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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: gronk on December 02, 2017, 04:46:10 PM
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I have been given a laptop, HP Elite Book , thinking 5 yrs old ?
But it is protected by a password to open it.....and no it's not stolen. It has office stuff on it that I don't want if I get it open, but the question is.......is it worth worrying about ?
Can I open it easily and if I can, do I just delete everything on it and start again, or throw it in the bin because one it is getting old and two it's in the too hard basket ?
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You could do a factory reset and wipe the whole thing. I think that bypasses the password.
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New install including formatting the hard drive will solve your issues like #jonesy said. You can download Windows using the product code (it's on the sticker on the back of the laptop normally). If it's Win 7 or later you can probab;y upgrade to Win 10 for free too if you wan tto.
Or do what I did and re-image it to use Linux. There are a heap out there that work well as a Windows replacement. I use Ubuntu FWIW.
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New install including formatting the hard drive will solve your issues like #jonesy said. You can download Windows using the product code (it's on the sticker on the back of the laptop normally). If it's Win 7 or later you can probab;y upgrade to Win 10 for free too if you wan tto.
Or do what I did and re-image it to use Linux. There are a heap out there that work well as a Windows replacement. I use Ubuntu FWIW.
All I know is it's win 7.......but how do you do anything to it if you need a password to get past the initial startup screen ?
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You mean it has a BIOS password...
See what model HP it is and see what they are going for on Ebay.. probably not worth the effort
you could try https://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-BIOS-Password (https://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-BIOS-Password)
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You mean it has a BIOS password...
See what model HP it is and see what they are going for on Ebay.. probably not worth the effort
you could try https://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-BIOS-Password (https://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-BIOS-Password)
Ha ha, don't even know what BIOS means......but it seems to be a site specific password, but the businees told my daughter (who I aquired the laptop off ) that they won't supply the password, but feel free to delete the system and start again. The bin looks a good option at the moment !!
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Ha ha, don't even know what BIOS means......but it seems to be a site specific password, but the businees told my daughter (who I aquired the laptop off ) that they won't supply the password, but feel free to delete the system and start again. The bin looks a good option at the moment !!
Hang on to it and I,ll bet someone will be able to use it. Would be quite adequate for e-mails and web browsing.
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Hang on to it and I,ll bet someone will be able to use it. Would be quite adequate for e-mails and web browsing.
That's all I use a computer for......is there anything else ? Lol
But no use to me if I can't access it.
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You could try replacing the Hard drive.
But from the sound of things, you'd need help with that as well as what software to load onto it.
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Easiest way is to use a windows CD. Boot it up with the CD in and tell it to wipe the drive and install windows.
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Hang on to it and I,ll bet someone will be able to use it. Would be quite adequate for e-mails and web browsing.
I use mine as a TV when I'm away. I've a 3TB HDD with a movie or 2 on it as well as a heap of TV episodes etc., it's not that hard.Easiest way is to use a windows CD. Boot it up with the CD in and tell it to wipe the drive and install windows.
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That'd be another way as well.
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Does it boot up to a screen that says Windows 7?
If so, it's easy to wipe and install a new operating system.
I work for HP, and it's a b1tch to wipe a power on password from the BIOS to be honest.
Depending on the model, an elite book will run Windows 10 better than Windows 7, and Ubuntu or Linux Mint even better
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Does it boot up to a screen that says Windows 7?
If so, it's easy to wipe and install a new operating system.
I work for HP, and it's a b1tch to wipe a power on password from the BIOS to be honest.
Depending on the model, an elite book will run Windows 10 better than Windows 7, and Ubuntu or Linux Mint even better
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I'll get back to you this arvo mate after I fire it up. After googling the model, it appears to be a good business laptop.....even if getting a bit old.
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Take a photo of the password screen and post it, we can then confirm what it is.
If it is 5 years old it should be easyish to swap the HDD for a flash drive. That will give it another 5 years of life.
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Take a photo of the password screen and post it, we can then confirm what it is.
If it is 5 years old it should be easyish to swap the HDD for a flash drive. That will give it another 5 years of life.
^^ this...
I put an SSD on my old elite book after its lease ran out and boss gave it to me, and it's exceptionally fast now...
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There are password programs around that might work. Do a search and try a few. Won't hurt and doesn't cost anything.
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Gronk, are you letting it boot until it asks you for a password? Or are you interrupting the boot?
If you're waiting, you will need to get a new copy of the Windows install media (can download from windows.com) on either a CD or a USB. Interrupt the boot (normally by pressing F12 or F9 on most computers) so you can select where to boot from. You have to be pretty quick to see which button to press, but the positive is once you see it, just press it repeatedly as soon as you power on the PC and you'll trip it and open the boot menu.
When you've done this you just walk through the install process and you can format the drive as a part of this. You'll lose all data that was on the computer, but you've already said you don't care about that. You might have to re-install some of the device drivers once you've installed the fresh Windows OS, but that's pretty easy to do.
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Comes up with a blue screen, windows 7 enterprise, and a msg...press CTRL + ALT +DELETE to log on......do that and a name comes up\jrp and a password below it. Has a tab, switch user and another 2 options...other user and insert smart card.
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OK, you need to boot it off a DVD/USB with a replacement OS and rebuild. Does it have a MSFT CoA sticker on the underneath? If so what's the version?
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OK, you need to boot it off a DVD/USB with a replacement OS and rebuild. Does it have a MSFT CoE sticker on the underneath? If so what's the version?
??? It's got a microsoft sticker with HP and some numbers and a product key with numbers, but I don't know what version it is ??
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It says windows 7 Pro ?
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It says windows 7 Pro ?
Is that the version ?
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Is that the version ?
Yes.. insert a windows CD and do a complete new installation...
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-clean-install-windows-7-2624917 (https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-clean-install-windows-7-2624917)
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Yes.. insert a windows CD and do a complete new installation...
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-clean-install-windows-7-2624917 (https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-clean-install-windows-7-2624917)
Now although this part seems easy, where do I aquire a windows CD ???
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Now although this part seems easy, where do I aquire a windows CD ???
Put in your product key and download an ISO image you can burn to a DVD or USB stick for free:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows7 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows7)
Then you can boot off the DVD or USB to reinstall...
USB is a bit faster, but both will do the job...
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Thanks.....I'll see tomorrow if my laptop has the guts to download it.
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That laptop will run Windows 10 just fine, and the code from Windows 7 Pro will still activate it.
Much better option than Windows 7
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As Drewxt said, the laptop should run windows 10 OK, I have just set up win 10 on a laptop for a friend of mine, she bought it in Sept 11, the link I've posted will let you download win 10 ISO file, since you are probably downloading on another system, use the option to create install media for installation to a different system
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10)
If the dvd works OK in the laptop you are going to install Win10 too, you may be better off creating the media to a DVD as sometimes the USB option can cause problems on older units, you won't be required to provide the key (numbers) from the win 7 sticker until you start installing win 10, the link provided is to the latest version of Win 10, a secondary benefit of burning the ISO file to a DVD is that it can be used for other Win 10 installs to other systems
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Thanks again, if my present laptop has the room and capacity (its 5yrs old as well ) I'll be onto it...
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Thanks again, if my present laptop has the room and capacity (its 5yrs old as well ) I'll be onto it...
I run windows 10 on that model of laptop... Runs fine :)
USB install works as well fwiw
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using Gronks CD key
Error
The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options
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using Gronks CD key
Error
The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options
might be able to perform a recovery/reinstall, without the need for HP-specific recovery discs:
https://support.hp.com/au-en/document/bph07143
under the heading: "Recovering your computer without an HP recovery kit"
if the recovery partition is still available, that is...
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I'd be installing Windows 10 this way
https://www.cnet.com/au/how-to/microsoft-windows-10-free-upgrade-offer-assistive-features/
Works like a charm
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I'd be installing Windows 10 this way
https://www.cnet.com/au/how-to/microsoft-windows-10-free-upgrade-offer-assistive-features/ (https://www.cnet.com/au/how-to/microsoft-windows-10-free-upgrade-offer-assistive-features/)
Works like a charm
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Only one problem mate....how do I upgrade when I can't open the laptop ??
The laptop I'm on now ( 5yr old Toshiba Satellite ) had the death screen after trying a win10 install, so it stays on win7 until a new laptop comes along ( not the HP I'm trying to get going )
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Go buy windows 10 from Hardly normal and you'll have a disk you can use for years :D
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Only one problem mate....how do I upgrade when I can't open the laptop ??
The laptop I'm on now ( 5yr old Toshiba Satellite ) had the death screen after trying a win10 install, so it stays on win7 until a new laptop comes along ( not the HP I'm trying to get going )
You can use the Toshiba to create a bootable Windows 10 installer
I'll see if I can find a blank DVD and burn it, and mail it to you if you would like?
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Go buy windows 10 from Hardly normal and you'll have a disk you can use for years :D
Did you say BUY ???? $175........that's about $100 more than I would like to pay.. ;D I've got long arms, but they still don't reach to the bottom of my pockets very often !! ;D
I reckon the local computer repair bloke could throw win10 on for less than that ??
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You can use the Toshiba to create a bootable Windows 10 installer
I'll see if I can find a blank DVD and burn it, and mail it to you if you would like?
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If the bootable installer is the same as bkim's link above, I'd have to check if my Toshiba has the room to download it.
A DVD would be great if you want to go to the trouble !!
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using Gronks CD key
Error
The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options
As Bird has stated, the laptop apparently has an OEM windows version installed so the key may not activate a new install of windows 10, an oem version is not transferable to a different computer where a retail version is, but it MAY allow the oem install to be replaced with a later version of windows.
I haven't as yet, been required to do a new install over an oem version of windows 7 to win 10, I have successfully reinstalled win 8.1 to my cousin's Sony oem windows laptop after her hard drive died, using a win 8.1 ISO file downloaded from Microsoft and burnt to a DVD.
The download from the link I provided is around the 4 GB size (didn't actually check) but will burn to a standard DVD, some of the early downloads of win 10 wouldn't fit and required a dual layer DVD or 16GB USB.
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PM sent Gronk, I've burnt you a DVD, but need your address
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A big thanks to DrewXT......the old HP elitebook is up and running with win10 installed.
Also a big thanks to Aus Post......I think it took 8 days to get a small envelope from Victoria to NSW...top job boys !! ;D ;D
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A big thanks to DrewXT......the old HP elitebook is up and running with win10 installed.
:cup: :cup: :cup:
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A big thanks to DrewXT......the old HP elitebook is up and running with win10 installed.
Also a big thanks to Aus Post......I think it took 8 days to get a small envelope from Victoria to NSW...top job boys !! ;D ;D
he probably paid priority post
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he probably paid priority post
Daughter in law bought a small thing from Harrods last week......took 3 days to get here !!
Couple of yrs ago I bought a Fiskars from Amazon USA....East coast......on a Thursday evening, arrived Monday arvo !!
So, 8 days from Victoria isn't so bad ...is it ?????? ??? ???
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You're very welcome mate, glad to help :)
Aussie post are terrible at the moment. Been waiting 11 days for 2 birthday cards for the kids to come from their grandparents in NSW.
Would usually be 2-3 days
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