Compaq password reset? - Page 2

Jaymoss · 13-03-2022, 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456

I think you'll find Paul was being sarcastic, you don't need to enter the BIOS for start up boot.

For a compac:

Press the "F10" key as soon as the computer begins to boot. ...
Press the right arrow key three times to access the boot menu.
Change the "1st Boot Device" setting to the drive you wish to boot from, such as your CD-ROM drive.

The OP will still have to enter the OS password to boot into the system.

I've given him the answer to that.

No I do not think he was. It is very easy to set a Administrator password in the bios that would scupper everything you just said from the off. Some business machines have them hardcoded in the bios firmware but most you can just jump the cmos or remove the battery. Not so easy with a laptop. I am sure you knew this but perhaps just forgot

pip08456 · 13-03-2022, 20:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

No I do not think he was. It is very easy to set a Administrator password in the bios that would scupper everything you just said from the off. Some business machines have them hardcoded in the bios firmware but most you can just jump the cmos or remove the battery. Not so easy with a laptop. I am sure you knew this but perhaps just forgot

Only Paul can answer if he was or wasn't.

**Paul** · 13-03-2022, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456

I think you'll find Paul was being sarcastic, you don't need to enter the BIOS for start up boot.

Not sure why you would think that.

Compaq's can have a bios password (aka boot password, aka power on password) which you have to enter when you turn them on, before they will boot up any OS. I have had this enabled on all my various work laptops for the last 22+ years (several of them were Compaq).

raging bull · 13-03-2022, 21:11

The furthest I have got is:
F10 key gets me into boot menu thats it!
Password request comes up after bios exit.

heero_yuy · 14-03-2022, 08:05

You could always try the novice passwords: "password" "12345" "qwertyuiop"

Or the names of favorite pets.

Maybe just the <return> key for none set.

tweetiepooh · 14-03-2022, 10:00

BIOS passwords are usually very boring, plain text screens. Windows is much more colourful and graphic. For single user machines Windows may simply ask for a password without selecting a user.

If you can boot from a CDROM then you can get small Linux distros that will work, boot from that and see if you can browse the hard disk. If that's encrypted you will need something else. If you can boot to Linux and see the hard disk then you can copy files you want to keep off somewhere safe, USB stick, external HD, cloud. Then you can install Linux and copy those photo's back.

Halcyon · 14-03-2022, 10:29

For a laptop that is that old I would seriously consider taking the hard drive out and hooking it up to a cheap USB to SATA caddy on another PC.
This will show the drive up as if it was a USB stick and you can then copy over whatever data is on the drive.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Adapt...dp/B08Q3932NM/

Jaymoss · 14-03-2022, 10:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcyon

For a laptop that is that old I would seriously consider taking the hard drive out and hooking it up to a cheap USB to SATA caddy on another PC.
This will show the drive up as if it was a USB stick and you can then copy over whatever data is on the drive.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Adapt...dp/B08Q3932NM/

it can be a bit of a ball ache gaining access when the OS is password protected.

pip08456 · 14-03-2022, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcyon

For a laptop that is that old I would seriously consider taking the hard drive out and hooking it up to a cheap USB to SATA caddy on another PC.
This will show the drive up as if it was a USB stick and you can then copy over whatever data is on the drive.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Adapt...dp/B08Q3932NM/

A laptop that old will probably have a PATA drive.

Jaymoss · 14-03-2022, 11:32

2007+ is easily late enough for SATA

---------- Post added at 11:32 ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 ----------

Some manufacturers were even phasing out production of PATA by mid 2007

pip08456 · 14-03-2022, 12:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

2007+ is easily late enough for SATA

---------- Post added at 11:32 ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 ----------

Some manufacturers were even phasing out production of PATA by mid 2007

Thinking about it SATA became common in laptops around 2003/4.

raging bull · 14-03-2022, 19:24

Thanks for all the suggestions!
Hospital stay awaits so on the back burner for a couple of weeks.