HP 6730s BIOS

Hi!

You guys helped me once before and i hope you can advise mi with this problem.

I have HP 6730s made in 2008. I somehow forgot my ADMIN BIOS password but i have USER BIOS password so i can change most of my settings. But the problem is that i can't flash it. Here is why i want to flash it:

I installed WIN 7 on the machine and all the latest drivers. Everything works great except brightness control. Quicklaunch buttons show animation for adjusting brightness but nothing happens. But i can adjust brightness during boot up?? But not in Windows. So i googled a bit and the only solution working for now is to flash the BIOS to new version.

Well and i can't do it cause i am so stupid to forgot the password and it is driving me crazy.
I contacted HP support and they told me to remove RTC battery. I removed it and left it out over night. (6 hours) Then i put it back and just the time and date reseted, nothing else. But the service manual says:

4. Remove the battery
5. Remove the real-time clock (RTC) battery
6. Wait approximately 5 minutes.
7. Replace the RTC battery and reassemble the computer.
8. Connect AC power to the computer. Do not reinsert any batteries at this time.
9. Turn on the computer.
All passwords and all CMOS settings have been cleared.

(I didn't connect it without the laptop battery. So can this be the reason why i couldn't reset?:confused )


So i again contacted HP chat support, and they told me about STRINGENT SECURITY. If this is enabled, password can't be erased.. But my laptop doesn't have this option. I checked all documentation that i could find and i am sure this is not an option.

Then i got some documents on HP forum about 2008 BIOS changes and futures. I read about TPM Embedded Security
Maybe that's why i can't erase password?

Well i contacted HP service here in Slovenia (europe) where i live, and they told me that they can try to remove password but it is not always successful. I told them that i removed RTC battery and then they told me thah motherboard should be replaced?? We discussed this on HP forum and everyone thinks this is absurd. I think so to cause it would cost me 3/4 price of a laptop. But HP service partners here in SLO are so lame that they won't do anything except replace mobo.

I tried program called PCCMOSCleaner. It reseted all settings but the password is still there. But i maybe screewed up my BIOS cause since then i have problems with display. When minimizing and maximizing windows, sometimes some stripes occur. It is ok if you close program and reopen, but sometimes i must restart machine to get rid of it.[/ATTACH]

So what can i do now? Any way to update BIOS even if it is locked or hack this thing for password? Is it possible to replace only chip or something? I spent last 4 days searching for solutions and i decided that i ask you for help, cause i think you are my last chance. I

I uploaded some documents HERE cause they are to big to attach them here.

Many thanks guys!

Regards,

borut

 

Hi,

I'm unsure what this means. Have you try again following the instructions exactly? Unplug, remove laptop battery, remove RTC battery, wait 5 min.,replace RTC battery, plug in to AC (laptop battery should remain disconnected) and boot. Check to see if CMOS password has been cleared.

****
Can you also post a link to your thread on the HP forum so I can read through that one?

 

Thanks for replay sach2

lol what was i writing Sorry my mistake. I meant " I connected laptop to AC power with laptop battery"



But then i read service manual and i did exactly as it says Unplug, remove laptop battery, remove RTC battery, wait 5 min.( i waited 10 min.) ,replace RTC battery, plug in to AC.(no laptop battery). And password is still on. I read that RTC battery should be out at least 30 minutes, so the all power is drained of the board but i did't try this yet. I didn't have the time to disassemble laptop again, cause i am using it.

 

Here is a link to HP forum that we discussed this

Thanks

 

5 or 10 minutes is plenty of time. You won't see any difference with 30 minutes.

I'll read the thread over there, just wanted to save you some time on disassembling since 10 minutes would have been enough time to clear CMOS.

 

Which driver Softpaq do you think controls the buttons? This one?

I ask because if you updated to the latest on your models page to the Aug 2009 release, it doesn't specifically mention your model. The one I linked to from July 2009 does list your model and Win7 as supported. Maybe trying that driver would work because the Aug version only includes a fix related to PCs running XP so it may work fine on Win7.

Or the Nov 2009 version which doesn't list the 6730s but does list the 6730b?

I'm thinking it is a lot safer to try to find a working driver than messing with the BIOS.

 

Hi!

Sorry i forgot to tell you that i have WIN 7 ultimate x64

Here is the Revision History

I have had installed Version: 6.50.3.1 (15 Jul 2009) (everything works except brightness control)

Then i installed Version: 6.50.7.1 (22 Oct 2009) - Adds support for Microsoft Windows 7 Operating Systems but my model is not listed. Just 6730b. Again everything works except brightness

Finally i tried the latest there is Version: 6.50.8.1 (17 Nov 2009) my model is not listed but resault was the same again.

Well i noticed one thing. The driver version in Device manager is v4.20.10.0 driver date 13.5.2009 and it is the same in all packages, just the version of quick launch program is different??

Here is a screenshot

And i absolutely agree with you that messing with BIOS is the last thing, but i've done a lot of searching and the only thing seems to work is to update BIOS. Well i can adjust brightness when booting the system but it is annoying, cause if you forgot to adjust you have to restart again. For now this is all i can do. For now no one seems to know how to clear this bios or retrieve the password. :/

But the thing is that i don't understand how the manufacturer can't help?? (or don't want to..) Well they built it they must know how to solve this?? I told them for brightness problem to and they could not help me. :/

 

Hm..i posted my reply but moderator have to check it? This is normal?

 

My advice is to wait a few weeks and see if HP addresses the problem in a new update since you have a working laptop and would be taking a chance trying to circumvent the BIOS security using an internet work-around. A couple of thoughts...

When you originally set up your BIOS passwords did you do it from F10 or did you use the Windows based HP Security Suite? Could Windows have saved your password in an auto-fill list?

I noticed somewhere that HP recommends an eight character or longer password for the Administrator--could you have used a familiar password and added a character or two to take it to eight digits? (as you can see I use a stupid username "sach2" because the "2" helps me remember my password)

Lastly, what exactly did HP say about resetting the password--"Well i contacted HP service here in Slovenia (europe) where i live, and they told me that they can try to remove password but it is not always successful"--what was the consequence if not successful? Was the process expensive?

From this HP document:

 

Hi!

Yes i agree that the best thing is to wait a few weeks for some updates. Hopefully HP will fix this.

When i originally set up the password i did it from F10. I set up HP SpareKey but maybe this was reseted somehow cause when i try to use it, it say that spare key has not been assigned.. So i stuck with that to.. Otherwise my laptop is 2008 platform model but can't they use this secured HP service tool to reset the system to factory default on 2008 model? Maybe but seems not here in Slovenia..

But the guy from HP support forum suggested this:

"there is a emergency flashing method you could try: have a USB FLOPPY DISK DRIVE ready and prepare a floppy or your notebook with the apporpriate softpaq. Then, power off the machine and while powering on, push WINDOWS + 'B' key. When CAPS LOCK starts flashing, your BIOS will be flashed. This does not erase NVRAM, e.g. does not reset your password, but will flash your BIOS.
And it only works with a Floppy disk"

What do you think about this option? Well the thing is that i can't do it cause i don't have USB floppy drive and i assumed that USB key is not an option..

On the other hand i tried every possible password i have an no luck for now. It i a eight character password but i must used some stupid one not to remember.

And the last one..When i contacted HP service here is Slovenia guy told me that they can try to remove it but it is not always successful. I assume that he meant removing RTC battery cause when i told him that i have already done that, he told me that they can only replace motherboard and there is nothing they can do. They would send my old mobo back to HP and i should get new one for a slightly lower price (new motheroabr costs 513$ and the discount would be 70$) But i just can not believe this is the only solution. If your car engine breaks you don't have to buy a new car. The other thing here is that here in SLO HP does not have their own service but only service partners which seems to be very lame as i can here from others. So maybe they really can't do shit about it (sorry for expression). Another irony is that my warranty expired a month ago :/ so they'll do nothing for free. Guy from the service told me that if they can remove password they would charge me about 80€ but if they can't they would still charge me 20€. Hilarious i think. Seems that i can do as much as they can (removing RTC).

 

hello, I have same problem with same model laptop ..... I forgot my password and can not reset. Please, if you managed to solve the problem tell me know before I throw out the window. Just kidding but I'm really upset because of that. Thanks in advance ()

 

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