[witty_username]

The grey coin-sized CMOS battery is alongside the motherboard.

I suggest you look at the many guides and videos, just search "removing BIOS password".

[_RPM]

That will work for sure? I'd have to really start taking things apart.

[jz_]

Not for sure. That trick is kinda old.

I had a Pentium III based HP laptop that stored the password on a chip that didn't require a battery to evade such a trick. The only fix was using the backdoor password that could be generated by using the serial number of the laptop (HP required proof of ownership, but I had dumpster dived this from their offices). The backdoor password was retrieved by wiring 50 USD to a fellow in the czech republic who had the keygen tool HP support would use.

[jerf]

Check HP for the service manual for your laptop. This is generally a standard goal the manual will give steps for. Usually all you need is a screwdriver of the right size and a bit of guts to pull apart bits of plastic, though I find my confidence that I'm not destroying anything is greatly enhanced when I'm following the manual and have reasonable confidence all the screws are out properly.

[whamlastxmas]

Almost certainly yes. I have taken apart many laptops, it's usually not more than 5 minutes reading a guide/video and another 5-10 minutes of work.