Hard Drive password removal HELP

[jimet]

I have "inherited" several 1 TB drives that "lived" in an old video server.  Every one I have tried to format comes up saying the drive is password protected and I need to enter the password (which I don't have).  I tried 3 different pcs, and all display the same message.  All I want to do is reformat the drives for use in other pcs.   Does anyone have any ideas???  I'm runnin' out of things to try.

 

Jim E.

 

Drives are Seagate ST3400633AS BARRACUDA 7200 rpm or equiv.

Edited July 4, 2015 by jimet

[jaclaz]

You might want to post EXACT hard disk models.

 

For *some* models there may be ways to recover the password or specific free programs, for most a ATA secure erase initiated through secure erase:

http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/Secure-Erase.html

or hdparm will do (of course completely losing any content, but this should not be an issue for you).

 

There may be some compatibility issues between Secure Erase and the hard disk or between hdparm and the OS/driver (under windows) take some time reading this seemingly unrelated thread:

http://reboot.pro/topic/13601-software-to-wipe-a-systemdrive-from-windows/

 

Consider how - IF the password is recoverable - recovering the password is a matter of seconds/minutes for each disk, while an ATA secure erase on a 1 Tb disk is likely to be in the 6-10 hours range of time (still for each disk).

 

jaclaz