OS Recovery for self-encrypting drives

Users may face an issue where the OS has become corrupt on a self-encrypting drive that is currently locked. Since the drive is currently locked, a Windows Boot disk does not recognize the drive and cannot recover the OS.

Note: If self-encrypting drive is in system that is protected by Dell Encryption, reference Dell Encryption Recovery Guide Enterprise and Dell Encryption Enterprise Self-Encrypting Drive Manager / Dell Data Protection Self-Encrypting Drive Manager System Requirements.

In the event that the OS has become corrupt on a self-encrypting drive, please select one of the following methods to recover the drive:

Procedure 1: Accessing self-encrypting drives in an event of Windows OS corruption

·         Power up the unit when the Machine boots Drive will prompt you to present your Authentication credential.

·         Enter your credentials to authenticate to the locked drive.

·         After successful authentication halt the boot process by pressing F8 several times and Machine will halt the boot process. ( DO NOT RESTART AT THIS POINT)

·         At this point drive is successfully unlocked.

·         Place CD containing Operating System Repair CD or WIN-PE CD in the CD tray and press CTRL+ALT+DEL to RESTART the unit.

·         The WIN PE or OS CD will now be able to access the self-encrypting hard drive.

Procedure 2: Use of an eSATA external enclosure

·         Remove the drive from which data needs to be recovered from the original system and note the Drive serial number.

·         Place drive to be examined into eSATA enclosure and connect to a host system with primary drive that contains Wave client software properly configured for remote management. It is recommended to perform this step while unit is turned off.

·         Turn on the Host System and allow it to boot into windows.

·         From within EMBASSY Security Center, select Trusted Drive Manager and in the dropdown menu, select the appropriate drive.

·         Compare your noted Drive serial number to the number listed in TDM to ensure you have selected the correct drive.

·         Select Manage and enter in the credentials of the drive administrator. The drive administrator is the original user used to initialize the drive.

·         Turn off drive locking, and uninitialize the drive.

·         With the drive now uninitialized, you may place it back in its original machine and boot to a Windows PR or OS CD to repair or reinstall the OS.

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