Locked HDD

[CptCharis]

Hello guy. Recently I bought a second hand pc. This pc runs windows and is protected by a user passwd. Unfortunately I don’t know the password, so I tried to erase the disk and ti install Linux but during installation Linux can not see the HDD, looks to be locked/hide.
Is there any way to install Linux in this machine ?

Thanks.

 

[SlowCoder]

First thing I'd do is ensure Secure Boot is disabled in BIOS/UEFI.

Can you boot to a Linux live USB? Are you able to run the following command and provide output?

$ lsblk

 

[CptCharis]

First thing I'd do is ensure Secure Boot is disabled in BIOS/UEFI.

Can you boot to a Linux live USB? Are you able to run the following command and provide output?

$ lsblk

Yes secure boot is off and the above command can not see the hard disk, only the usb in which Linux is running in live mode is appeared.

 

[KGIII]

Brand and model number?

 

[osprey]

If the computer has a CMOS battery, it can be removed and replaced after 5 minutes or so to reset the BIOS to its default. The computer should be disconnected from all power when this is done. If it's an older motherboard, there may be a jumper that one can use to short the circuit on some pins which resets the BIOS. There's usually a print on the motherboard saying something like "CLEAR BIOS". It varies a lot. Check the motherboard specs on the manufacturer's site or elsewhere online.

 

[CptCharis]

Brand and model number?

Dell mini pc

 

[KGIII]

That's really not enough info for me to look it up. I want to know if it's using eMMC storage, for starters.

I suppose we should also want to know what distro and version you're trying to install.

But, your post reminded me of a thread (elsewhere) that I'd recently read - thus the eMMC thought and needing to know the model number.

 

[CptCharis]

That's really not enough info for me to look it up. I want to know if it's using eMMC storage, for starters.

I suppose we should also want to know what distro and version you're trying to install.

But, your post reminded me of a thread (elsewhere) that I'd recently read - thus the eMMC thought and needing to know the model number.

Revert with model dear Kgill but as distro as concern I tried already Mint, fedora, alma even arch. None of them could see internal hard disk

 

[lofus]

If you got another computer running Linux, you could take the hard drive shred it so all data on it is removed and then seeing if you can accesses it through Linux, this might work am just guessing.

I had a similar problem with my hard drive i could not accesses it due to permissions i unlocked the permissions using these commands you could try this too.

code:
sudo fdisk -l - this will list your drives and partitions
sudo blkid - this will give you your UUID
ll /media/$USER - this will list the permissions

now you can pick if you want to make it public then you could use chmod 777 i would not recommend it tho, i did mine as admin the code to that

sudo chgrp adm (the location/ the name of the hard drive)
sudo chmod g+w the location/ the name of the hard drive)

This worked for me when i could not accesses my hard drive you could try it

if you try this make an update if it worked, if not I can try find another thing for you to open it

 

[bob466]

You could try this...https://www.top-password.com/knowledge/forgot-my-windows-password.html

You can boot to your Linux live ISO and mount the windwoes Drive to see folders and files but you can't change the password.

If all fails you can buy a new HDD/SSD and install Linux...which is what I'd do...or ask on a windwoes Forum.

 

[arochester]

Is it the Windows password you want? Not a BIOS password, then?

Reset Windows passwords with the help of Linux | TechRepublic

One cost-effective and reliable way to reset a Windows password is to keep a copy of Linux with you and use the chntpw application.

www.techrepublic.com

Tutorial: Reset Windows 10 / 8 / 7 Password with Knoppix | Password Recovery

In this tutorial we'll show you how to reset forgotten Windows 10 / 8 / 7 password with Knoppix - a free Linux CD based on Debian.

www.top-password.com

How To Reset Windows Login Password With Ubuntu Linux Live CD

If you lost the Windows login password, reinstalling the system is not the best options rather learn how to reset Windows login password using Ubuntu.

www.ubuntupit.com

 

[Deleted member 108694]

Check the BIOS and make sure AHCI is on and not set to RAID and set boot mode to Legacy instead of UEFI

 

[CptCharis]

Is it the Windows password you want? Not a BIOS password, then?

Reset Windows passwords with the help of Linux | TechRepublic

One cost-effective and reliable way to reset a Windows password is to keep a copy of Linux with you and use the chntpw application.

www.techrepublic.com

Tutorial: Reset Windows 10 / 8 / 7 Password with Knoppix | Password Recovery

In this tutorial we'll show you how to reset forgotten Windows 10 / 8 / 7 password with Knoppix - a free Linux CD based on Debian.

www.top-password.com

How To Reset Windows Login Password With Ubuntu Linux Live CD

If you lost the Windows login password, reinstalling the system is not the best options rather learn how to reset Windows login password using Ubuntu.

www.ubuntupit.com

So guys, latest updates:
I tried all of your above suggestions without results and as last resort I changed HDD. I removed the old one and I replaced it with a brand new.
Unfortunately the same results, live usb can not see internal HDD. See photos attached.
lsblk and installation photos taken after HDD replacement.

 

[SlowCoder]

So guys, latest updates:

Can you post the output of this command? It should list all the physical hard drives on your system. It's different from lsblk, which might only list the hardware if there's readable partition, and may fail if the hard drive is encrypted.

$ ls -l /dev/{sd*,hd*,nvme*}

As far as the drive model, I installed a couple Samsung EVO 860s in my laptops, and they play happily with Linux.

 

[Deleted member 108694]

So guys, latest updates:
I tried all of your above suggestions without results and as last resort I changed HDD. I removed the old one and I replaced it with a brand new.
Unfortunately the same results, live usb can not see internal HDD. See photos attached.
lsblk and installation photos taken after HDD replacement.

On your first photo it is showing a small Kioxia BG4 series NVMe on the right I am assuming that is what was in your machine originally and you replaced it with a Samsung 860EVO SSD, these drives are not interchangeable as far as I know

 

[dos2unix]

On your first photo it is showing a small Kioxia BG4 series NVMe on the right I am assuming that is what was in your machine originally and you replaced it with a Samsung 860EVO SSD, these drives are not interchangeable as far as I know

Sometimes they will work. They both can fit into m.2 slots in many cases.
But why would you ever want to? nvme is usually faster than ssd. (Often up to 4x faster)
And the even bigger advantage is that nvme is full duplex. Meaning it can read and write at the same time.
ssd drives can only do one or the other at a given instant.

 

[Deleted member 108694]

Sometimes they will work. They both can fit into m.2 slots in many cases.

The M2 interface/connector is designed to be able to offer both interfaces in the single connector but left it up to the manufacturer on what to actually have available on their hardware and whether it will work or not - and from what I am seeing it does not in this case - so you are correct sometimes they will work sometimes they don't

 

[CptCharis]

issue solved.

I used Shift + restart and log in to an “access something windows page” there I found a “reset your pc” button, I used it and pc reset to original settings after that I was able to log in in windows without passwd.
Linux live usb can see the internal HDD.
Unfortunately can not see my extra Samsung HDD but this is minor right now.

Thank you all guys for your time and your effort. I really appreciate it.

 

[rado84]

Depending on the Windows and on the user group membership, you can change the password without knowing it. If the main user whose password you don't know is "Administrator", you can press Shift+F10 on the login screen and type

net user Administrator password [newpassword] [newpassword]

and press Enter.
But do note that this will work only if the regular user account is a member of "Power users", if the Windows is 7 or 8.1. On Windows 10+ even the Administrator doesn't have enough rights to change his own password, let alone somebody else's...