HP EliteBook 8460P hangs at boot with USB drive attached

[drjones]

Hi, I have a client that I got a Seagate USB 3.0 drive for so that we can image his workstation daily using Acronis.

The laptop will not boot with the USB drive attached. It's also got a very strange BIOS; it asks you to either sign in as the user or guest.

If I sign in as the user, we can't really make any changes to the BIOS; everything is greyed out. No matter what changes I make when logged in as guest - disable USB boot, reorder the boot sequence so the primary HD is first, etc. - it still hangs at boot.

UEFI is disabled, just for the heck of it I checked the box and it popped up and said something to the effect of UEFI functionality is still a beta function and not recommended - odd.

PC is running Win7 Pro, forgot to check the BIOS version. It is a strange BIOS, unlike any I've ever seen.

Any ideas?

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

Maybe update USB 3.0 drivers or BIOS.

 

[KompuKare]

Doubt that will work: since the machine will not boot with that HDD attached it's not Windows drivers.

And unless the OP's client has the supervisor password for that laptop I can't see the OP being able to change the BIOS: wouldn't be much of a BIOS supervisor password if it allowed itself to be flashed away...

No, without that password the only thing I can think of is to see if the laptop can actually boot of that USB3 drive and if yes, install a bootsector on the external and redirect it to the internal. Something like this was easier when you just had to edit BOOT.INI but it should be possible with BCDedit - or install GRUB2.

 

[drjones]

Doubt that will work: since the machine will not boot with that HDD attached it's not Windows drivers.

And unless the OP's client has the supervisor password for that laptop I can't see the OP being able to change the BIOS: wouldn't be much of a BIOS supervisor password if it allowed itself to be flashed away...

No, without that password the only thing I can think of is to see if the laptop can actually boot of that USB3 drive and if yes, install a bootsector on the external and redirect it to the internal. Something like this was easier when you just had to edit BOOT.INI but it should be possible with BCDedit - or install GRUB2.

But it appears that we are able to login to as the supervisor/admin to the BIOS, we just can't make any changes.

Or does the fact that we can't make any changes mean that we aren't getting logged in as admin?

I'd assume it would completely block us from access if we didn't have the right password...

 

[KompuKare]

I'd assume it would completely block us from access if we didn't have the right password...

Well haven't seen the Elitebook way of doing this but on Thinkpads setting a BIOS supervisor password allows you view (most) settings but not change anything. Expect most business machines to behave similarly.

 

[drjones]

Well haven't seen the Elitebook way of doing this but on Thinkpads setting a BIOS supervisor password allows you view (most) settings but not change anything. Expect most business machines to behave similarly.

Well crap. If the client can't remember that password, what's our option?

 

[NYJimbo]

You could try ebay if you are comfortable soldering bios chips.

 

[JustInspired]

No, without that password the only thing I can think of is to see if the laptop can actually boot of that USB3 drive and if yes, install a bootsector on the external and redirect it to the internal. Something like this was easier when you just had to edit BOOT.INI but it should be possible with BCDedit - or install GRUB2.

This is probably the easiest way out. If it boots from CD then I'd leave a CD in it with a kicker to boot from the hard drive.

 

[drjones]

ANy other thoughts or ideas on this?

What happens if you forget a BIOS password?

 

[drjones]

So I was just playing with this again.

Client has like 2-3 passwords that it could possibly be.

If I enter, say, "password" it asks me to re-enter the password 3 times, then brings me to an on-screen keyboard. If I hit escape or enter, it says "Press F7 for HP SpareKey Recovery" When you hit that, it says "sparekey not enrolled" and then "authentication failed."

When we enter in the passcode that he's fairly certain it is, say "user123" it lets us in, but again we can change *some* options in the BIOS, but not all.

W.T.F....?

 

[HFultzjr]

See if anything here is of help.

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...S-Password-recovery/td-p/6032023#.UkA4dCPD_IU

 

[drjones]

Thank you I'll check those posts out...

 

[ahiser]

Pc cmos cleaner

I worked with a tech who showed me PC CMOS Cleaner. It's a free download. Burn it to a disc and boot from it. It allows you to view the bios password. Another way is to try and remove it by taking out the CMOS battery for about an hour.

 

[AndyM]

Clutching at straws here for you, but if you just cannot remember the supervisor password, then I'd remove the motherboard then remove the CMOS battery. Place the motherboard in a freezer overnight. The extreme cold *could* clear it.

It works with car radio codes!

As I said, clutching at straws, but trying to help.

Andy

 

[drjones]

Thanks guys....if I select the "reset BIOS to default" option, will that in any way affect the OS/make it unbootable?

We are making daily images of it with Acronis, so wouldn't be the end of the world, but just want to know before we do stuff like this....

Thanks

 

[B Trevathan]

Can you access "Setup BIOS Administrator Password" or "Change Password" under Security menu / Administrator tools?

Thanks guys....if I select the "reset BIOS to default" option, will that in any way affect the OS/make it unbootable?

The "Restore Defaults" restores F10 settings to factory defaults.
The "Reset BIOS security to factory default" resets BIOS and Protect Tool Users, clears fingerprint tokens and reset the TPM.

You may find this helpful:

Forgotten passwords
Forgotten passwords can be recovered by all categories of users: BIOS User, BIOS Administrator, and ProtectTools User.

BIOS user
Two possibilities apply for a BIOS user who forgets the password:

1. If the BIOS user has set up HP SpareKey but fails to enter the correct password, the system opens a HP SpareKey
Recovery screen. The user can answer the HP SpareKey questions to create a new password and regain access to the
system. A BIOS user can set up HP SpareKey within the f10 BIOS setup.

2. A BIOS administrator can go to the f10 BIOS setup to remove and re-add the BIOS user, effectively supplying the user
with a new password.

BIOS administrator
A BIOS administrator who forgets the administrator password and has set up HP SpareKey can use the HP SpareKey to boot the system.

If the BIOS administrator has not set up HP SpareKey, HP Services can reset the system to factory default (for 2009 and newer commercial notebook platforms).

ProtectTools user
If a ProtectTools user forgets the password and there is a BIOS administrator, the BIOS administrator can use the administrator password at the BIOS authentication screen. However, the user will have to authenticate again at the next security domain, either Drive Encryption or Windows.

If the ProtectTools user forgets the Windows password and has set up HP SpareKey, he can use the HP SpareKey to boot the system.

If the ProtectTools user forgets the password, has not set up HP SpareKey, and there is no BIOS administrator, the ProtectTools user can enter f10 as Guest User, define a new BIOS administrator, and remove the ProtectTools user account. Or, as an alternative, HP Services can reset the system to factory default.

 

[HFultzjr]

Found this posted on HP Forums:



According to the "BIOS-enabled security features in HP business notebooks" for the Elitebook 8540w.

"If the BIOS administrator has not set up HP SpareKey, HP Services can reset the system to factory default (for 2009 and newer commercial notebook platforms)."

I believe that this means HP Services can reset the BIOS upon proof of ownership of the laptop.

I believe it was designed this way to help prevent the theft of HP laptops.

To me this is one of the better features of HP laptops."

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...set-BIOS-Password-EliteBook-8540w/td-p/927153

 

[kisk]

You could try ebay if you are comfortable soldering bios chips.

This. Going for around $35 and its an easy solder job. If you can de-solder and solder a jack you can do this. Bill the client for the part and extra labor and tell him not to set a bios password again unless he's going to remember it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BIOS-passwo...104?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc6757c78

This method is 100% and a lot less headache then looking around for days for a possible solution. Sure, maybe HP can reset it, but be prepared to "prove" it belongs to the client -- trust me its a headache.

Good luck!

 

[PCSComputerGuy]

Can you disable ALL bootable devices except the internal drive? I have had this prob with external drives and printers that have card readers... **** everything off and reenable until it stops working....

 

[ManistiqueComputers]

Not sure if this applies to the HP Elitebooks or not but normally updating the bios clears the password.