How to set the password for the hard drive from BIOS / UEFI

All major operating systems provide a way to set up a computer login password. This gives users the feeling that the computer is protected and the files are kept completely private. Unfortunately, this is just 'illusion'. Suppose, if you boot Ubuntu from USB, you can mount the Windows partition and read all files without providing any password. People will be surprised how simple this is.

That doesn't mean protecting your login account with passwords doesn't make sense. However, it is only a method of restricting access when you leave the desk for a short period of time. What if you want to make sure no one can read the files when you can't monitor the device for hours or days?

The drive has its own 'operating system'

A solution to ensure data privacy is to encrypt the entire drive. Another simple solution is to protect the drive with a password. Firmware is software that runs on the device and the drive also has firmware. It is independent of the operating system and can enforce its own rules. That means no one can read and write to this drive without entering the correct password. The drive itself will refuse all access and cannot be "fooled" by another operating system. Even if the drive is removed and transferred to another computer, access will be denied.

How to set the drive password from BIOS or UEFI

You can treat UEFI as a type of micro-operating system running on a computer, before everything else (like bootloader, Windows, drivers, etc.) is loaded. You will enter its settings menu to configure the password. The BIOS is similar but only used on quite old computers.

Go to the UEFI / BIOS setup section

Unfortunately, there is no standard method to access this menu. Each motherboard manufacturer will choose a different setup key. But normally, after pressing the power button on the computer, users will have to quickly press DEL, ESC, F1, F2, F10, F12 to enter this setting. Clicking on one of these keys repeatedly is the only way to access the BIOS settings. If no key works, read the motherboard user guide or search online to find the correct key.

On modern UEFI, users can reboot into this installation menu directly from Windows.

Password locks drives

There are also no standards for UEFI / BIOS setup menus. Each manufacturer implements its own version. The menu may include a graphical user interface (GUI) or a text user interface (TUI).

Use the left or right arrow keys to navigate to the Security tab (or equivalent) if the setting looks like the following image.

If not, browse until you find a similar setting that can set the password for the drive. Refer to the motherboard manual if you have difficulty finding this setting.

You will often need to find the codename of the drive in that list. Select it, then set the user password (Set user password) and you can add the main password (Set master password).

Warning:

If you forget your password, there is no way to reset it. In this situation, you basically lose control of the drive and make it useless. It is true that some drives will allow you to completely delete them to remove the set password, but that is just a few exceptions.

Don't confuse the user password for the drive with the user password for UEFI / BIOS. If the options for setting a user password or primary password are gray, it means that the user must power the device. Simply turn off the power, turn it on again and then press the necessary key to enter UEFI / BIOS settings. This must happen before booting into Windows; otherwise, UEFI / BIOS will lock the drive security settings again, as a safeguard against unauthorized changes.

Set the user password for the drive. After saving it, the computer will ask for this password every time the power is turned on to unlock the drive. If the option is available, set the master password, to make sure you override the manufacturer's default password.

Save BIOS / UEFI settings and exit. (The correct key to do this will be displayed somewhere on the screen.)

At this point, the reader knows how to keep the drive safe when leaving the computer. And, if you wish, you can also set up password protection for BIOS / UEFI settings. This will usually be called the 'Administrator password' . 'User password' is used for other purposes and is not really necessary in this particular case. But if it is the only option available, please set this password to prevent unauthorized changes to BIOS / UEFI settings. However, it should be noted that if someone opens the computer case, this password may be reset.

Hope you are succesful.