I faced a dilemma recently that almost caused me to have a heart attack. I turned on my Samsung Mini and was asked to type in my HDD password. I had never even heard of HDD before and had no clue why the blue box popped up on my screen. Thank God for best friends because she was able to keep me from having a major heart failure. I don’t think I can leave without my computer, and if I can, I’m not ready to find out yet. Anyways, I was able to solve the problem and now would like to share with you what I did.
What is HDD
HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive. Fun, isn’t it? It is your storage device. People put passwords on their HDD to prevent strangers and thieves from accession their personal information.
The password
I tried a couple things such as my login password before my best friend suggested the correct one. She claimed that she had seen this error before which leads me to believe that the default password would be the same for all computers since it worked for both her brother’s desk top and my laptop. The password is 0000. Four zeros. Type it in and press enter. If it works, you can do a small victory dance like I did and get ready for step 2. If it doesn’t, I am so sorry but you may have to do what I’ve seen suggested and get some professional help.
Removing the password
Once I got in, I wanted to never have to see the password again. I did, unfortunately, as I tried to find solutions. I started researching HDDs and how to have them removed. I found no solutions that worked. People were saying that you needed to call your manufacturer or take it to a professional or download some program. There were also options that included opening your computer and taking something off the motherboard. If you are not to computer savvy, that won’t work for you. Even if I have had some experience with computer hardware and software, I wasn’t prepared to unscrew my computer and attempt to take anything out of there. Then, I would have been screaming over something more than just a password. Ok, so once I figured out that I was going to get no help via google, I started to try to find a solution on my one. I am going to walk you through the very simple instructions. I am making it simple so that any one can understand, even if you have no experience with computers. I am working with Windows XP so if you have a different version, I hope you can still follow along.
Click on Start
Click on Control Panel on the menu to the right.
Click on Performance and Maintenance
Click on Power Options
Next to where it says Turn off Hard Disks, select Never for both options.
Click on Apply and then OK
Note: I changed my Power Schemes to Home/Office Desk before doing this so if you are still getting the HDD password prompt, you may want to try this also.
I also removed my login password. If you are still having issues after trying the above method, you can also do this.
Because I did all of this before turning off my PC, I am unsure if the removing of the login password and changing the power scheme also helped. I am guessing that you should not have to but I am not completely certain.
Once I restarted my computer, it turned right on without asking for any passwords.
I truly hope this helps you. In a world of technology, many of us would prefer not to have to do without our computers. Good luck!!
