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+--- Thread: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? (/showthread.php?tid=235962)
PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - pinkoos - 12-31-2019
Looking at a used Lenovo laptop and the seller has listed it as having a "BIOS lock" but that "does not affect performance at all"
What does that mean?
Is a BIOS lock similar to the existence of a firmware password and not knowing what it is on the Mac side of things?
Curious if a BIOS locked PC is still useable, software upgradeable, able to log in to Windows, etc.
Thanks
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - MrNoBody - 12-31-2019
apparently no big deal.
Answers:
https://www.instructables.com/community/How-do-you-unlock-password-locked-BIOS-on-a-used-l/
http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-BIOS-Password
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - pinkoos - 12-31-2019
Thanks for those links
Assuming one cannot "unlock" the BIOS despite attempting the steps outlined in those links, what does a locked BIOS prevent one from doing? Is it a deal-breaker?
Thanks
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - space-time - 12-31-2019
a locked BIOS may prevent you from changing the boot drive, or making other settings such as power management, default num lock ON or OFF, etc.
I would not buy a computer with locked BIOS unless I knew it was set to the default settings, or if there were an way to defeat it.
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - RAMd®d - 12-31-2019
Bios lock is security protection for a computer.
It can prevent someone from booting from other than the internal drive, restrict the ability to use a flash drive, or basically changing the OS etc., to make it tamper resistant or having your data stolen. It might even restrict adding software such as a key logger, etc.
Obviously, you'll need the password.
If Bios-Lock is a feature on the PC you're looking at/for, no worries. I'm sure it can be toggled on or off by someone with Admin privileges.
If someone is selling you a computer, 'cheap' because it's bios-locked, you'll want to look elsewhere.
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - Filliam H. Muffman - 12-31-2019
It's borderline useless, it could be a good deal if you just want to buy it for parts (hard drive, screen, keyboard, RAM).
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - pinkoos - 12-31-2019
Ok thanks for all the replies, very helpful
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - Carm - 01-01-2020
I’ve bought a couple of off lease bios locked Dells in the past. I knew they were easy to defeat (after googling) and one seller even gave me the password after the sale. If the company is reputable I wouldn’t hesitate. Sometimes the IT department puts the bios lock to prevent booting off other drives as mentioned.
Re: PC people - what does BIOS lock mean? - JoeH - 01-01-2020
Carm wrote:
I’ve bought a couple of off lease bios locked Dells in the past. I knew they were easy to defeat (after googling) and one seller even gave me the password after the sale. If the company is reputable I wouldn’t hesitate. Sometimes the IT department puts the bios lock to prevent booting off other drives as mentioned.
From a source like a legitimate seller of used laptops coming off institutional use who can provide the PW to unlock the BIOS, I would not have a problem buying such a laptop. But a listing such as mentioned in the OP that stated things like "does not affect performance at all" , sounds just a little fishy. Best case is you get a computer that can be unlocked, worst is that it was stolen or otherwise removed improperly from an organization and that causes issues later.