At Ease: Unlocking iMac Hard Disk

This article tells how to use the Unlock utility to unlock a hard disk that has been locked by At Ease.
Note: An iMac computer's hard disk can be locked by At Ease only if it has been reinitialized to Mac OS Standdard format (HFS). At Ease is unable to lock a Mac OS Extended format (HFS+) formatted disk. For further information on At Ease and Mac OS Extended format, please see:

Article 30360: "At Ease 5.0: Disk Security Does Not Work With HFS+ Formatted Drives"

Since the iMac has no floppy drive, an alternative means of running the Unlock Utility is required. Fortunately, the iMac Install CD allows the computer to access a network while started up from the CD. Follow these steps:
                 
After you have unlocked the disk, you must perform standard troubleshooting for the flashing question mark symptom. For assistance, refer to document 58042, "Macintosh: Flashing Question Mark at Startup".


For related information see the following article:
Article 24622: "At Ease: Flashing "?" and Drive Not Mounting on Workstation"
Published Date: Feb 18, 2012