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Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped!

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The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote in 
news:isdi76$rha$1@news.albasani.net:

> TheChris wrote:
>> So, I get this external WD drive that has been locked with a password. Has a 
tiny 
>> 20GB partition with some utilities, and then the rest is password protected.
>> 
>> NOTHING I've thrown at it can format this drive/break the password protection. 
>> Everything (Diskpart, fdisk, HP Utility, Gparted, etc) sees it as a Read-Only 
>> device.
>> 
>> Any clues? I've looked this up and down on Google. Every time I think I'm 
getting 
>> somewhere, it just says it can't work on the read only device.
>> 
>> It shows up as /dev/sr2 - and I *think* I've sucessfully changed the 
ownership and 
>> attributes, but... nothing.
>> 
>> 
>> PS - it's a 480GB Western Digital Passport USB drive.  
>> 
>> Thanks.
> General net opinion is that you are buggered.
> 
> http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1499453
> 
> there MAY be a way to revert it to un protected tho.
> 
> Suggest you read that lot and follow the links.
> 
> Also putting the disk itself in a sata board set rather than USB may 
> allow you to by pass protection to recover data.
> 
> But the received wisdom seems to be that WD have done what is required: 
> made an unknown passworded drive a piece of junk, if stolen or lost.
> 
> Or at best merely a tabula rasa...
> 
> 

I don't care about the data - it's the intellectual angle that stimulates me :)

I have never seen a drive not respond to low level tatics before - and I deal 
with encrypted drives all the time.  Nuts!

Thanks for the reply.

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Thread

Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! TheChris <cabell@nospam.hotmail.com> - 2011-06-04 14:56 +0000
  Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2011-06-04 16:15 +0100
    Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! falk@rahul.net (Edward A. Falk) - 2011-06-04 15:36 +0000
      Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! TheChris <cabell@nospam.hotmail.com> - 2011-06-04 16:01 +0000
    Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! TheChris <cabell@nospam.hotmail.com> - 2011-06-04 15:58 +0000
    Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! TheChris <cabell@nospam.hotmail.com> - 2011-06-04 17:37 +0000
      Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2011-06-04 18:49 +0100
        Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! TheChris <cabell@nospam.hotmail.com> - 2011-06-06 11:26 +0000
          Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2011-06-06 15:17 +0100
            Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! TheChris <cabell@nospam.hotmail.com> - 2011-06-06 16:29 +0000
      Re: Drive Formatting - i'm stumped! fratermus <nntp2011.fratermus@spamgourmet.net> - 2011-06-05 00:08 +0800

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