Patent ID: 7814321

Claim:
A method comprising: combining, with a secret to render a first one-time password, a user password for unlocking a hard disk drive (HDD) associated with a computer; storing the first one-time password and secret with a basic input-output system (BIOS) associated with the computer; storing the first one-time password and secret on the HDD; in response to the computer emerging from a suspend state at a first time, at the BIOS combining the first one-time password with the secret to render a second one-time password; sending the second one-time password to the HDD; at the HDD, combining the first one-time password with the secret to render a second one-time password; and only if the second one-time password received by the HDD from BIOS matches the second one-time password generated by the HDD, permitting access to the HDD.