URGENT Advice required regarding my disabled USB Backup drive!!! Please help me.

Hi.

I am trying to backup some of my work onto my USB Drive in work. The problem I am faced with is that they have actually disabled this drive over the network.

Is there anyway of bypassing this somehow, in order to back up my work.

Can some expert guru help me out here in achiving this. And for the record how have they managed to disable my drive.

I am knowledgeable of windows, and settings I dont think have been modified on my local machine.

Any advice on this topic.

Please please.

Regards

Did they disable the drive or the USB port(s)? I have trouble understanding how the admins could manage to disable a specific removable drive. Is this a thumb-drive or an external hard drive?

Is it possible they disabled removable drives system-wide?

If you are using this device for legitimate backups of work-related material, then your admins should be willing to help you out with resolving the issue.

They've probably done something in the BIOS and I reckon the BIOS will be password protected. I'm not sure that the BIOS would allow for a selective USB block more likely that the BIOS can either disable USB or it is active.

I think there is also a Windows piece of softare or policy that can be set.

What I would do is logon to a PC in the IT area and see if it works there. A bit naughty but I'm sure you can explain a reason for it.

The reason you want to do this is to check if it's PC specific or logon specific. If it is logon specific then you are stuffed. IT have blocked you!

If you have admin access on the PC then see if you can create a local account with admin rights. Logon as this account via safe mode and see if the USB port is active then. You won't have network but you can copy files from the network to the local PC and then to the USB key.

Another way is to copy files locally. Zip them up. Password protect it. Call the file MyHolidaySnaps.zip. Go to IT and say can you put this file on here for me please as it won't work on my PC. It's piccies and some are a bit naughty of my girlfriend or something like that. They'll do it and have a laugh about it. Longer term and more frequently you're going to have to think of something a bit more believeable.

I hope this is helpful.

Good luck and post back what happens.

Phil.
P.S. If IT don't want you to do it, you're not going to be able to unless you are a master hacker. Even so, you'll get fired for abuse etc.

Yes, there is a setting in NT-flavor Windows for disabling the USB ports. Do the computers at work have CD-RWs? One of the few advantages of a corporate Dell contract is the desktops with burners in them.

If you are so desperate to do this buy yourself a serial or com device. A zip drive maybe. I'll be amazed if the com ports and the serial ports are disabled. Getting the software installed to communicate with the device is a different story!! Admin access!!!!

Like I said. If IT don't want you to do it, they'll stop you.

Find a friend in IT with the Admin passwords!!!!

Thanks for all your advice.

I will broaden my explination

I am looking for another job, many reasons for this but there is little point dicussing that side of it. And as a result they know I have had my second interview and are obviously cautious.

I deal with large files for example PSD files which is why I need USB backup etc..

I am not interested in there code to say the least, in fact I am not even a master coder and I know that many things are wrong and not the right approaches to follow, but thats a different story again.

My own interest is in backing up my designs (psd files). I dont want to make a deal of it, I also dont wish to attract any attention.

I can say one thing. However they do it, they dont actually do it via my computer. It is controlled on another machine. I also know that I would require a restart if they were to activate it again.

Unfortunately there is no CDR in the system so again I am stuffed.

I hope this gives you guys a better idea of my issue.

Oh and its nothing to do with the bios.

If any of you get any ideas please leave a post, I will check this a few times in the day, but if there is no solution then I am just going to have to find another method.

How about FTP, maybe thats a solution, I just hope they cannot track that also. They should spend more time working on client projects than messing about with internal security, dont they trust the staff anymore??

Anyway may hear some positive feedback

Regards

Get yourself a laptop, either temporary or permanent, get a crossover cable. Make the IP Addresses 192.168.10.10 and 192.168.10.11. Connect to the laptop that you own FROM the work PC. START, RUN, \\192.168.10.11\c$. You should be asked for a password. This will be the admin password.

You should be able to connect. If this fails use the net use command on the command line.



The above is on the same line and the USER part is actually typed like that. Replace localhostname with the name of the PC you are connecting to and administrator is the account you probably want to use. If I've made an error in the syntax of this you can type
on the command line to check. Apologies if you know this already.


The password you will be prompted for is the administrator password for the PC you are connecting to. The next available drive should be mapped and a window should open. Copy your files and there you go.

I'm not sure you if you need Admin access for this. I can't remember.

If I think of anything else then I'll let you know. Be aware that even though these files are yours that the company would probably be able to prosecute you as they are on their system. I guess they won't but just bear it in mind.

P.S. You can set up automatic E-mail updates for posts here. You can either do it by default in your user CP or you can do it per post at the very bottom of the post.