When I got my Spectre x360 back in 2016, I booted it into the Windows 10 it came with, played a bit around and then decided to put Linux on it. So I took a backup of all partitions, repartitioned the whole SSD and went on with Linux. Of course, I found a way to… Read More »
BIOS updates are actually done via the hidden HP_TOOLS service partition which you can get to by pressing F2 after switching on the notebook or from the Startup Menu. The update you download from the hp service page merely copies the new BIOS files to that partition. However, if you deleted that partition or switched… Read More »
Some MEDION PCs have hidden BIOS settings. To get to them, get into the BIOS and press F11. If you’re asked for a password, try am8888egh or am8888egc. Maybe you can even omit the last letter. According to a MEDION employee, there are only 2 employees who know this password. Also it shouldn’t be leaked… Read More »
To update the BIOS without Windows, install UNetBootIn and use it to put FreeDOS on a flash drive. Now extract the e.g. v.3305.zip to it and reboot the machine. Press F12 in the right moment and select your USB flash drive from the list. Press ENTER when you see the boot: prompt, then launch the… Read More »
After playing around a bit, my Aspire One (v3114) got bricked after a normal reboot (blank screen, power led and fan on, nothing else). There’s a nice recovery procedure for the BIOS at macles. Somehow an A150L with the v3114 BIOS didn’t let me update it to v3304. The Power-LED was blinking and the LED… Read More »
I found three different ways for bypassing the password-check on a Toshiba-notebook. I had no chance to test them, so I can’t promise they will work. Holding SHIFT Hold down the left SHIFT-key upon bootup – this should skip the password-check on most notebooks and on some desktop-systems. KeyDisk For this one, you will need… Read More »
Please also see this homepage for more information regarding removing passwords from IBM ThinkPads. 240 [2609] Short the jumper JP1. 310/310D/310E/310ED [2600] Use switch SW2 near CPU socket (second bit switch counting from the lowest side). ??? [2610], 365C/365CD/365CS/365CSD/365E/365ED [2625] The following procedure disables user and supervisor passwords: 355x [2619], 360x [2620], 370C/750x/755C/755CS [9545] How… Read More »
This is a short one: For skipping the password check, you have to hold down both mousebuttons after power-on until the first beep. If this doesn’t work, try to press both mousebuttons repeatedly.
Thanks to Heiko Kehr. (Everything was done according to this manual.)