Why would a hard drive be locked?

Locked hard drives can occur due to simple software or formatting issues. However, if you have physical damage to your drive – a common reason for the “blue screen of death” – it may work for a very brief time before crashing permanently.

How do you fix a locked hard drive?

To do so, follow these steps to access chkdsk :

1. Restart the computer with the original installation media (that’s either the DVD or the USB flash drive) …
2. Click Repair your computer.
3. At the Choose an option screen, click Troubleshoot.
4. Click Advanced options.
5. Click Command Prompt.
6. Type this command: chkdsk C: /f /x /r.

What is locking my hard drive?

When a drive is locked the way you describe it, that means that there are files still open in memory. You can’t make a system-wide change if the drive is locked. If Windows did not lock the drive, the data in memory would be lost. The way to ‘unlock’ a drive is to make sure that all applications have closed.

How do I wipe a locked hard drive?

Right-click the partition on the hard drive you want to erase and select “Format” from the context menu. Follow the prompts and make sure the “Perform a quick format” option is deselected. It will take several minutes to erase and reformat the drive.

How do I unlock my hard drive to reinstall Windows 10?

How do I unlock a drive in Windows 10?

1. Use chkdsk command.
2. Use SFC scan.
3. Fix boot records.
4. Disconnect additional hard drives.
5. Check if your hard drive is properly connected.
6. Change BIOS settings.
7. Check if your hard drive is set as the boot device.
8. Make sure that you’re using UEFI.

Can a hard drive lock up?

Locked hard drives can occur due to simple software or formatting issues. However, if you have physical damage to your drive – a common reason for the “blue screen of death” – it may work for a very brief time before crashing permanently. You’ll want to make a copy of those files right away.

How do I access a hard drive without a password?

As others have mentioned you can try using a sata -usb adapter or disk caddy connected to another computer to access the data. If the drive has been encrypted with Bit-Locker you will need the recovery key. You can also try booting the laptop with a Linux live cd & then try moving the data to another storage device.

How do you unlock a locked computer?

Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to unlock the computer. Type the logon information for the last logged on user, and then click OK. When the Unlock Computer dialog box disappears, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE and log on normally.

How do I wipe my hard drive that won’t boot?

The best way to do is to use something like Eraser, being sure to also wipe all empty space, then do a format on the drive. If the drive is beyond rescue (can’t be erased and re-formatted), the best thing to do is pull the drive, open it up and go at it with a sledge hammer.

How do you wipe a computer if you forgot the password?

How can I reset a PC if I forgot the administrator password?

1. Turn off the computer.
2. Turn on the computer, but while it is booting, turn off the power.
3. Turn on the computer, but while it is booting, turn off the power.
4. Turn on the computer, but while it is booting, turn off the power.
5. Turn on the computer and wait.

How do I access my encrypted hard drive?

Decrypt Windows hard drive – Option One

1. Step 1: Open Run dialogue (Windows + R keys), type certmgr.msc and hit Enter.
2. Step 2: Open Certificate Manager > Click Personal folder in the left pane;
3. Step 3: Select Action > All Tasks > Import and follow the Certificate Import Wizard.
4. Scan the hard drive partition.