Purchased a hp z840 on ebay with a locked bios. Question on this

[Paul_Tikkanen]

No.

A drive with or without an OS is not required. 

[DGroves]

 paul, i was not aware of the hp policy change on generating unlock codes for consumers as up till 2021 when i retired i was able to use my companies HP access to tech support and HP would generate a password code if it was authorised in my company 

but a quick internet check clearly shows that 2019 does appear to be when HP stopped generation codes to consumers and required them to visit a HP authorised repair location for service

so can the poster contact HP and see if a HP authorised repair shop or HP directly can reset a locked system if physically delivered to them? if proof of ownership can be confirmed is this a viable method for repair out of warranty equipment or is it as paul said a dead end with replacement the only option?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

If removing the password jumper doesn't clear the BIOS P/W, then someone set the stringent security option in the BIOS, which disables the ability to clear the BIOS password by any means. 

[Tony_atfpodcast]

So there is a second redition motherboard for the z840? -002?

[DGroves]

no, the z840 only has one motherboard revision

only the earlier Zx20/Zx00 had board revisions that added newer cpu's (and memory for some models)

also keep in mind that sometimes it's almost the same price for a barebones system as opposed to just a motherboard

[Tony_atfpodcast]

I wonder how well-maintained they appear to be when looking. I know this thing is heavy when I took it out of the box.  There was no video card, just a CPU and 32 GB of RAM. 

[DGroves]

video cards and hard drives are commonly not included in barebones systems and sometimes neither is ram/cpu

systems that do include all necessary items to boot to a OS

are usually described as TURNKEY ready systems or Ready For OS install

even with factoring in a replacement motherboard you should still be under what most boot to OS ready systems cost used

[Tony_atfpodcast]

I was referring to how heavy it was without the video card.

[Tony_atfpodcast]

It worked, but I can't get the 3.5 expansion drives I had in my Z440 that were moved to the bay to be seen by the OS. I know they work, and they are SSD. I have them in the proper tray. They work when I plug the data cable into the USB port. I have them turned on in the BIOS.  It is also updated to the latest BIOS from last year. I have contacted the seller again, but I am waiting for a response. We spoke earlier today.  I suggested a replacement, and I am waiting. If I can't get this resolved, I will leave negative feedback on Enay and contact PayPal. SO i have my 128 GB RAM and everything on the 840, but the drives that I want that are in the 3.5 bay are not being seen.. 

[DGroves]

the HP  Z840 has 3 different HD controllers the two grey ports  closest to the front are normal MS compatible SATA 3 6GBps ports and these ports do not require any drivers they are built into the OS

the Two Grey ports closest to the rear of the motherboard require the Intel Enterprise "eSATA" driver under windows to work

https://support.hp.com/nz-en/drivers/swdetails/hp-z840-workstation/model/6978848/swItemId/wk-232010-...

the 8 white ports that are along the edge of the motherboard are the "LSI" SAS/SATA ports and these ports also require a  lsi 2308 "mustang" chip driver under windows OS (for win 11 use the win 10 driver)

you can download the HP win 10 driver pack that contains almost all needed drivers (large file!)

HP Z440/Z640/Z840 Windows 10 x64 Driver Pack

https://support.hp.com/nz-en/drivers/swdetails/hp-z840-workstation/model/6978848/swItemId/wk-209687-...

win 11 has some win 11 specific updated drivers, (for all others use the win 10 driver)

https://support.hp.com/nz-en/drivers/hp-z840-workstation/model/6978848?sku=F5G73AV

here's the service manual

https://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04823811.pdf

last leaving negative feedback on a new part that you do not fully understand is a poor idea i recommend you first learn about your new system before giving feedback on a part that most likely is working just fine once all necessary drivers are installed

Update: 10/7/25

 keep in mind that the z840 when in legacy mode (MBR) has a 16TB size limit you need a drive formatted as GPT for larger drives and rereading you latest post it appears that you were using drives in a external USB case? due to the way that the USB controller on the ext drive case formats and read/writes to the disk the drives format may be incompatible when directly connected to a standard SAS/SATA port

does the HD show up in the Bios when connected to the z840?