Nice video with clear explanation. I got the password removed from the bios from my fz-g1 by using CH341A USB adapter and the explanation from the video. The bios and the Windows 10 had an unknown password. I couldn't do anything with the tablet. Without a bios password, it can boot from USB again and install a new Windows on it. Super happy!
Hi Walter, could you share what version you use to read and flash the chip? I tryed almost all ch341a versions avaiable and none of them has the N25Q128A. Auto detect always result in bad backup. My programmer works, just tested Winbond chip. Thanks in advance
Hello, first of all I love the video. A friend asked me if I can reinstall WINDOWS on two of his devices and I was only able to reset WIN10, but BIOS was locked with no idea what the password was. I followed every step, even bought a CH341A programmer, a mini soldering iron, etc. Tried to edit the password but from "60 6B" back it had 128 characters as a password (not 64) and only zeros before and after it. No "60 6B" in between. Also the locked BIOS dump topmost string when opened was not called UEFI Image....it was called INTEL IMAGE and inside one can find the BIOS REGION and in there was NVRAM with the 128bit password. Removed the password, burned the image, soldered back on the PCB and... only green light comes on and I can charge the battery. No fan spin, no boot up sequence. Tomorrow will dismantle, desolder and re-flash with the old image (backup). Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
Thanks. Unfortunately these BIOS layouts are very manufacturer, and even model specific. There is no standard set of addresses that can be used. What I've shown in this vid likely will *only* apply to the FZ-G1 A model ToughPads' BIOS address location layout. Similar model ToughPads may differ only slightly, whereas some later ToughPad models will be completely and entirely different. I would suggest to restore the backup copy of the BIOS, if you made one, in order to redo the attempt when more applicable information is found. If you don't have a backup, then the only option now is to look for a pre-programmed replacement BIOS flash chip for the specific make and model you have. These can be found on eBay as mentioned in the description, for example.
Awesome video man! Thanks! Will something like this work for a CF-AX3? Is the location of the password the same? Thanks! Managed to do it! It was not exactly the same, but very similar to yours, following your video + the link in the description I got it! Just replaced it with 00s and voila! No more password! Thanks again man! Life saver!
Hi there, just saw this video because it just so happens that I literally just got a CF-53 and it has the dreaded bios password lock soo I'm stuck on that but the laptop does boot into windows. Only reason I want to get into the bios is because I cannot see the cd/ DVD drive but it does have one installed, so I was thinking that maybe it was disabled in the bios, at least that's what I think. I was thinking of going this route that you took with the tablet just a bit afraid because the same thing happened about 8 years ago with a 19 model and I kind of messed up the chip and board 🙄😬, but since now I pretty much do this on a daily basis (soldering small chips) I figured that now it shouldn't be a problem. I checked the link regarding the toughbook but I would like to get your opinion please. Thank you
Alot of times these lower level techniques only apply to one model, or a specific year range of a model. Then the addresses change and the technique is no longer applicable. I haven't looked at a ToughBook, only this early model ToughPad. Your mileage may vary, or it could be directly applicable. Couldn't say.
I have this tablet, bricked. I cannot access Windows or the bios, I'm about to start buying the USB reader for this, but will the sequence 5b bf b6 9b be the same?
This kind of procedure is very motherboard/model dependent, but it should be the same for any Panasonic ToughPad FZ-G1A (first generation) model. The data will of course be unique to each ToughPad, as each password is different. Only the addresses will be the same.
I did brick my battery trying to add new(with more capacity) cells, do you know how I can flash the original firmware so that it resets? i'm SURE that there is nothing wrong with the battery or its BMS, it stopped working after I tried to calibrate it and it detected that the capacity was way higher than original. thank you very much for sharing
For these ToughPads, this is the only way. This was intentionally designed to be hard. A ToughPad is a commercial device, not a consumer one. So an enterprise would want it to remain a brick if stolen. But if you're the legal owner now, and the password has been forgotten, then this video helps you get it reset.
You need the gear I go over here. This is supposed to be hard to do to protect the device from theft. The ToughPad isn't a consumer device, it's a high end special purpose commercial tablet. But if you are a professional unlocking the tablet for the legal owner, this video shows you how.
Nice video with clear explanation. I got the password removed from the bios from my fz-g1 by using CH341A USB adapter and the explanation from the video. The bios and the Windows 10 had an unknown password. I couldn't do anything with the tablet. Without a bios password, it can boot from USB again and install a new Windows on it. Super happy!
Hi Walter, could you share what version you use to read and flash the chip?
I tryed almost all ch341a versions avaiable and none of them has the N25Q128A. Auto detect always result in bad backup. My programmer works, just tested Winbond chip. Thanks in advance
You managed to do it without the first bit he did in amitsesetup?
Hello, first of all I love the video. A friend asked me if I can reinstall WINDOWS on two of his devices and I was only able to reset WIN10, but BIOS was locked with no idea what the password was. I followed every step, even bought a CH341A programmer, a mini soldering iron, etc. Tried to edit the password but from "60 6B" back it had 128 characters as a password (not 64) and only zeros before and after it. No "60 6B" in between. Also the locked BIOS dump topmost string when opened was not called UEFI Image....it was called INTEL IMAGE and inside one can find the BIOS REGION and in there was NVRAM with the 128bit password. Removed the password, burned the image, soldered back on the PCB and... only green light comes on and I can charge the battery. No fan spin, no boot up sequence. Tomorrow will dismantle, desolder and re-flash with the old image (backup). Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
Thanks. Unfortunately these BIOS layouts are very manufacturer, and even model specific. There is no standard set of addresses that can be used. What I've shown in this vid likely will *only* apply to the FZ-G1 A model ToughPads' BIOS address location layout. Similar model ToughPads may differ only slightly, whereas some later ToughPad models will be completely and entirely different.
I would suggest to restore the backup copy of the BIOS, if you made one, in order to redo the attempt when more applicable information is found. If you don't have a backup, then the only option now is to look for a pre-programmed replacement BIOS flash chip for the specific make and model you have. These can be found on eBay as mentioned in the description, for example.
Saved my admin locked CF-D1 Toughbook. It was easy just to flash the modified rom to the computer. Thanks a LOT!!!!!
What a great video. This is the tutorial I was searching for and it saved me thousands. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.
You are very smart guy ...
Awesome video man! Thanks!
Will something like this work for a CF-AX3? Is the location of the password the same? Thanks!
Managed to do it! It was not exactly the same, but very similar to yours, following your video + the link in the description I got it! Just replaced it with 00s and voila! No more password!
Thanks again man! Life saver!
Wow. That is a great video. Thank You. Sure learned a lot.appreciate your time and knowledge
Thank you very much everything worked out I’m very happy
Very strange, I have FZ-G1 with supervisor password but AMITSESetup section is filled by zeroes :(
What temp to you have you soldering iron set at? And thank you for your video and help
Usually 350 degrees C
Dr. Shock, can you do one for the FZ-55 Toughbook? although there may not be a way!
Nice
God Bless Sir. 🙏🖖💯👌 THANK.S. TH.ANKS. THANKS
nice video, does it work the same on a fz-g1 mk2?
yes it did work tyfm
I am having a problem with a CF D1NW200TZ, is there any help you can offer?
Thank you
Hi there, just saw this video because it just so happens that I literally just got a CF-53 and it has the dreaded bios password lock soo I'm stuck on that but the laptop does boot into windows.
Only reason I want to get into the bios is because I cannot see the cd/ DVD drive but it does have one installed, so I was thinking that maybe it was disabled in the bios, at least that's what I think.
I was thinking of going this route that you took with the tablet just a bit afraid because the same thing happened about 8 years ago with a 19 model and I kind of messed up the chip and board 🙄😬, but since now I pretty much do this on a daily basis (soldering small chips) I figured that now it shouldn't be a problem.
I checked the link regarding the toughbook but I would like to get your opinion please.
Thank you
Alot of times these lower level techniques only apply to one model, or a specific year range of a model. Then the addresses change and the technique is no longer applicable. I haven't looked at a ToughBook, only this early model ToughPad. Your mileage may vary, or it could be directly applicable. Couldn't say.
Never mind, didn't realize there was also the chip replacement.
thx
I have this tablet, bricked. I cannot access Windows or the bios, I'm about to start buying the USB reader for this, but will the sequence 5b bf b6 9b be the same?
This kind of procedure is very motherboard/model dependent, but it should be the same for any Panasonic ToughPad FZ-G1A (first generation) model. The data will of course be unique to each ToughPad, as each password is different. Only the addresses will be the same.
I did brick my battery trying to add new(with more capacity) cells, do you know how I can flash the original firmware so that it resets? i'm SURE that there is nothing wrong with the battery or its BMS, it stopped working after I tried to calibrate it and it detected that the capacity was way higher than original. thank you very much for sharing
No, not familiar with that procedure. Just how to remove the BIOS password for this particular Panasonic tablet model.
What I don’t get is is it really impossible to find out the bios password ? What happens if it just has 4 digits ?
For these ToughPads, this is the only way. This was intentionally designed to be hard. A ToughPad is a commercial device, not a consumer one. So an enterprise would want it to remain a brick if stolen. But if you're the legal owner now, and the password has been forgotten, then this video helps you get it reset.
Hello, do you have a procedure for performing this operation on a CF-53?
No, but you might try the references in the video description.
how can i remove my cf 33 bios password
Hey, i have a Lenovo ThinkPad 10 2nd generation tablet. it has a different BIOS. Any idea how to remove this password?
No, there's really no standards here. Varies from manufacturer to manufacturer depending on who wrote their BIOS and at what level.
Hey dr shrock do u work on these for people ?
No, sorry just share how to.
Where did u find the black one @
Special bid run by Panasonic for a government agency. Purchased via surplus sale.
Do I need that specials hardwere or is there snternsgive way
You need the gear I go over here. This is supposed to be hard to do to protect the device from theft. The ToughPad isn't a consumer device, it's a high end special purpose commercial tablet. But if you are a professional unlocking the tablet for the legal owner, this video shows you how.
Battery recall !! So what's now ? Which battery is suitable? There is nothing for sale except FZ-VZSU84U!
can't you just clear nvram?
Nope, passwords on ToughPads are not stored in NVRAM. They are _tougher_ ;-)
I have a Panasonic toughbook CF30 that BIOS is in user mode.
a password appears in hexa and it does not appear when reading the bios and deleting it
hello Sir, is thie posible for Panasonic CF D1 ????? i forget my BISO password ?? ty
Ok if don't have hard drive how to do
IM STRUGGLING WITH THE SEQUENCE I CANT FIN THE 606B