After changing date/time, laptop asks for two passwords, one for the BIOS and one for the OS.

oldfart2

I received this laptop third-hand. The original owners have passed. Nobody thought to write down the password. The CMOS battery was dead. I changed that and reset the time and date. Now, it asks for two passwords, one for the BIOS and one for the operating system. Should I replace the motherboard, or is there a way around the passwords? it has Windows Vista on it. i would love to put Win 10 on it. found out i cannot put Win 11 on it. bios instead of UEFI. i don't want to throw the laptop away like everyone tells me to.

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/715972/change-the-mother-board

It would be very helpful as we could give you more help like what Acer part numbers your mainboard etc etc, if you would tell us what model this laptop is as we are not mind readers🤣!

The model number is written on a sticker on the back of the laptop, and don't give us actual "MODEL NO,: N20C1" that is written on that sticker, as that is not what you laptop is identified by, give us the numbers that are written where the laptops S/N and SNID number are which and if its an old Aspire its an E5-551 etc etc.

If your laptop has a OS password and a bios password "and not a HDD password as then you can't get past that" then reinstalling the OS should solve the OS password issue, the bios is another case all together as we on this forum can't guide you on hacks that illegally can gain you access to any PC, so be aware of that. The only bios method that we can give you is this bios password which is not a bios hack, so try all these methods and see if all these work, otherwise you will have to buy a new mainboard and HDD to be able to get this laptop operational. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍