HP BIOS edit serial number  

Ok dude, there is no legitimate reason anyone would want to change the serial number of a product. So right off the bat, I'm betting your story is a lie and you probably stole the motherboard or bought it stolen. The serial number is permanent and can NOT be changed. Period. Duh.

discussions of Bios hacking or manipulation are no-no in NBF. Please refrain from discussing them here

cheers ...

then u should know how to do it urself. DO IT!

thanks for stopping by

cheers ...

I am not sure why the dialog above unfolded the way it did but here is my problem and why I need to change the S/N in the BIOS.

I have a Sony VGN-SZ240P that I bought directly from Sony with an extended warranty. Six Months ago the motherboard went out and their repair guy came to my house and swapped the motherboard at my dining room table. He used all the other original parts including HD as one would expect.

I went to create a set of recovery discs and the program came back with "This program is not meant to run on your computer" I tried to use the installed Sony C:\ drive recovery utility and I got the same error.

I contacted Sony and they informed me that I had exceeded the allowed dollar value of my warranty and that they no longer provided recovery discs for my unit (XP Pro). My only option was to go buy another copy of windows and re-install the my OS and then install the Sony drivers available on Sony's support website. Seems easy enough......

I created a Sony OEM install disc from the current install of windows and backed up all the drivers (very important for the Bio-metrics). I re-installed the OS and registered it with Microsoft (all is going well). I downloaded the original software from Sony and tried to install it. I got the same error (programs not intended for you computer).

After some extensive analysis it appears that the Sony install programs read the S/N from your BIOS. The S/N is a combination of S/N and Product ID. The combination that is in my computer is not for a VGN-SZ240P. If I could update the S/N and Model in the BIOS the programs would install.

So here I sit with time but no $ on my extended warranty. A very expensive computer who's components won't work (Windows works great but no security components), and no hope of any help from the idiots at Sony even though they created the problem. I find that the tech support people really know very little.

Is it possible to edit this field or do I have a $2400 paperweight?

anything inside the machine can be changed, modified or replaced. The trick is which ones of these processes can be done by users/owners themselves, and which ones must be performed by the manufacturers.

in your legit case, i would personally recommend that u wrote a letter, get it escalated to have Sony taking back ur system to re-programme it. It is inconvenient, but it is the best way to handle the situation.

Official techies would do the same thing; and hackers can probably be found elsewhere on the net.

Best of luck in pounding Sony.

cheers ...

Thanks for the reply.....I am not sure I want to pursue a hack....I think I am more up for a fight with Sony

Thanks

If you still have the original motherboard, all you have to do is swap over the BIOS chip and you are done...

I have the same issue as those above for the same reason. I had a computer shop (that is now 2000 miles away) install a new mobo in my Sony Vaio vgn-ar150g. All was fine until I went to install Windows 7, and lo and behold, the same error message. As stated above, the Sony updates use the machine serial number in the bios to install, as does the factory restore discs.... Didn't know this until I went to update... now I'm stuck in El Paso nowhere near a Sony service Center...

Anyone have any ideas for this?

Best idea would probably be to install a Sony BIOS emulator, which is usually used as part of Windows Genuine Advantage cracks. Of course, however, this may or may not screw with your legitimate activation. Alternatively just manually download and install whatever "updates" you need.

^^ Long time no "see" dr/owned. Nice having you back and do come in more often.

cheers ...

I'm still subscribed to all my threads from a while back so I figured what the hell, might as well post again

And we are glad of your "what the hell" feeling ;-) Welcome back. Your inputs will surely be needed.

cheers ...

Unfortunately, the updates I need are all Sony .exe files that access the Bios to confirm the model number through the serial number located in the bios. There are no device driver updates I can manually load. Especially as the Sony Shared Library carries the drivers for the sound card to access the onboard speakers.

So, I am screwed. I will have to take it to a Sony Repair Center and pay w/e they decide to have them correct my serial number bios issue. Thank you for the idea though!

Imho

Dear Geeky & Nerdy

 

Why someone may want to change serial numbers

 

Somehow the seria#l, product# and warranty date on my HP CQ61-420 notebook was lost.

 

I would like to restore the correct info

 

MS now thinks I have a bogus win7 and I cannot get rid of the constant message.

 

Looks  like the serial is tied  into the win7 reg #

 

my bios HPQOEM-3 version f.10

 

thanks

 

 

Does your Windows version matches the COA key underneath the notebook? That is where Microsoft goes by

cheers ...

 

Actually, the OP gave a completely legitimate reason to change the serial number in the BIOS. Any time you get a new or different motherboard for an HP notebook, you have to input or change the serial number to match the serial number on the chassis, which is the serial number the repalcement board should have once installed. There's nothing illegal or illegitimate about it. In fact, as an HP ASP I routinely do this procedure on replacement motherboards.

 

The only one whose demonstrated ignorance is you and the irony is hilarious...that you ended with a Duh!

 

 

here is the reason for changing serial #

 

a virus got into my system and changes the serial # & sku # which I would like to correct

 

microsoft now thinks I have counterfit win7 op sys

Right on