1171-How to use Hwemngr in Windows

  • Updated on Feb 6, 2026
  • 2 minute(s) read
  • VN
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How to use Hwemngr in Windows

Article Summary:
This article provides how to instructions on using Hwemngr.exe to manage Self Encrypting OPAL 2.0 hard drives.

Note:
Please contact customer support for details and where to download the utility.

Product version affected:
All SD versions
 
Environment:
Self Encrypting OPAL 2.0 hard drives
Windows Based OS
All devices
  
Steps to follow:


A - If the drive is bootable to Windows

        When the drive is bootable, then the HWEmngr.exe can be run locally:

  1. Obtain the HWEmngr.exe and sduser.dll files from WinMagic Technical Support and extract/unzip file if necessary.
  2. Launch a DOS command prompt, with elevated rights:

  • Click on Windows Start Menu
  • Then type “command” within Search Programs and files:
  • Locate and right click on Command Prompt and then click on Run as Administrator
  1. Navigate to the folder location in which HWEmngr.exe and sduser.dll files were saved to.
  2. To list the drives and see the status enter command : Hwemngr.exe  –l

Please refer to the Results status mentioned at bottom section of this article.

B - If the drive is NOT bootable to Windows

In the event the drive is not bootable, then the drive will need to be slaved to another Windows device:

Note: For best results, we recommend attaching drive via SATA cable connection, or use a USB docking station.

  1. Obtain the HWEmngr.exe and sduser.dll files from WinMagic Technical Support and extract/unzip file if necessary.
  2. Obtain the recovery files: (Please refer to – How to obtain recovery files)
  3. Place either the export hardware encryption data file or the two files into the same utility folder.
  4. Launch a DOS command prompt, with elevated rights:

  • Click on Windows Start Menu
  • Then type “command” within Search Programs and files:
  • Locate and right click on Command Prompt and then click on Run as Administrator
  1. Navigate to the folder location in which HWEmngr.exe and sduser.dll files were saved to.
  2. To list the drives and see the status enter command : Hwemngr.exe  –l

Please refer to Results status mentioned at bottom section of this article

How to obtain recovery files

  1. Obtain the recovery.dbk file from the SES server:
    1. Right click on device
    2. Click on Export hardware encryption data

     

  1. The driveSerial#.dbk and driveSerial#.enc files from the client device:
  • These files are located in C:\Program Files\WinMagic\SecureDoc-NT\Userdata folder.
  • Note:  the *.enc file contains the password to the dbk file

Results status

Error/Status messages:

0x0 > – clean (demanaged the drive)
0x4 > – boot logon installed but not encrypted
0x6 > – fully managed but unlocked
0x7 > – fully locked and encrypted

SUCCESS  0x00
NOT_AUTHORIZED  0x01
OBSOLETE  0x02
SP_BUSY  0x03
SP_FAILED  0x04
SP_DISABLED  0x05
SP_FROZEN  0x06
NO_SESSIONS_AVAILABLE  0x07
UNIQUENESS_CONFLICT  0x08
INSUFFICIENT_SPACE  0x09
INSUFFICIENT_ROWS  0x0A
INVALID_PARAMETER  0x0C
OBSOLETE  0x0D
OBSOLETE  0x0E
TPER_MALFUNCTION  0x0F
TRANSACTION_FAILURE  0x10
RESPONSE_OVERFLOW  0x11
AUTHORITY_LOCKED_OUT  0x12
FAIL  0x3F

Advanced Options

To de-manage the drive: Hwemngr.exe 1 –r –k <recovery>.dbk
To bypass boot logon:       Hwemngr.exe 1 –u –k recovery.dbk

(0 being the internal drive      and    1 if using drive with USB connection)

To remove boot logon: Hwemngr.exe 1 –r –k recovery.dbk
To crypto-erase the drive:   Hwemngr.exe 1 –w –k recovery.dbk

Executing the hwemngr using the recovery files obtained from the drive:

Hwemngr.exe 1 –r –k <driveSerial#>.dbk -n <driveSerial#>.enc (this will deactivate the drive)
For Help: hwemngr.exe –h

Note: Replace“ –r” with the appropriate character listed in help for any other operations.

NOTES:
Seagate momentus drivetrust – doesn’t work if using OPAL cryptoerase tool
Hwemngr works on all SED OPAL drives.