hard Drive locked, Bios detects linux doesnt

[NeoMxL]

yo all, Im a pretty desperate guy at the moment. Im an extreme novice at linux, and being honest I usually use it to cover up the mess windows makes with partitions etc, I have had it installed though of course.

Right, I have a WD 200Gb HDD that is detected in my BIOS and my windows device manager recognizes it but I can't seem to access it. I ran WD diagnostic and it says my HDD is 'locked'.

My Linux(MDK10) disc doesnt even detect it, either GUI installation or in console (fdisk etc)

does anyone have any idea at all what I can do to get into this drive, one partition on my 200 is FAT if that helps at all, (about 120GB) and the other is the erst of the space(something like 40GB)

Any help is greatly appreciated

[Hayl]

did you look in the bios to see if you accidentally have it set to locked or disabled ( same thing - different wording depending on your bios ) ?

[NeoMxL]

yeah I have looked all over my BIOS

[Hayl]

I've never personally heard of this but maybe it's a jumper on the drive?

[NeoMxL]

I've tried all jumper settings, well all that allow it to be recognized in BIOS which is CSelect and Master.

[saikee]

The 200Gb HDD needs a 80-wire cable and mostly likely running mode 6 or ATA133. CD/DVD drives normally work in mode 2 or ATA33 and need 40-wire cables but work with the 80-wires. Keep them separate is a good start.

In cable select position the HDD becomes a master (which can exist alone) when plugging to the end plug. Plugging to the middle plug makes it a slave which cannot exist without a master.

A master is not bootable unless its boot partition has been made active. Also Windows can't boot unless it is a primary partition whereas but Linux can boot any logical partition.

What OS system are you using to boot it or is it being using as a boot disk at all? You stated that the BIOS recognised it as a master. To me you are half way there already.

Also never unplug the HDD while the machine is still running or permanent damage can be resulted.

[daYz]

Maybe you'll have to activeate the hdd or reformat it. In Windows click start then run and type: compmgmt.msc You can do those things under harddiskconfiguration or something. (I don't have an English version.)

You can also try a Windows bootdisk to run fdisk.

[NeoMxL]

Well I have my HDD on a 80 conductor cable, its pri master on its own IDE cable and is detected at BIOS as primary master.

It's not a drive I use to boot from, just for storage. It has worked fine for a long time and is still detected in WIndows device manager so it knows its there. However its unusable and a western digital diagnostic reports it as locked.

Linux doesn't detect it at all no matter where I place the HDD on any IDE or on my ATA card

I think I need more of an app that can run on a floppy that can unlock it on boot. I tried a XBOX one (atapwd or summet) along with HDlock or some such item but to no avail

Disk Management doesnt detect the drive is there, and I booted DOS up on a floppy from WinXP (which I run, professional) and from Win98 Dos startup disc.

I also have tried fdisk in console one MDK 10 CD install and liek I said linux doesnt detect the disk exists

[JohnT]

If you have no data on the disk you want to preserve.....Go here and download and run......

Active Killdisk
http://www.killdisk.com/
Bottom of page....Free version

Then go here and download and run as if to install a new drive.(this one might help, alone, if you have info you want to keep......I say might.)
http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp
Data Lifeguard v11.0 for Windows
98SE/2000/ME/XP

[NeoMxL]

hmmm, I shall look into this.

However, as it seems that something has made the hard disk turn into this status I will wait a lil longer into looking for something to unlock it.

But if all else fails I will still have a 200GB HDD at the end of the day, hopefully

thanks, and I hope someone out there has some speaicl unlock tool - like that of an XBox HD unlocker

If anyone is familair with XBox stuff liek that (ATAPWd and such) then maybe saying that I get plus signs in E and L as well as S may be of some use =___=

thanks for your repsonses so far all!

[JohnT]

WD has a Dynamic Drive Overlay similar to the Mattrox drives which allows certain older bios to see beyond 137GB's. If you never set the disk up when new with DDO this might be your problem.

[NeoMxL]

Im afraid I didnt understand much of that. I have a new Mobo and fairly new phoenix BIOS, it can see past the 137GB. Im not sure what all this DDO stuffs is, but when you say setup it has worked fine for a long time - its not occured until liek last week and Iv had teh drive a few months, about 4 I think

[EnigmaOne]

Originally posted by NeoMxL
my windows device manager recognizes it but I can't seem to access it. I ran WD diagnostic and it says my HDD is 'locked'.

What version of windows (SP + patch levels as well) have you been using with this drive?

You may want to see: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=928&&p_sid=H-8SCtgh&p_lva=936

and consider another related issue linked to from that page:
Question
Why do I encounter data corruption on my EIDE drive larger than 137GB (128GB binary) in Windows XP?

Answer
Problems:

* Your PC restarts instead resuming from hibernation with the EIDE hard drive larger than 137GB installed.


* Your EIDE hard drive larger than 137GB has corrupted data after your PC enters standby or hibernation.


* Your EIDE hard drive larger than 137GB has corrupted data after Windows XP writes a memory dump file as a result of a serious Windows error.

Cause:
The ATAPI driver for Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) does not use 48-bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA) when it writes memory dump files or hibernation files. Additionally, the flush cache command is not issued to a large hard disk that has 48-bit LBA enabled when Windows XP enters standby or hibernation.

Solution:
You must install Service Pack 1 for Windows XP to use a hard drive larger than 137GB. Microsoft also has an update to Windows XP with SP1 that can be downloaded and installed to fix this issue. You can find more information about this issue and get the update in Microsoft Article 331958.

In the one case that I had to deal with a machine that had a similar customer complaint, the owner installed the drive and used it without additional precautions, because the BIOS recognized the full size of the drive.
I regret to inform you that there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. YMMV

[JohnT]

What version of windows (SP + patch levels as well) have you been using with this drive?

You may want to see: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc...h&p_lva=936 The topic for the link at the bottom of that page looks familiar. :p

[EnigmaOne]

Yup.....

In thinking about this a bit more, my customer didn't complain about an explicit message of Drive Locked (moreover, it was a Maxtor drive).

In snooping around WD's site, I did come up with this, which doesn't necessarily rule out a 137GB boundry issue, but might throw a bit more light on the situation:

"220

Drive is Locked

Security feature of the drive reports locked status. Some vendors use the security feature to ensure the usage of only specific drives in their system, or the drive may have been locked by a user using a third party utility to enable this feature. The same utility and the original code used to lock the drive are necessary to unlock this drive. Please contact the system vendor for the above-mentioned information.

Contact System Vendor"

[JohnT]

Aren't we going under the assumption this drive has been in use? If thats correct wouldn't that rule out any previous party installing "drive-lock" software?

[NeoMxL]

Hey

It recognised the 200GB full (or should I say 180GB) before I installed SP1a. since teh problem I have then installed SP1a to try and get it working but to no avail there either.

I have contacted the system vendor and am still in e-mail with them but I'm pretty sure they don't have a clue - and I'm also pretty sure from WD's:

or the drive may have been locked by a user using a third party utility to enable this feature

that they would probably blame me for using some utility rather than help, and I'm equally not sure if my warranty is out because of it as well.

At any rate I'll porbably give them a mail, and I also already have the data lifeguard tools for windows and for DOS at boot.

The DOS boot was the Diagnostic I ran to get that error code

0220 DRIVE LOCKED

meaning I couldnt even write 0's to the drive with the software WD supplied.

oh yeah and I have all windows updates

[JohnT]

meaning I couldnt even write 0's to the drive with the software WD supplied Thats why I gave you the link to Killdisk.

[NeoMxL]

okay I thought u might wanna look at this, someone advised me to to at least try easy recovery pro, heres what I got for full system SMART test:

Ontrack EasyRecovery (TM) Professional v6.00 - SMART Tests
Copyright© 2002 Ontrack Data International, Inc.
Report Created 16/07/2004 @ 00:10
Test Selected: Extended SMART Test

Self-testing Primary Master...
Model: WDC WD2000JB-00EVA0
Performing extended Drive Self Test. This test may take 20 minutes or more, please be patient.

Test Results:
Primary Master
Model: WDC WD2000JB-00EVA0
Serial Number: WD-WMAEH2483536
Capacity: 137.4 GBytes
Test result: Self-test routine completed without error.

Recommendations:
Extended SMART Test for drive WDC WD2000JB-00EVA0 passed, no physical drive problems have been found. Run the PartitionTests tool, from the Disk Diagnostics category, on any partitions with data loss, to verify on-disk structures. If you ARE experiencing a data loss situation, you should run the applicable tools in the Data Recovery category to recover lost data. Also, professional services are available by contacting Technical Support or Data Recovery Services.

It interests me that there it says 137GB as well, now I ran the partition test and it didnt recognise my drive. I then ran the 'Drive test' and it came up with 180GB+ for my drive size which was weird, considering this app had just told me that it was 137GB, and then I got this:

Running Full Diagnostic Test...
Testing drive WDC WD2000JB-00EVA0...
I/O Error on sector 0.
I/O Error on sector 1.
....
I/O Error on sector 8.
Error count exceeded!

Test Results:
Model: WDC WD2000JB-00EVA0
Capacity: 186.31 GB
Full Diagnostic Test: Failed!

Recommendations:
Full Diagnostic Test for drive WDC WD2000JB-00EVA0 failed, physical drive problems have been found indicating your hard drive is physically unstable. If you ARE experiencing a data loss situation, contact .... Continuing to operate your system may damage your hard drive beyond repair or cause irretrievable data loss. If you ARE NOT in a data loss situation, it is recommended you contact the drive manufacturer for a replacement drive.

Well thats a turn up, however, if there were physical drive problems wouldn't my WD diagnostic have something to say - sorry for the amount of text im posting ^_^

[myshkin]

Originally posted by NeoMxL
Im afraid I didnt understand much of that. I have a new Mobo and fairly new phoenix BIOS, it can see past the 137GB. Im not sure what all this DDO stuffs is, but when you say setup it has worked fine for a long time - its not occured until liek last week and Iv had teh drive a few months, about 4 I think

OT: hey neomxl, are you by any chance the moderator of TAU in DC? :D

[NeoMxL]

lol, I am indeed - why do you ask =___= **feel famous XD**

Im off to work now so I cant post for a while ^_^

[myshkin]

Originally posted by NeoMxL
lol, I am indeed - why do you ask =___= **feel famous XD**

Im off to work now so I cant post for a while ^_^

haha thought so. im always on tau 24/7 so your name pops up quite abit in the chat. :D

[EnigmaOne]

Originally posted by JohnT
Aren't we going under the assumption this drive has been in use? If thats correct wouldn't that rule out any previous party installing "drive-lock" software?

Actually, though I didn't mention it, I was thinking that windoze could have hosed the drive in such a manner as to "lock" the drive.

::: shrug :::
I've seen far weirder things happen with crashes and SPs that bork the system...or maybe this is the result of the latest windoze exploit making the rounds...LOL!

[Bubba56]

Well, one very remote possiblilty here before tossing said drive out, RMAing it etc, (remember I am saying MINOR possibility). I noticed you said NEW mobo, so there is a remote chance that the ide cable, with the somewhat fragile wires in the 80 pin ribbon cable, might, repeat MIGHT have been damaged in some way as to cause problems. I have seen in my years of pc work a cable that looked perfectly normal and "was working" a day or whatever prior to the issue cause partial or full loss to a drive. Humor an old man and just try replacing (borrow, etc) another 80 pin cable, double check that it is fuly seated etc. $5 or so for a new cable may(remote chance) solve your issue, but I always check the weakest link thing first. Ya never know, seen it happen before. Good luck, hope it helps in some way. ;)

[NeoMxL]

thanks but Iv tried many a IDE cable already - also I doubt its a windows exploit as its worked fine (thru many MANY windows re-installs) and I have only updated after the thing knackered in

[JohnT]

Reinstall as new using Dynamic Drive Overlay on the WD floppy :rolleyes:

[NeoMxL]

Hmm, what do you mean re-install? Is there some liek n00b interface on the WD floppy when putting on a new HD...if ya dont reply soon Ill just look myself anyways ^_^

(and probably break another HDD) I broke my third last night, a 40Gb maxtor with, now, a few IDE pins missing - I darnet touch much at the moment 0_0)

And alos my ATA doesnt seem to want to let windows know my Hard drives exist, perhaps this may contribute to the 'locking'. I dont think I can say this with any confidence as this is waay out of my league of understanding...just like why Micro$oft exists XD

[JohnT]

See if any of these topics help you determine if you have or need DDO......HERE (http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_sid=v677ZDgh&p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=&p_prod_lvl2=&p_cat_lvl1=&p_search_text=Dynamic+Drive+overlay&p_new_search=1&p_search_type=search_fnl)

[NeoMxL]

Hello! obviousely not posted here for AGES!

I was searching for my name on google and this popped up so I thought I'd add some closure if anyone else has a similar problem.

I never got over the 'locked' problem. I'm pretty positive now looking back it was some bad block trouble. Even if it wasn't i sent it back to WD and they sent me a nice replacement drive so stuff worked out in the end.

Thanks everyone for your help, never really got to say it :P

[techwise]

Interesting stuff regarding this topic...

http://www.heise.de/ct/english/05/08/172/

Mike