Hardware issue | Microsoft Community [Unofficial] | Page 1

unreal ledge Mar 28, 2026, 8:51 PM

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A while ago, I messed around on the computer that the school had given me, especially by completely formatting the SSD using another laptop. Since the BIOS is locked with a password, I can’t reinstall an OS on it. So I turned to the CH341B with the SOIC8 clip (I just grabbed the first kit I found) and opened the laptop (it’s an HP ProBook 440 G9).
But now, I was planning to dump the BIOS on my other PC running Arch, and when I went to attach the clip, I realized that the SPI ROM chip (the one I’m supposed to dump) is HUGE, and the pins are rounded and sloped. The clip just slides over the pins and only grabs the plastic part of the chip, so nothing is detected.
I’m attaching a photo of the chip, but please, I really need help to get this thing back up and running 🙏🧘‍♂️

peak spear Mar 28, 2026, 8:57 PM

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Great, you're tampering with school property. Please just hand it to your schools IT.

unreal ledge Mar 28, 2026, 10:41 PM

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Left school last year it’s mine now, they gave admin password but not bios password

gleaming loom Mar 29, 2026, 12:43 AM

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Ask them again for the bios password

twilit axle Mar 29, 2026, 6:11 AM

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you should ask your school to release BIOS password and also MDM if it existed, not recommends to tampers BIOS because it's complex and expensive

unreal ledge Mar 29, 2026, 10:44 AM

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They dont have it, the pcs are given by the region i'm in and they dont give bios passwords, i js want to know if wide soic8 clips exist

gleaming loom Mar 29, 2026, 10:46 AM

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We can't / won't help you here

#Hardware issue