Service Forum

jesco · Nou Venit Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 7

Hi , I have a x41 ibm that I built the max 232 interface to try to read the
eeprom but, only get the message eeprom not found. I would like to see
how to confirmed if that interface that I built it is working. am I suppose
to use a power supply to the interface or not?. I am pretty sure that I
wired it right to that eeprom. At first I have a svp but I can't even get to
the bios but, since I could not get to read eeprom I pulled out those three
wires from the eeprom and some how after I pulled them out it must have
short something inside. and then I was able to go into bios. but it still the
hard drive is locked . If I turn the laptop with the hard drive on won't let
me go to bios comes up with hard drive password if I take the hard drive
out I am able to go to bios with no problem. and I can put a svp if I wanted to or not. I would like to see if anyone can help me out on this
one. thanks

bob · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:15 pm Post subject:

A short circuit there cannot disable the SVP, no way. I think you haven't had the SVP but the POP.

There are 2 options:

1. Replace the drive.
2. Unlock the drive.

Just a silly question: How did the drive get locked? Or you don't know the owner. In this case, at least save your efforts and buy a new one.

We have HD Security Tools - a software made to unlock drives by performing brute force on it. The meaning of this software is to recover locked drives, this is a lab software.

jesco · Nou Venit Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 7

Thanks Bob, for the quick reply. first I bought this laptop at a flea market
not knowing anything about it. since it did not have a ac adapter I bought
it as is. but, I bought a universal ac adapter thinking that was all I needed
the laptop turned on with the power on password. and you know the rest
of it.anyway, how can I check if the interface is working? is this interface
max 232 does it need separate power or not? is there anyway I can check
it? to see if I built it right. One more question those caps are they suppose
to be 0.1uf or 1.0uf ? are there any polarity on these caps ? or does it matter which way I put them?. because, when I plug the interface to the
serial cable all it says eeprom not found. and when I unplug the interface
it says circuit not found. does that mean the circuit is working? but, why
does it say eeprom not found. I'm thinking being able to read the eeprom
I might find those missing passwords or maybe I'm wrong. thank you for
your time I appreciate your effort to help me out.

bob · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:34 pm Post subject:

Since you can enter BIOS, seems like you do not need the interface.
The HD password is not in the eeprom, forget about that.
As I said in my earlier post, buy a new HD and enjoy "your" laptop.