Inheriting HP laptop

grumpycrab

googler wrote: »

the OP could take it [hard drive] out of the laptop

If we knew the HP model number which we don't (laptop is at the shop) then that might be easy (via service hatch) or hard (have to remove the laptop bottom half).

John_Gray

psychic_teabag wrote: »

I'd interpret that as bios password, rather than windows password.

How many people set BIOS passwords on their PCs or laptops?
I don't think I've ever come across one in the last 35 years of PC usage!

emptybox

John_Gray wrote: »

How many people set BIOS passwords on their PCs or laptops?
I don't think I've ever come across one in the last 35 years of PC usage!

I bought a second hand business desktop a few years ago, and found that it had a BIOS password set on it. It only stopped me accessing the BIOS though, It didn't stop me booting up.
I cleared it by moving a jumper on the motherboard.

But no, the OP is almost certainly talking about the login password.

EveryWhere

http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

or just remove the HDD as suggested and place it into a caddy; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/External-HDD-SSD-2-5inch-USB-3-0-Hard-Disk-Drive-Enclosure-Case-Caddy-SATR-TR/132708248820

Keep that aside, leaving the data on it if you want to keep it.

Replace it with an inexpensive SSD for as little as £16.20; https://www.mymemory.co.uk/memory/data-storage/ssd-drives.html and clean install the operating system to it(easy and free).

The SSD step isn't necessary. It's actually an upgrade that will improve the performance considerably and also allows you to 'kill two birds with one stone'.

Colleen6

If the password prompt appears before you see the Windows logo on the screen, it should be BIOS password. Otherwise it should be Windows login password.


Removing a lost BIOS password is more difficult:While Windows password can be removed in many ways, as long as BitLocker encryption isn't turned on.

[Deleted User]

Given that the OP doesn't sound particularly tech savvy why do people keep banging on about BIOS passwords? It's not something that they'd have any reason to be looking at.

@BOBBIs MUMMY, post #15 is an excellent idea from @EveryWhere and if you don't understand it then ask the computer shop if they can help.

halogen

John_Gray wrote: »

How many people set BIOS passwords on their PCs or laptops?
I don't think I've ever come across one in the last 35 years of PC usage!

I've come across them a few times and they are a **** to get round, even swopping out the drive doesn't help

googler

halogen wrote: »

I've come across them a few times and they are a **** to get round, even swopping out the drive doesn't help

Yes, because the BIOS is in memory on the motherboard, not on the drive.

Move the drive to another machine, or a USB caddy connected to another machine, and you bypass the BIOS on the original machine.

that

googler wrote: »

Move the drive to another machine, or a USB caddy connected to another machine, and you bypass the BIOS on the original machine.

but not always, The old ibm thinkpad 600 allows you to password the bios and hard disk with two separate passwords. If you plug that drive into a pc, it will not recognise the drive, and you can not format it either, fortunately never seen anyvody password hem differently though

halogen

googler wrote: »

Yes, because the BIOS is in memory on the motherboard, not on the drive.

Move the drive to another machine, or a USB caddy connected to another machine, and you bypass the BIOS on the original machine.

yes that works to get access to the drive... but I was wanting access to the laptop- wanted to upgrade it to a SSD