Lessons learned: 1) backup more often, 2) don't put a BIOS password on. 3) Don't expect any help from the Dell 'help' line.
My shiny new Mac has Time Machine configured to constantly back up to my mirrored NAS. The remains of my Dell M5010 is in the recycling bin.
Good for you! Goes to show that you have more money than sense. Without people like you willing to pay 4x for similar hardware how would Apple stay in business?????
OK. Just thought I would circle back on this one, just in case anyone finds this post in a search.
To fix the issue, I attempted to access the drive in no less than 5 different machines, directly attached to a SATA port on the motherboard. 4 machines asked for the password, but each one rejected it - they were all Dell machines. So obviously, there is incompatibility between the different families of Dell computers in their BIOS password implementations.
Speaking to the Dell support line was an exercise in pure frustration. I asked for help in accessing the hard drive, but their response was just to try in another computer. I then asked them whether the internal HDD password would work if I had the motherboard replaced. The first guy I spoke to didn't know, so offered to find out and email me the next day.
Predictably, that email never materialised, so I called back and spoke to someone equally as insightful. They put me on hold to speak to an 'expert', who's opinion was that they were 90% sure that the password would work if I replaced the motherboard. The cost of ordering the motherboard would have been $350. Of course, the 7 beeps issue is either the motherboard, or the processor, so I might also have been hit up with the cost of another processor (if I could actually find one for sale) as well, and my problem might not have been fixed anyway.
In the end, I threw in the towel, and took the drive to a data recovery company in North Sydney. $150, but within 24 hours, they had removed the password (after I provided proof of ownership), and all my data is returned.
Lessons learned: 1) backup more often, 2) don't put a BIOS password on. 3) Don't expect any help from the Dell 'help' line.
My shiny new Mac has Time Machine configured to constantly back up to my mirrored NAS. The remains of my Dell M5010 is in the recycling bin.
Well it was actually a Mac Mini that I bought, which was cheaper than the M5010 by a couple of hundred bucks. It's attached to the TV and connected via ethernet to my NAS, which probably hasn't been fully utilized until now.
I am no apple fan boi - I have always preferred PC's, but the Mac Mini just turned out to be exactly what the household needed.
ieee488
4 Operator
•
11.1K Posts
0
October 13th, 2013 08:00
Try downloading and running GParted LiveCD. See if it sees your hard drive.
ieee488
4 Operator
•
11.1K Posts
0
October 27th, 2013 19:00
Good for you! Goes to show that you have more money than sense. Without people like you willing to pay 4x for similar hardware how would Apple stay in business?????
jamiejamiejamie
3 Posts
0
October 27th, 2013 19:00
OK. Just thought I would circle back on this one, just in case anyone finds this post in a search.
To fix the issue, I attempted to access the drive in no less than 5 different machines, directly attached to a SATA port on the motherboard. 4 machines asked for the password, but each one rejected it - they were all Dell machines. So obviously, there is incompatibility between the different families of Dell computers in their BIOS password implementations.
Speaking to the Dell support line was an exercise in pure frustration. I asked for help in accessing the hard drive, but their response was just to try in another computer. I then asked them whether the internal HDD password would work if I had the motherboard replaced. The first guy I spoke to didn't know, so offered to find out and email me the next day.
Predictably, that email never materialised, so I called back and spoke to someone equally as insightful. They put me on hold to speak to an 'expert', who's opinion was that they were 90% sure that the password would work if I replaced the motherboard. The cost of ordering the motherboard would have been $350. Of course, the 7 beeps issue is either the motherboard, or the processor, so I might also have been hit up with the cost of another processor (if I could actually find one for sale) as well, and my problem might not have been fixed anyway.
In the end, I threw in the towel, and took the drive to a data recovery company in North Sydney. $150, but within 24 hours, they had removed the password (after I provided proof of ownership), and all my data is returned.
Lessons learned: 1) backup more often, 2) don't put a BIOS password on. 3) Don't expect any help from the Dell 'help' line.
My shiny new Mac has Time Machine configured to constantly back up to my mirrored NAS. The remains of my Dell M5010 is in the recycling bin.
jamiejamiejamie
3 Posts
0
October 27th, 2013 20:00
Well it was actually a Mac Mini that I bought, which was cheaper than the M5010 by a couple of hundred bucks. It's attached to the TV and connected via ethernet to my NAS, which probably hasn't been fully utilized until now.
I am no apple fan boi - I have always preferred PC's, but the Mac Mini just turned out to be exactly what the household needed.