Thanx all. . . @NoOp: Thanx for the idea, but unfortunately, hdparm on grub2 has far less options (no security options) and the hdd is not recognised in grub2 anyway. . @Nils: That could work. Thanks! But would all ATA commands go through a USB to SATA bridge, or would I need an eSATA to SATA bridge? -- Regards, Chhatoi Pritam Baral