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Laptop BIOS Password Lost

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12 replies

by orvinabbott

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HP Pavilion XH365 Laptop BIOS Password Lost during a password reset to blank password. System will not boot. Contacted HP Tech Support for out of warranty Laptop - they were no help! They said take out the CMOS/BIOS Battery for 30 Seconds.. OK - Where is the CMOS Battery located in this laptop? HP Tech support couldn't help with that either. Some articles say there is a jumper to short out.
The main question is how do I access the system setup to reset this password? Please don't say press F2 - because that doesn't help - the screen for the password pops up before you can enter setup.

12 replies

by maniacman

Sorry, but that's our policy here, regardless of how legitimate your reasons may be.

by orvinabbott

It's understandable that you don't help crack passwords. If someone could just email me the location of the CMOS/BIOS battery or jumper, then I could complete the steps that HP tech support tried to explain. They just didn't have a clue either , on where the battery or jumper was located.

by shady108

how can you lose a password during a password reset?

by orvinabbott

Did the normal password change in System Setup - Enter Old Password, Enter New Password (blank - press enter), Confirm New Password (blank - press enter). rebooted and it asks for a password ( won't accept old password or a blank password).

by shady108

are you sure the password its asking for isnt a HDD password? a lot of old laptops have both bios and hdd passwords

by computercookie

Lost during a password reset to blank password. System will not boot. Contacted HP Tech Support for out of warranty Laptop - they were no help!

This will be a similar post to TR that the person who steals your laptop will post in order to crack your computer to see what data they can use to compromise your identity, or simply to be able to operate it
for their own use or offer it for sale?

Then you'd be claiming that we are aiding and abetting criminals!

Take it to a qualified technician, if it's old and the data is of no consequence, consider the cost benefit of purchasing a new laptop!

by orvinabbott

I guess this would be suspect, however, the laptop isn't stolen. The laptop was replaced yesterday with a new Toshiba Laptop. Thanks for the concern for possible thieves trying to hack someones system.

by mg_roberts

A bios password is in no way whatsoever intended as a security measure against data theft. it's there to prevent accidental configuration changes that may cause system instability may cause the system to become unresponsive.

people who steal laptops with the intent of data theft do not use the laptop that was stolen. they remove the drive and connect it to another machine, as already stated.

therefore, i don't see any harm in assisting someone getting into the bios.

in keeping with the rules of the forum however, i still won't help get into the bios.

by tig2

Can make a system more salable. It's the kind of thing that a second hand purchaser would tend to check.

Thanks for understanding.

by orvinabbott

I took the HDD out just to ensure it wasn't a HDD password. It booted to the BIOS Password screen. So I guess I'm sure it's not a HDD Password. I purchased a program that stated it could recover a BIOS/CMOS password, but you have to be able to boot from a Floppy to use it. The Floppy isn't set in the BIOS as a Boot Device and since I can't get into the BIOS to make it a boot device, I'm stuck. I stripped the system to the motherboard as per HP (India) tech support to find a silver disc battery.. I don't think that's what I really needed to look for. Other sources have told me to look for a jumper to reset the BIOS. Still no luck finding the jumper. I'm sorry to keep ranting about this, but it's a learning experience. Desktop systems are no problem for me, I just don't have a broad background in Laptop Repair, but I'm not willing to send this to HP for $300 for the unlock. It's not worth that to the owner, that's why he has already purchased a replacement. I'll just move his files to a DVD and he's happy.

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