Remove BIOS Admin Password

[Dudefoxlive]

Hi, my friend got a laptop from rent-a-center and who ever owned it last put a Admin Password on the BIOS thus blocking access to changing the BIOS settings.  i need to remove it to gain access for a few reasons.  is there any way to do this?  i know there is suppost to be a generic password that does remove it so if anyone has a way of getting it i am all ears. 

[RileyTheFox]

1 minute ago, Dudefoxlive said:

Hi, my friend got a laptop from rent-a-center and who ever owned it last put a Admin Password on the BIOS thus blocking access to changing the BIOS settings.  i need to remove it to gain access for a few reasons.  is there any way to do this?  i know there is suppost to be a generic password that does remove it so if anyone has a way of getting it i am all ears. 

 

Take the CMOS battery out for 10 minutes and put it back in.

[Dudefoxlive]

are you sure this will work?  i need to know w method that will work.  Windows boots perfectly fine but i can't change any BIOS Settings because of an Admin Password.  i don't want to do this and it not work and also reset the BIOS to default and not be able to set it back to a bootable state.

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, Dudefoxlive said:

are you sure this will work?  i need to know w method that will work.  Windows boots perfectly fine but i can't change any BIOS Settings because of an Admin Password.  i don't want to do this and it not work and also reset the BIOS to default and not be able to set it back to a bootable state.

 

Removing the CMOS battery just clears all the BIOS settings. The BIOS settings that are different to the default ones. This won't make the laptop in an unbootable state. Trust me, I've removed CMOS batteries before and nothing has gone wrong. Yea a few settings I set were lost but it's not a problem to set them back.

[rip]

3 minutes ago, EvilCat70 said:

Take the CMOS battery out for 10 minutes and put it back in.

does laptop have cmos battery though? i heard some are soldered

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, rip said:

does laptop have cmos battery though? i heard some are soldered

They should. And if not, take the actual power battery out and let the laptop sit for a few weeks. The battery will lose its power on its own. 

[Dudefoxlive]

yes it does.  i believe the Admin password i am talking about is also called the Supervisor Password.  will it remove it and allow me to set the BIOS settings?

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, Dudefoxlive said:

yes it does.  i believe the Admin password i am talking about is also called the Supervisor Password.  will it remove it and allow me to set the BIOS settings?

No matter what, removing the CMOS battery will clear everything. Unless they write it into the actual BIOS chip which is VERY VERY unlikely.

[xAcid9]

3 minutes ago, EvilCat70 said:

No matter what, removing the CMOS battery will clear everything. Unless they write it into the actual BIOS chip which is VERY VERY unlikely.

No it wont clear BIOS password, not for laptop.

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, xAcid9 said:

No it wont clear BIOS password, not for laptop.

Why not? It's just like any other motherboard except most things are soldered onto the board...

[xAcid9]

1 minute ago, EvilCat70 said:

Why not? It's just like any other motherboard except most things are soldered onto the board...

Because BIOS password for laptop is stored in different chip, removing the CMOS battery only reset BIOS setting to default and not BIOS password.

[Dudefoxlive]

so it won't clear the supervisor password in the BIOS?

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, xAcid9 said:

Because BIOS password for laptop is stored in different chip, removing the CMOS battery only reset BIOS setting to default and not BIOS password.

The BIOS password is stored in CMOS, like any other motherboard... Or just move the 2pin PSWD jumper and it clears it...

[Dudefoxlive]

[Dudefoxlive]

im talking about the Supervisor password.  if i cant remove it then i wont do it unless i know 100% that it will remove it. if anything i know the IT at my school and i can ask her about it. 

[xAcid9]

1 minute ago, EvilCat70 said:

The BIOS password is stored in CMOS, like any other motherboard... Or just move the 2pin PSWD jumper and it clears it...

Not for laptop, or 99% of laptop out there. Some have points that you need to short out and perform some ritual to clear the BIOS password but usually it's a hit or miss. 

It's not straight forward as clearing BIOS password for desktop mainboard.

 

2 minutes ago, Dudefoxlive said:

im talking about the Supervisor password.  if i cant remove it then i wont do it unless i know 100% that it will remove it. if anything i know the IT at my school and i can ask her about it. 

What model?

[Dudefoxlive]

5 minutes ago, xAcid9 said:

Not for laptop, or 99% of laptop out there. Some have points that you need to short out and perform some ritual to clear the BIOS password but usually it's a hit or miss. 

It's not straight forward as clearing BIOS password for desktop mainboard.

 

What model?

Alienware M14x R2 i believe. 

[xAcid9]

7 minutes ago, Dudefoxlive said:

Alienware M14x R2 i believe. 

I have no idea and totally not worth the effort because it's not your laptop.

 

http://dogber1.blogspot.my/2009/05/table-of-reverse-engineered-bios.html

https://bios-pw.org

[Dudefoxlive]

1 minute ago, xAcid9 said:

I have no idea and totally not worth the effort because it's not your laptop.

 

http://dogber1.blogspot.my/2009/05/table-of-reverse-engineered-bios.html

https://bios-pw.org

funny enough i have look at both sites.  i will keep searching and try things. 

[KenjiUmino]

so someone sold a laptop with an bios password unknown to the person selling it ... thats a possible red flag right there.

 

and yes, resetting a laptops bios PW is not as easy as on a desktop mainboard.

 

i was working for a computer recycling company wich got truckloads of office PCs and laptops from companies (mostly dells and thinkpads) and resold them after wiping harddrives and resetting passwords and basic fault checking and stuff.

 

i remember we used a special password reset tool for the dells wich we had on a harddrive - i was instructed to take out the original HDD, put our HDD with the tool in and let it boot off of that, then follow a certain procedure of entering some information including the laptops serial number to get rid of the PW ... i had to follow these instructions to the letter or else it would fail to disable the pw.

 

would there have been an easier method, like unplugging a battery or shorting some jumpers, i'm sure we would have used that method instead

[Dudefoxlive]

i have some programs that might help in gaining the Master password or help disabling it.  i wish pulling the BIOS Battery out would work but i don't think it will.