I bought a laptop off craigslist that I am unable to reset the BIOS settings d/t not having a password, anyway around this? Windows 10 HP G7 850 laptop

Remove all power from the system like any other computer, that includes the cmos battery.

tried looking for the CMOS battery on it could not find it

Try under/around the NVME. It will look wrapped in electrical tape, connected to the main board by wire.

found it and did this and it still asks for pw; now im trying to get admin access so i can reformat the PC but i cant even do that

guess the password wrong 3 times and it may give you a code to check here and see if your board has a default failsafe password for manufacturers.

https://bios-pw.org/

if that doesnt work then

https://itstillworks.com/reset-hp-laptop-bios-password-8582.html

https://www.geckoandfly.com/6940/reset-or-remove-bios-password-for-acer-dell-hp-toshiba-asus-and-apple-laptop/

also u can try removing the bios jumpers and i think that resets the bios

Could try calling HP support.

They will probably ask for these 2 things.
serial number (with upper case letter)
UUID of the computer


Assuming everything is valid, and is licensed for average user usage, and not for a business.
HP will provide you a file you have to copy on a USB drive, with instructions to turn on your computer and it will Restore your Bios to Default Factory settings.

This will let you put another BIOS password ect.


------------------------ If it was a walmart Display Model ---------------
Then Most likely it will be WM#### , What ever the store number is 4 or 5 digits ect.


---- Also -----
Resetting the Battery on that unit will reset the BIOS to factory Defaults, but it will not remove the password.
Not sure if there is a way to Over-Ride the Bios or install a fresh bios/OS without the specific file from HP.

This post was edited by conetopia on Sep 20 2021 06:20pm