Password reset for StorageWorks 1/8 G2

[Gik]

Hi all,

I've gotten hold of a StorageWorks 1/8 G2 tape autoloader as an educational project, but so far all I have learned is that there's no easy way to reset the admin password and instead you need a special code from HP based on the machine's date.

Since it has been powered off, the date is 1/1/2000 00:10 (since it takes about 10 mins to boot up) so I'm wondering whether it's possible to find out what the magic reset code is for this timestamp, as I imagine it would be useful for others who are in the same predicament who also have a reset clock.

Is it possible to find out this code without going through HPE support?  There's no support contract due to the age and second-hand nature of the unit, so I can't easily contact them.  It would be a shame to have to get rid of it and find one from a different manufacturer to learn from just because the last person who used it forgot to reset the password.

[Torsten.]

I'm sure google knows the answer ...
;-)

I hope you can manage it now.

[Gik]

Haven't had any luck with Google unfortunately.  Can only find recommendations to contact HP support, and one post explaining how to calculate the code but for a different tape library.

Any chance you can point me in the right direction?  I imagine there's no need to be secretive about the code as in order to use it, you need to have physical access to the library to have powered it off to reset the date, and if you can do that you can manually unlock the cartridges and run off with the tapes anyway so at that point the admin password isn't protecting anything anymore.  And if all you have is remote access then you won't be able to reset the date so the override code for 1/1/2000 won't work...

[Gik · Accepted solution]

Well I tried generating the code listed on that post anyway, and despite it being for a different model and seeming different (says you can only put in digits 1-4 but the 1/8 G2 will accept digits 0-9), it actually worked!

That post says to press a button on the date display, but for the 1/8 G2 you just put it in any time it asks you for a password.  As a bonus if you put it in on the 'change admin password' prompt, it will actually show you the old password.

For anyone else who can't find the post (it's for a DLT library) the magic code for 1/1/2000 00:xx is 11214142.  But be careful, there's a rechargeable battery in it so once you power it up with a reset clock, it will keep the time going.  In my case it was at 1/2/2000 11:xx when I got to it, so I had to recalculate the code and use 11221322 instead.

But thanks for the tip, I should've tried it anyway but the different password entry instructions threw me!

[Gik]

Sorry for the triple post but I thought I would just add something in case it helps someone else one day.

Here is a short JavaScript program that will let you enter the autoloader's date and time in your browser and calculate the override code for you.

https://jsfiddle.net/0kf8w6n5/1/

Hopefully it helps someone else one day who gets hold of an autoloader with an unknown password.

As mentioned before this isn't a security risk as you need physical access to the tape library in order to retrieve the date from it, and if you have physical access then you can remove the tapes anyway with the manual cartridge lock release.

[Eggman_2112]

That works amazing! We get a lot of these off-lease so being able to resell these with default password is a big help to avoid scrapping/recycling otherwise good units.

Now if we can just get an SMC.bin generator for laptop bios password i.e. 8470p and all the new Elitebook 8xx G1 G2 G3 etc. that would extremely helpful and help keep HP laptops around for a long time! I understand theft protection but I think reusability is more important.

[mrrstrat]

The JSfiddle (https://jsfiddle.net/0kf8w6n5/1/) worked perfectly to reset a donated HP Storageworks 1/8 G2 Tape Autoloader!