HP Pavillion zt1180

HockeyMom · Post by **HockeyMom** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 4:35 pm

Can anyone help in trying to get past the "boot password" on a HP Pavillion zt1180 I called HP, but they want $70 dollars to fix it since the warranty is expired......When I start the computer its asking for a boot password I've hit the F2 key and then it says "Insyde BIOS Configuration Utility, setup password, so when I try to set up a password then it says "password string doesn't match". I've also tried hitting the F12 key at startup to boot it, just goes back to the password and F10 and ESC does nothing either.

I've tried loading the Windows XP disk and MS-DOS disk and it still dont by-pass asking the password.

Any help greatly appreciated, it's a friends computer in which was found in the dump and thought i'd try to get it going for them!

verbal · Post by **verbal** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 6:49 pm

Do you have a bootable copy of any OS?

HockeyMom · Post by **HockeyMom** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 7:32 pm

verbal wrote:Do you have a bootable copy of any OS?

OS? Operating System....Windows XP? YES! Tried to load it still takes me to the password.

verbal · Post by **verbal** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:02 pm

Do you have your BIOS configured to boot from this piece of shits cd-rom drive?

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 8:04 pm

verbal wrote:Do you have your BIOS configured to boot from this piece of shits cd-rom drive?

Near as I can tell, the problem is that she can't access the BIOS in the first place. There has to be a way to flash the BIOS and start from scratch with a blank or default password, otherwise HP wouldn't be offering the service for 70 dollars.

One idea you could try might be to yank the Hard Drive on the machine and run it off another machine. You may kind a clue to the original BIOS password laying around on the drive.

Maybe try disconnecting the AC power supply and the battery and then holding down the ON button for a 5-6 minutes.

This thread details a rather interesting way to short circuit the system.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=8316

That's about all I can think of for now.

Shlomart Ben Yisrael · Sat Mar 24, 2007 10:57 pm

This is a laptop.

The password is written to a flash protected ROM, so consider their offer of a $70 fix to be a bargain.

Unless the laptop is stolen, then go fuck yourself.

ElTaco · Post by **ElTaco** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:21 pm

Yeah since its a laptop, you are probably screwed. Most PCs/motherboards have a switch, a jumper or a backend that will get you around it but companies guard it fairly closely. On a PC you could just short out the right jumper and it would reset the BIOS to the factory Default. On a laptop, there may be something similar, but its a lot harder to get to.
You may want to start with finding the Laptops manual online and see if there is something in there. If not, then I would search the web for a solution. Since the laptop seems fairly old, you stand a good chance that some disgruntled tech from HP has published the secret on some board or tech website.

Ultimately, $70 isn't a bad deal. You'll probably end up with a $100 price tag with shipping and a working laptop.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:47 am

it's a friends computer in which was found in the dump

doesn't sound worth the effort.

Headhunter · Post by **Headhunter** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:39 pm

^^^ What he said.

Ever think there's a reason someone decided to store their latptop at the DUMP? Most likely because it's a piece of shit, or stolen.