Strange issues, bios password that cant be removed

[electronicsfreak]

Ok, I am working on a friends computer that is doing strange things. First off, the bios has a hard coded password in it, as ive reset it by unplugging, draining power, pulling out bios battery and letting it sit an hour. I have not been able to find a jumper to reset it that way, but I know it has been resetting with the battery, as I had to reset the time in windows.

The password in the bios will not let me change anything. Ive followed bios pages with passwords and I cant get anything to work on it. I have never before seen a computer with a password built in the bios like this. It is a dell computer. The bios name I cant find anywhere on the board, nor is it listed in the screen in the bios, at least that I can find anywhere.

Any ideas how to remove this thing? I know they have bios reset utilities, but I have never used them, nor do I know how safe they are. The rest of the problems I can probably figure out soon as I get adjust the bios.

Thanks

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[eyec]

i remember that Dell used to have a jumper to reset the password.

try searching the Dell website for the manual for your model or call their tech support #

 

[BadBigBen]

some info to look at:

How do I reset a Dell BIOS password?

http://www.tech-faq.com/dell-bios-password.shtml

Backdoor BIOS Passwords from Other Manufacturers

Reported BIOS backdoor passwords for other manufacturers include:

    Manufacturer        BIOS Password
    VOBIS & IBM         merlin
    Dell                Dell
    Biostar             Biostar
    Compaq              Compaq
    Enox                xo11nE
    Epox                central
    Freetech            Posterie
    IWill               iwill
    Jetway              spooml
    Packard Bell        bell9
    QDI                 QDI
    Siemens             SKY_FOX
    SOYO                SY_MB
    TMC                 BIGO
    Toshiba             Toshiba

Remember that what you see listed may not be the actual backdoor BIOS password, this BIOS password may simply have the same checksum as the real backdoor BIOS password. For Award BIOS, this checksum is stored at F000:EC60.

source: tech-faq.com/reset-bios-password.shtml

Dell BIOS Password Removal

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic18780.html

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."