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- HP Community
- Notebooks
- Notebook Boot and Lockup
- Locked BIOS

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03-10-2024 01:48 PM
I sold my HP Spectra to a company and they said it was locked out and needed a BIOS password. Well I never set a BIOS password and it was working fine when I shipped it to them. I don’t know what they done but then they tried to lowball me a figure because they said the BIOS password is not recoverable or able to be reset unless I knew the original password. Of course I had no idea because I never had any trouble with it at all. It’s it pristine condition with all original parts and packaging. There was no way I was going to accept $165 dollars for it for them to use for parts. I told them to google how to reset it because I looked it up before responding back to them and found several ways to do it They said it wasn’t possible so I told them to package it back up and send it back to me. I haven’t received it back yet but I’m wanting to make sure I do this right when it gets back to me. The model number is [Personal Information Removed]. Can anybody confirm the right way to reset it when I receive it back?
I got an answer that basically they were telling me the truth but I’m having difficulty understanding that. A quick google search of less than 10 minutes gave me at least 4 different solutions to this. Now until I receive my laptop back I have no way of knowing if any of them actually will work, but this seems like a huge issue for any computer company to embed into their system requiring an expensive repair or just buy a new product. It seems unethical to just put it as kindly as I can considering I never set a BIOS password in the first place. There has to be a way of finding the password(which I did find a default password) but who knows if that actually works? How am I supposed to know if this company done something they shouldn’t have and screwed it all up. They just asked me to do a complete factory reset before sending it in.(Like anybody wouldn’t do that anyway) This laptop was in perfect working condition and was absolutely flawless in appearance. They had no reason to get into the BIOS settings in the first place in my opinion. The BIOS can be updated without ever having to get into the settings.
03-12-2024 01:24 PM
Hi @Wranglerguy53,
Welcome to the HP Support Community.
Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to assist you.
I see that you are facing an issue with your Laptop that is locked on the BIOS password screen.
BIOS or power on password is set by the user and not by the manufacturer.
If the PC is locked after the user sets a password and is not able to recover it back, the only way to unlock it is by sending it to the service center with a charge.
Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!
I hope this helps.
Take care and have a great day ahead!
Irwin6
HP Support
Irfan_06-Moderator
I am an HP Employee