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I have a laptop that I set a BIOS password on and have since forgotten. I decided that I want to install Ubuntu onto the computer as the main and only OS but can't boot from a CD or USB drive and I've done all I can to reset the BIOS password and I just cannot get it to work. So I'm wondering if I were to take the HDD out of the laptop and set it up in an External HDD enclosure and format that and install Ubuntu onto it from another computer and then put it back in my laptop, if that will work to install it instead of continuing the fiddle wit he BIOS password. Thank you for your help.

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I have a laptop that I set a BIOS password on and have since forgotten. (...) So I'm wondering if I were to take the HDD out of the laptop and set it up in an External HDD enclosure and format that and install Ubuntu onto it from another computer and then put it back in my laptop, if that will work to install it instead of continuing the fiddle wit he BIOS password.

It sounds like you're assuming the BIOS password is somehow stored on the hard drive, which is incorrect. If you do what you suggest, the BIOS will still be password protected. Your primary problem here is how to get rid of the BIOS password, and your proposed solution will not work. I'd guess that you probably need to get the motherboard battery out in order to reset the BIOS memory.

Furthermore, this question is in no way Ubuntu related. The first sentence tells the story:

I have a laptop that I set a BIOS password on and have since forgotten.

The BIOS is independent of what operating system you may or may not have on your harddrive.

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  • Just to complete info, Most laptops unlike desktops don't store password in BIOS CMOS. Instead, They use small EEPROM. Example some Dell models us 24XX00 family. So reset CMOS (reset switch or clock battery remove) has no effect.
    – user.dz
    Jan 28, 2014 at 13:18
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    This is Ubuntu related. He wants to install Ubuntu on a system that won't allow him to boot from USB or CD. The answers by cochisebt and @Sneetsher are correct. Jan 28, 2014 at 17:28
  • How is a working Ubuntu OS going to help him if the BIOS won't let any device boot?
    – pzkpfw
    Jan 30, 2014 at 9:05
  • @pzkpfw I know this is several years old, but for other readers; he was able to boot into the primary drive no problems. The bios password only prevented him from making bios changes, and therefore from changing the boot order (some BIOS systems have this option). Sep 6, 2017 at 22:13
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Boot using Ubuntu live CD on the other desktop. Install Ubuntu on that drive mounted as external. Ubuntu installer support USB drives.

Just avoid installing 3rd party proprietary drivers till you boot from target host. Most problems coming from Graphic drivers like NVidia & AMD/ATI ones.

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This is something that you can do, as the Linux kernel is maiden to support many different kind of material. I already did this to install it on a computer that also cannot boot on USB or CD/DVD, and it worked fine.

Just make sure you don't install 64 bit version on a computer that cannot support it.

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    is correct. Linux comes with a whole bunch of drivers included, so can adapt to new hardware easily. This is your easiest route if you cannot change the password. Jan 28, 2014 at 17:27

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