BIOS fails to restart on HP ProBook 440 G8 model.
BIOS fails to restart on HP ProBook 440 G8 model.
Hello everyone, To clarify the details further, my school (actually my region, Pays de la Loire in France) provided us with a PC for all students. It’s an HP Probook 440 G8, featuring a Pentium Gold G7505 processor and a 1366x768 screen instead of the standard 1080p base model. I discovered a way to gain partial administrator privileges—thanks to Chrome’s “managed by your organization” setting—and I’m eager to access the BIOS to customize Windows fully, since a fresh install didn’t succeed. I won’t delete the M.2 SSD or wipe the main drive right now; if they disable auto-detection from the BIOS, it might fail to recognize the new disk. I tested removing the battery and the RTC battery overnight, and when I tried booting in BIOS, it asked me to set the system time. It doesn’t display an error code when I enter three incorrect passwords, so I can’t access the website for changing them. Attached is a photo of the laptop, and let me know if you need any more information.
Hey, I understand you're in the same area as me and I'm excited about getting a new laptop. (I'll speak English since we're on an English site) I'm honest with you, I can't help directly, but maybe you can assist me? What do you mean by a loophole to gain partial admin access? Can you install programs on it? That's what I'm aiming for. How did you manage to do that? I've already tried it on my personal computer using Linux to access the Windows folder and edit EaseOfAccessDialog.exe, replacing it with a file explorer or whatever I want. But I'm struggling and get input/output errors, so I'm looking for another approach. Can you explain it clearly?
Yes, but you know, after the highschool, they take the laptop and then grant you admin rights, but the thing is, they will see what you did, and you're not supposed to do that. Oh, and, can you boot of an USB drive using the BIOS ? If yes, then I could use Linux to change some files, I managed to get it work on my personnal computer, so if I can boot of my USB drive I could run the cmd as an admin on these laptops.
You can't power off using a USB drive because the BIOS is secured. I performed the W11 setup on my main computer. (Don’t worry, I created a full backup of the original OS so we can restore it if needed.) I also experimented with the locked version of Windows 10 and discovered this method to access the admin command prompt—only effective during the locked screen after unlocking your session; otherwise it won’t work.
In all situations, I can modify system files via the driver installation process—perfect! Amazing! Regarding backing up an SSD that already runs the OS, there’s a risk of damaging the OS or the drive if not done correctly. Installing W11 afterward is possible, but it depends on your specific setup.
I removed the cover and extracted the M.2 SSD. Luckily, my main PC has an M.2 port, so I inserted it and logged into my Pays de le Loire email on the Microsoft site (the BitLocker keys were required at first, you won’t be able to boot until then). I made a folder and copied all relevant files. Once the copy was done, I formatted the SSD properly and used the W11 installation key. After turning off the PC, unplugging the three drives I use daily (only the M.2 SSD and the W11 key remained), I checked the BIOS to confirm detection. Then I booted from the USB drive, which installed everything automatically. When I powered off and removed the SSD, it reported the changes were applied. Just note it won’t activate because it wasn’t linked to any account (W11 Home was installed).
It feels odd in the locked screen since you can reset it, yet the same action triggers an access denial once the session starts.