Attempt to reset bios setting by power down battery end up in disaster

[NovellWAN]

Fellow student was infested by syskey.  Bios wouldn't let me in to modify anything and there was a password the user didn't know.  No USB or fancy CDROM dancing was going to work here.  For some reason I resisted the temptation to fix the SSD drive on my own machine by renaming then recalling the hive backup files.

 Pulled the battery, loosened two screws and used a short metal (ack!) to jostle the keyboard free slightly, then pried the keyboard away being carefull of the K/B and mousepad cables.  Then I disconnected the RTC battery, waited 2 minutes and reassembled.

Glory be!  I was greeted by the notebook powering on as soon as I put battery in.  power/wireless/speaker mute buttons all light up and turn off about every 5-6 seconds.  R&R memory and SSD drive = no joy.  Attempts at no power 2 minute hold power button down = no effect on issue.  

I looked for quite awhle on the forums about  these particular buttons and also looked to see if there was a pattern on the front panel leds and caps lock.  These were in sync with the buttons and the num lk button never lit up.

I suppose I could D/C the keyboard assembly, but perhaps there is something I missed?  This being one of the more secure BIOS did I trip an intrusion wire?   

[CherylG]

1-I knew this would not end well when I read  "used a short metal to jostle the keyboard free slightly".

2-I had even more doubts when I read  "then pried the keyboard away". 

3-Removing RTC battery will never clear BIOS password on an Elitebook.There are reasons these models are so expensive-one being the bullet proof security (which requires HP help to get in).

4-I do not know of an Elitebook G20 to find a Service Manual. I know there is an 820 G2, 820 G3 and others similiar.

[NovellWAN]

Let me give some additional informaion that may be helpful.

the Model is an Elitebook 820 G2 . The G2 comes the serial and the DD3L RAM.

The "metal rod" used to loosen the keyboard was an aluminum probe thatt thins at the business end and it's  original use was to separate muscle groups when disecting cats.  It is blunt and has been adapted for computer use by equiping with a vinyl sleeve at the business end.  The initial probe near the video cable pressed on a white label and partially dislodged the keyboard.  I used a  guitar pick to free up the remaining tabs.  The RTC battery disconnect for 2 minutes was uneventful, and the reassembly the same.

Reset was no joy.

Power, wifi, speaker mute, button flash on/off in a 5 second cycle.

Also the Caps Lock lights but the num lock light doesn't.

front LED lights in this sequence

wifi, amber

power,blue  

charge, blue then amber

disk, amber

flashing at the same rate as the  buttons.

Makes me want to d/c the keyboard, but I'm resisting, waiting info on the light flashing cycle.

BTW, thanks for your prompt response.  It does make me wonder if the owner has HP Elite Premium support. 

[CherylG]

The 5 second sequence you are seeing is the machine trying to power on, failing, then trying again over and over. 

As you can see from the Maintenance Guide there is a bit more to removing the kbd than prying it loose. I can only assume you didn't remove the screws nor release the latch since you didn't mention it.

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?sp4ts.oid=7343192&docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-c04...

[NovellWAN · Accepted solution]

For keyboard removal you loosed the two spring loaded screws then depress the area near the "y" in the video cable and the fan.  This releases the keyboard to fall free.  If the k/b doesn't fall free you need to gently pry it loose starting at the top.  Thanks for your blinking light info.   Off to a HP authorized shop.