Not at all Ubuntu MATE related save for the fact that I have Ubuntu MATE 24.04 installed on my laptop. The issue I am having is that Ubuntu is set to boot last in the BIOS. I have to choose the boot order in BIOS everytime I start up the laptop. Problem is its a second hand HP Elitebook laptop and one of the previous owners set a password on the BIOS setup. No one knows the password. I opened the laptop and took out the CMOS battery for 2 days, put it back and closed up the laptop and the password to enter BIOS is still there. It was no issue for previous owner because they used Windows and that was 1st in sequence. Any help would be appreciated, like how long should i remove the CMOS battery for?
I apologize for asking on the Ubuntu Community, but according to the net, I did the right thing. If this is against the rules, I will delete the post.
My experience with professional grade HP Laptops from my work is that the BIOS password is stored in non-volatile memory instead of in battery-backed CMOS-RAM. It is therefore almost impossible(*) to reset the BIOS password without help from HP because removing the battery won't help.
Only their business laptops have such a strong security design.
(*) If you don't want HP to help, you will need a CH341A USB EEPROM BIOS writer and a breakout clip to reflash the chip. In your case with your experience level I strongly advise against it.
The good part is that it is a professional grade HP ( business ) Laptop:
All consumer grade HP Laptops are notorious for overheating due to horrible unadequate cooling design, often worse than amateuristic.
Their business laptops are way better designed.
Anyway follow this link to get HP to help you reset the BIOS password:
Uff it is a pain to deal with I had similar trouble once with a friends' laptop and the only solution we ended up with was that we took it to the service shop for professional help but at least it was managed and dealt with
Hope it gets fixed in the end and that it doesn't cost a fortune !
Thanks to you both. I already took it to a computer shop and I can see now why they could not remove the password or reset the BIOS. Thanks again for your help
According to the HP Support forum it usually free of charge for HP business class computers. They will send a customised SMC.bin file and instructions how to reset the password using that file. The only thing needed is a USB-pendrive so I don't expect any trouble
Just finished working with HP. Unfortunately they refuse to help with BIOS resets on business laptops. In the case of a forgotten BIOS password, they said the only way is to replace the mainboard, which of course I won't do. So I will have to choose the boot options every time I restart the PC. Oh well, the laptop was free. I have replaced the battery. It is a fast performing laptop and I am able to use it. Thanks for your help!
I'm not sure if this will help if the UEFI settings are password-protected; but it's worth a shot:
There's a command on Linux called efibootmgr for modifying some standard UEFI settings from Linux -- including the boot order.
First list your current boot options and order:
efibootmgr
That command should print a line which starts with BootOrder:, and a line for each boot entry along the lines of BootXXXX. To change the boot order, look for an entry labelled "Ubuntu" or something similar, then put that entry's number at the beginning of the boot order list. For example:
