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RE: Passworded MMC - a real solution at last!

damainman — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:59:31 GMT

cheers holosys for replying.

im got gonna give up just yet dude, im gonna write to nokia and possibly the mmc card manufacturer( though there is nothing on the card to indicate manufacturer name??). if i get any joy - ill let you know. there are so many people with this stupid problem - someone somewhere must have a fix.

anyway, just ordered the nokia n95 - cant wait to get it.

thanks dude!!!

RE: Passworded MMC - a real solution at last!

holosys — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 21:10:52 GMT

[quote]damainman (10/8/2007)

hi, i have a n70 which i sent in for repair to nokia. i kept the mmc and sim card. the phone came back replaced with new!i inserted the mmc card and now it asks for a pw. i had never had a pw on the card. i have since found out that because i had no pw set and because i have inserted the mmc card into a new phone - it auto sets a pw for security purposes. this is so to prevent theives who may steal my card from viewing the contents if a pw is not already set. anyway, there must be away round this problem?? there are serial numbers on the mmc card that may indicate the pw??? who has this pw list?? i contacted nokia - they advised i contact the mmc card manufacturer (got fobbed off). there must be a file on the card or phone preventing the access to the card?? what file is this and is it on the card of phone?? i do beleive that a solution can be found, it just when and by who. any techy genius out there??

i have loads of sentimental photos on th ecard that i cant lose, so gotta try working this out. by the way i have installed fexplorer and searched for the mmcstore file, but could not find it.

any1 come up with a solution, drop me a email as well as reply to this post for others: hera_miah@hotmail.com

thanks.[/quote]

Hi,

What has happened in your case is that the MMC *did* have a password set when it was used with the original handset. This may have been done by you or a friend, or in the factory. When the card was used in the original handset for the first time, it would have required the password. Once the password has been entered, the handset remembers it and can automatically access the card each time. From your point of view the card is behaving the same as if no password was present. If you never had to enter one originally and if the card came with the handset, it kind of supports the idea that this passwording and pairing took place before the box hit the shelf.

When you had the handset replaced, the new handset did not have the password stored and so once again requested it. The problem is of course that you do not know what it is, having never needed to use it or even be aware of it. It could be the case that the card had a password set automatically as soon as it was inserted into the original handset, that might also explain it but I think it's a pretty dumb thing for Nokia to implement as it renders your card unusable outside the phone (where you need it) while doing nothing to prevent a thief from accessing it in the phone (which is where it will likely be when they steal it).

The forced erase sequence will remove the password but it will also remove the data too. There is no way around that. You will have to find out what the password is or else you have unfortunately lost your photographs. Since it appears that the card was passworded and paired up with the handset before it went on sale, I think it would be worth writing a letter to Nokia explaining the situation and asking them for a statement on the passwording of bundled MMC cards. It may be that the card's password is set to be the same as the IMEI of the handset, or something like that. If the handset automatically set a password, ask Nokia how you can determine what the password would be. It may follow an algorithm, or it may just be random in which case you're screwed.

If that doesn't provide anything useful, you will need to ensure that you back up your photos and data in future - constantly ask yourself "what is the worst that could happen" and then plan for it anyway. You could burn photos to CD or DVD, or grab a USB external drive and back up to there, or better still do both. If you want to re-use the card at any point I can remove the password but the card will then be completely empty and require formatting in the handset. The password is not a file level feature so you cannot get around it in a card reader - the card will not work in a card reader, it cannot be formatted away. The password is held in a special location in the card and is part of the MMC card spec. What everyone fails to appreciate is that you can only read a file (like mmcstore) from the card IF the card is already accessible (eg in the original handset), which by definition does not apply in your case.

Sorry it's not good news, hope you're able to find out what the password is or else find you had your photos somewhere else (did you forward any by MMS, they may be in your outbox, etc). Have you also tried passwords like 1234, 12345, 0000, and so on. There is no limit on the number of times you can try, as far as the card is concerned, although the handset itself may impose restrictions, check the manual.

Chris

RE: Passworded MMC - a real solution at last!

damainman — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:39:26 GMT

i have loads of sentimental photos on th ecard that i cant lose, so gotta try working this out. by the way i have installed fexplorer and searched for the mmcstore file, but could not find it.

any1 come up with a solution, drop me a email as well as reply to this post for others: hera_miah@hotmail.com

thanks.

RE: Passworded MMC - a real solution at last!

davis — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:11:32 GMT

hi, plz can u help me wit a software dat can help me unlock my memory card?

davis

RE: Passworded MMC - a real solution at last!

holosys — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 22:48:43 GMT

Edd sent me his card and I thought I would mention the result here for the record and the benefit of anyone doing a future search on how to unlock MMC cards. Edd's card was actually a MMC+ card. I tried it in the unlocker and the unlocker indicated that it had worked, but it was still locked when I tried it in my phone so I initially assumed the extra pins made a difference or that the MMC+ forced erase protocol was different.

However I tracked down a datasheet for MMC+

http://www.samsung.com/Products/Semiconductor/FlashCard/MMC/HighSpeedMMC/FullSize_MMCplus/MC4GH01GNMCA/ds_HS_MMC_rev03.pdf

which detailed exactly the same forced erase protocol as the with the Sandisk MMC spec that I last read, but also mentioned that the forced erase timeout is set at 3 minutes, after which the device performing the forced erase should assume that it has failed. This made me speculate that the forced erase might take longer than the couple of seconds indicated by the unlocker and that I was being too impatient. I tried Edd's card again, this time leaving it for around one minute, and this time the card was successfully unlocked. I could then format it in my phone and double check it was available in a card reader.

So if you invest in one of these forced erase unlockers, the moral is to let it access the card for a minute or so to ensure that the forced erase sequence has enough time to complete. It seems that MMC+ cards take a little longer than standard MMC cards for the sequence to run through.

Chris

RE: Passworded MMC - a real solution at last!

ludwell — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 18:06:30 GMT

Hi,

i've just bought a new 6230 and keep getting prompted for a password whenever i try to change the name of my 1gb mmc. I never set a password for it on my old phone so i thought i was kind of in the sh*t until i read this. I don't really want to pay £20 for an unlocker so if you could unlock it for me that'd be great! I'd be happy to pay a fee for the service. I've sent you an email.

Regards,

Edd

Passworded MMC - a real solution at last!

holosys — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 22:06:53 GMT

Hi folks,

Last year I posted a topic in this forum explaining how I had set a password on my Moby Memory 1Gb MMC in my Nokia 6230. I thought that the password could be reset by formatting in a card reader, but this turned out to not be the case. The password is part of the MMC spec and, if forgotten, can only be cleared by issuing a so-called "forced erase" sequence to the card in a suitable card reader (a mass storage reader, which makes the card into a drive on your computer, is not suitable). You can read the original post here:

http://forums.mobymemory.com/shwmessage.aspx?forumid=10&messageid=2956

Well now I've finally solved the problem. Between posting that message last year, and now, someone has developed a small, standalone card reader whose sole purpose is to issue the forced erase sequence to any MMC which is inserted. You insert a passworded MMC, wait 3 seconds until the LED flashes quickly, and then remove the MMC. The card is now free from a password and has had all its data wiped (when you issue a forced erase the data areas are cleared as well as the password register). You then simply insert the card into your phone (or normal card reader), format it and it's back to normal.

I bought mine from the URL below, but they are popping up on ebay and other places, in a couple of different designs. The device has a USB connector which is solely used for power, and comes with a 9V battery clip so it can be used without any PC at all if you prefer.

http://www.fonefunshop.co.uk/Unlocking/mmc.htm

Would MobyMemory consider buying these in? Locked MMCs crop up here quite a lot and I'm sure they would sell like hotcakes. On that note, if anyone is stuck with a passworded MMC I'll be happy to clear it for you if you pay the return postage. You would need to accept that all the data is lost, that I cannot be responsible for broken cards which cannot be reset, and that all the risks are yours. Basically I'm offering to do people a genuine favour if they're stuck, at least until Moby Memory launch a recovery service of their own!

(can this message be made sticky please?)

Regards,
Chris