HDD password "frozen" and greyed out

Hi All,

Does anyone know about the "HDD Password" setting in the BIOS? My Aspire One never asks me to enter any HDD password whenever I enter Windows, but I wonder why the BIOS setting says "frozen". An Aspire One manual online (for a different model) says that "frozen" is the manufacturer's default setting -- but doesn't explain what "frozen" means (as the Supervisor and User passwords are either "clear" or "set", never "frozen") and that a user can enter a HDD password there. But when I try to enter a HDD password, I can't even select that line in the BIOS settings because it is greyed out. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

This post is a little old but for the benefit of everyone:

I am assuming there is no laptop anti-theft software installed in the system.

You actually have 2 things going on. If your supervisor or user passwords say "set" than there is a password there and that is why you're getting the password prompt when restarting. If you know it, clear it.

The HDD password gets set at "frozen" whenever rebooting the computer. To change it to "clear" for 1 boot you need to do a hard boot. Take the battery out and unplug. Press the power button for 30 seconds. Now boot back into the Bios with F2. The field should say clear. However, once you reboot it will go back to "frozen." So you have to do it again, or, when you need it, just trust that it's been temporarily cleared without looking at the Bios.

Times you might need it: when reformatting or partitioning the hard drive, and sometimes, if you have a hard time getting into the Acer recovery menu. You can also try this if you have a hard time with Windows recovery or generally accessing the drive outside of Windows.

For clearing passwords that you don't know you'll have to take apart the laptop and short to metal contacts next to the Ram modules. Google "clear cmos AO722" and "upgrade ram AO722" for instructions on how to access the ram and short the contacts.

 

I had the same problem on a 522, i noticed that after a cold boot, the option of setting HDD password was there, only when i restarted using the three finger salute did it change to "Frozen".
so i turned off again (remove batt, press power for 30 sec is also a good idea) did a cold boot to bios, then "exit saving changes" and that was that.
Only stays that way till you let it boot as far as the OS or failing that "no bootable device" though, then its back to frozen
But i dont know if this a bios problem or if the bios wrote this in the boot sector of the HDD
oh well.

 

I was also having this problem on my computer. I found in Bios that under the list of boot options/priority that there is a "Secure Boot" that is Enabled. I personally disabled it saved and rebooted and checked Bios again and it was cleared. I re-enabled it and did the same process and it still says clear. I don't know if this helps at all but it sure saved from having to do all that other stuff..

 

Hi Bloggers,
I have an Acer aspire v5 notebook laptop that is quite new but past by its warranty date. For some reason I went into the BIOS screen settings & put a password for the HDD which now displays as FROZEN. I know the password and never ever entered it wrong, even once. I want to disable or remove the HDD password, but it won't let me do this. Is this possible to change? Now the laptop constantly switched on & off every 5 minutes, not sure what's going on. Any help will be much appreciated. Thank you all.

 

I can't believe this is such a common problem. I'm going to be looking for a program to help remedy this situation today. I'll let you all know when I find one.

 

Thank you, the issue I have with my Aser aspire V5 571G which is just passed its warranty period is:
it starts & stops every minute draining the battery but never gets to the Windows 10 screen. This is simply after I put a password to the HDD during startup in the BIOS screen. Which now displays as frozen state. No other problems. I do not have anything of importance on the HDD but I still want to solve the problem without having to replace the HDD. I type in the password correctly every time the laptop starts. The battery gets hot quite soon, really difficult situation for a stupid mistake I made.

 

Thank you PingPongCall for your reply.

 

Eveyrhting I kepp finding seems to suggest that this is a Bios problem. Anyone else have some insight into this?

 

Hi PingPongCall,

Thank you for your help, I worked it out with the help of a person from another PC forum.
The problem is and always was with the HDD, for some reason after I set the password it went into a freeze state. All I had to do is to get it to run again. This was achieved by holding down the LHS Alt + F10 buttons during startup. This worked and the Laptop is now running as normal with the exception that I have an additional password during startup, that simple yet troublesome issue, now fixed.

 

Well just be sure to document that solution in the event it ever comes up again.
Glad you got this resolved.