Parrot (1:123/140)
Ärende: Hd Pw.
==============
On or about: 02-18-08  08:56, Jean Parrot did engage Gordon Huff regarding, but
not limited to: Hd Pw.

 JP> Hello  Gordon, nice chatting with you. !  
 
 JB> I just know that there has to be a way for a user to write his password,
 JB> and there must be a way for him to also change the password.
 
 GH> Yes there is. Jean didn't like my advice either.
 JP> 
 JP> It is not a question of whose advise is being discussed here,
 JP> the fact is that the HD PW is set in concrete. If you know how to
 JP> change it, I would tremendously appreciate a positive come-back.

I still say, use a PW "cracker". (Yes, I was only trying to impart humour the
first time I said it, but it *is* a software tool.) When that reaches a "wall",
chances are it is a "soft" wall, and you have another round of PWs to try with
the "cracker". The issue here, is if it is a hard wall that you hit, recovery
gets increasingly complicated, depending how the hard wall was designed to
fall.

This isn't an elegant solution, but it is a tried and true one. It does take
time, and depending what reset is needed for each attempt cycle, automation
might be handy. Chances are, the person that set the password used a word in
the dictionary, or if they thought they were being tricky, the name of the
current family pet. Trickier still, they think their past pet would be a harder
word to guess. The thing is, this is the first, and second runs a password
cracker attempts to address, and it does happen pretty quickly.

 JP> After doing quite a research on the Web, and Google Jeff, I
 JP> got a PRG that allows one to change the PW, if set. But one still
 JP> needs the original PW to be able to change it. No need for this PRG
 JP> as I can and I do, set the PW in BIOS as well as remove it, but I
 JP> have the PW. Gordon, if you are above my knowledge in this regard,
 JP> please educate me but not with farfetched opinions that lead to a
 JP> dead-end. First, find out how to set a HD PW and also how it is
 JP> done, then let go the same windmills that James was tilting.

The question that continues to be asked, is if the drives are worth the price
of a couple of cases of Moosehead?

 JP> I even opened up such a protected HD, had it spinning and had
 JP> a very strong magnet near the medium to mess up the data on it. It
 JP> did not cure the problem. Maybe it then required a real LL format.
 JP> Maybe the magnetic field needs to be from an AC source ??? There
 JP> are people who have devised procedures to access this area next to
 JP> the MBR but they are quite jealous of their procedure and it is
 JP> beyond me to elaborate and build.

The bulk erase, is a sledge hammer. You'll also lose the factory set bad block
table, and I think there is other dictates that a "low level format" has to
build on. You might lose the drive forever with this method, and you would
still need to crack the password that resides on the EEPROM.

 JP> I am ready and keen to learn.

It's a long subject, that I know almost nothing about. Beyond this then, I'll
have to buy my own beer and wish you luck.



... James

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