3 ms·

There are quite a few laptops on ebay at considerable discounts because the seller doesn't know the BIOS password. This could come in handy.

sfgweilr4f 7y ago
Been a nice little side business for years. So, yeah. Considerable discounts.
selectodude 7y ago
I'm not sure buying stolen laptops is really the direction we want to go in here.
- toast0 7y ago
  Stolen is certainly one way laptops (or desktops, I suppose) get locked with unknown passwords. But I've also seen listings for government surplus with unknown passwords.
- thenewnewguy 7y ago
  Thieves are probably more likely to know how to bypass a BIO password than the legit owner.
- mschuster91 7y ago
  Stolen? I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so fast. A large source for these are mass sell-offs of old corporate or government gear after the usual 2-5 year upgrade cycle or government sales of impounded devices.
  - jotm 7y ago
    Funny story, I bought a system board on eBay that had a BIOS password on it. The seller didn't answer my messages asking for the password, so I assumed he knew there was a password, but didn't know it (and didn't say in the item description). He just ghosted me. Returning it seemed like a hassle, I really needed it and this was the only one on sale in Europe. Found the former owner of the laptop where the board came from thanks to the corporate/user name displayed on the password prompt. It was a small IT company. Contacted them on LinkedIn asking for the password and detailing the situation. Didn't get the password, but the CEO/owner of the company certainly had a surprise. Turned out one of their guys was selling parts from their laptops/hardware without permission. Suddenly, the seller on eBay found the message feature and wrote to me, saying I got them in trouble. Shouldn't have ghosted me, then? Just a "sorry, didn't know it had one" and I would've just proceeded to replace the BIOS chip, which was my plan B and it's what I ended up doing.
- m_eiman 7y ago
  Agreed. Ask to see the original receipt for anything you buy second hand.

sfgweilr4f 7y ago

Been a nice little side business for years. So, yeah. Considerable discounts.

selectodude 7y ago

I'm not sure buying stolen laptops is really the direction we want to go in here.

toast0 7y ago
Stolen is certainly one way laptops (or desktops, I suppose) get locked with unknown passwords. But I've also seen listings for government surplus with unknown passwords.
thenewnewguy 7y ago
Thieves are probably more likely to know how to bypass a BIO password than the legit owner.
mschuster91 7y ago
Stolen? I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so fast. A large source for these are mass sell-offs of old corporate or government gear after the usual 2-5 year upgrade cycle or government sales of impounded devices.
- jotm 7y ago
  Funny story, I bought a system board on eBay that had a BIOS password on it. The seller didn't answer my messages asking for the password, so I assumed he knew there was a password, but didn't know it (and didn't say in the item description). He just ghosted me. Returning it seemed like a hassle, I really needed it and this was the only one on sale in Europe. Found the former owner of the laptop where the board came from thanks to the corporate/user name displayed on the password prompt. It was a small IT company. Contacted them on LinkedIn asking for the password and detailing the situation. Didn't get the password, but the CEO/owner of the company certainly had a surprise. Turned out one of their guys was selling parts from their laptops/hardware without permission. Suddenly, the seller on eBay found the message feature and wrote to me, saying I got them in trouble. Shouldn't have ghosted me, then? Just a "sorry, didn't know it had one" and I would've just proceeded to replace the BIOS chip, which was my plan B and it's what I ended up doing.
m_eiman 7y ago
Agreed. Ask to see the original receipt for anything you buy second hand.