I think PicoProm may need a few things to get running, look at the list below, and you still need to wire it to an EEPROM (no way around it!). It has way more features but I don't see how its simpler to setup if you just want the password for your HDD.
Disconnect the Raspberry Pi Pico from power/USB
Wire the Raspberry Pi Pico up to the EEPROM according to the pinout table below
Connect the Raspberry Pi Pico to the computer by USB
Launch a terminal app with XMODEM support, such as Tera Term, and connect it to the Raspberry Pi Pico
Verify that the Raspberry Pi Pico is reporting that it's ready to receive a ROM image
Use your terminal to send a ROM image using the XMODEM+CRC protocol
Disconnect power before removing the EEPROM from the circuit