This page summarizes an extended attempt to remove a BIOS password from a used HP ProBook laptop. The project ultimately failed, but provided valuable insights into modern BIOS security and brute‑force limitations.

A second‑hand HP ProBook was purchased with a locked-down Windows 10 installation. The BIOS was protected by an unknown administrator password set by a cyber‑school IT department. Although the system could be wiped and reinstalled, the BIOS settings remained inaccessible.

Older systems allowed BIOS password resets by:

• clearing CMOS jumpers
• removing the RTC battery
• resetting configuration RAM

Modern HP ProBooks store the password in a separate rewritable ROM. Therefore, CMOS resets do not remove the password.

HP officially offers a master unlock key, but only to large enterprise customers. Regular users receive no assistance.

Several methods were explored:

Many videos claim to show reset methods, but none worked for this model.

HP provides a Windows tool that can modify BIOS settings, but it requires knowing the current password — making it useless in this case.

A GitHub project attempted to brute-force the password via the HP utility. The program could not be executed successfully, and others reported similar issues.

A custom Python script was created to:

• read password candidates from a list
• call the HP BIOS utility
• attempt to clear the password
• log each result

Each attempt took about 9 seconds, making brute force extremely slow.

Initial lists:

• 50,000 common passwords → no success
• 100,000 passwords → no success

Expanded lists:

• 500,000 generated candidates (with leetspeak variations)
• another 500,000 unique candidates

Total runtime:

• ~52 days for each 500k batch
• nearly 6 months of continuous testing

No password was ever found.

Despite months of effort, the BIOS password could not be cracked. The project is considered a “successful failure”:

• the laptop now runs Debian Linux without issues
• the process provided experience with scripting, automation, and AI-assisted coding
• it highlighted the robustness of modern HP BIOS security

The original project included:

• Python script for sequential password testing
• Python script for generating 1 million password candidates
• HP BIOS Configuration Utility

(See original source for downloads.)

Modern HP ProBook BIOS passwords are extremely resistant to brute-force attacks. Without the original password or HP enterprise support, unlocking the BIOS is effectively impractical. This project demonstrates both the limits of brute force and the value of experimentation.