smc.bin file

[harry12311]

My child set a bios password and he doesnt remember. My laptop is HP EliteBook 840 G5 Base Model Notebook PC sn: 5CG8395CF4

[NonSequitur777]

@harry12311,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

For modern commercial laptops such as the HP EliteBook 840 G5, clearing a forgotten BIOS password cannot be done through traditional methods like pulling the CMOS battery, shorting standard jumpers, or using universal backdoor password generators. On enterprise-grade EliteBooks, security parameters are written directly to non-volatile, encrypted memory (TPM/SMC) to prevent unauthorized hardware access.

1. Check for HP SpareKey:

If the laptop was configured with HP SpareKey when it was first set up, you can recover access by answering security questions:

1. Turn on the computer and tap Esc repeatedly until the Startup Menu appears, then press F10 to enter BIOS Setup.
2. Type an incorrect password three times.
3. If configured, a prompt will appear asking you to press F7 for HP SpareKey Recovery.
4. Press F7 and answer the three personal identification questions to clear the password.

2. Contact HP Official Support:

If SpareKey is not an option, you must contact HP Customer Support directly, or see if an HP Specialist such as @SteffenBaierUK will respond.

• Because this is a secure enterprise model, HP handles these requests under strict verification.
• Be prepared to provide the serial number along with formal proof of purchase or ownership verification.
• Depending on your region and the specific system configuration, HP may issue a customized SMC.bin clearing file via a secure link to reset the security parameters via a USB drive, or they may require a physical motherboard or BIOS chip replacement.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[Paul_Tikkanen]

@harry12311 

As of March 1, 2019, HP support stopped providing SMC.bin files that were used to clear BIOS passwords from HP business class notebooks.

If you contact HP support, you will be informed to replace the system board.

HP Business PCs - Forgotten or lost BIOS password | HP® Support

[NonSequitur777]

@harry12311,

Unfortunately, I need to correct my earlier comment: @Paul_Tikkanen is correct: HP no longer provides the SMC.bin BIOS-password reset procedure for these systems.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777