technology

22683 readers

1 users here now

On the road to fully automated luxury gay space communism.

Spreading Linux propaganda since 2020

Rules:

1. Obviously abide by the sitewide code of conduct. Bigotry will be met with an immediate ban
2. This community is about technology. Offtopic is permitted as long as it is kept in the comment sections
3. Although this is not /c/libre, FOSS related posting is tolerated, and even welcome in the case of effort posts
4. We believe technology should be liberating. As such, avoid promoting proprietary and/or bourgeois technology
5. Explanatory posts to correct the potential mistakes a comrade made in a post of their own are allowed, as long as they remain respectful
6. No crypto (Bitcoin, NFT, etc.) speculation, unless it is purely informative and not too cringe
7. Absolutely no tech bro shit. If you have a good opinion of Silicon Valley billionaires please manifest yourself so we can ban you.

founded 4 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

So annoyed that BIOS is totally locked down on a used laptop.. impossible to install linux (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

48 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My friend gave me their old laptop before they left town. I was going to install linux on it and use it for a server.

I have basically given up doing anything because the BIOS is locked with a Secure Boot supervisor password which I guess they forgot about being there.

I've sent a message asking if they happen to remember it and would feel comfortable sharing it if it is not one they use for anything else. But the odds of both those things being the case are slim and I don't feel good about trying to get someone to share any password. Especially since it was so kind to just give me the machine in the first place. It's not practical to physically get the device and the person together in the near future.

It's impossible (or past my skill level) to install linux on this thing without the freaking password. I did manage to install windows. Last time I did that it was win2k. It will boot OK but I can't use that to circumvent the lock. But Ubuntu and a couple other distros are no gos.

It is so fucked that computers can be rendered bricks like this. Obviously yet another way to design in obsolescence disguised as a security feature. Encryption is one thing; this is independent of any data.

Gaaaaaah I spent most of the weekend trying to install linux on this otherwise perfectly functional machine. I think it's toast though.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Modern dell machines will require you to call in to support, where you give part of the serial and they give you a master unlock.

Gone are the days of the cmos reset. The sysadmin at work was fired for being racist, then asked for a consultants fee to unlock the machines he didn't write down the passwords for.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My machine is Acer and apparently you can bring it to an "acer service centre" (whatever that is) and they will fix for a fee rumored to be about $100.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

They're probably talking about a bestbuy or equivalent