Reset a BIOS Password

Have you ever been locked out of an old computer by a forgotten BIOS password? Without the password, the computer is essentially useless. Luckily, there are ways to reset it. Follow this guide to learn how.

Steps

Password Jumper

  1. Open your computer. This method is for desktop computer users. Unplug the power cord from the back of the computer. Remove the case so that you have access to the motherboard. The motherboard is the main board of the computer, everything is attached to it.
    • Be sure that you ground yourself before touching anything inside your computer, otherwise you might short a component.
  2. Find the BIOS jumper. There are dozens of jumpers on the motherboard, so be sure that you are locating the correct one. Refer to your motherboard’s documentation to double-check. The jumper covers two of the three pins that control the BIOS password.
    • The jumper may be labeled CLEAR CMOS, CLEAR, CLR, JCMOS1, PASSWORD, PSWD, etc.
    • The jumper is typically located on the edge of the motherboard or physically near the CMOS battery.
  3. Move the jumper. To reset the BIOS password, you will need to move the jumper that is covering two of the three pins. On most systems, moving the jumper over one pin will change it. For example if the jumper is covering pins 1 & 2, move it so that it is covering pins 2 & 3.
    • Some systems will reset the password if the jumper is removed completely.
  4. Turn the computer on. After booting, the BIOS password should be cleared. Turn the computer back off and replace the jumper to its original position. Replace the case and the computer is ready to be used again.

Backdoor Password

  1. Determine if you can access your CMOS jumper. Laptop users will typically be unable to access the jumper. If you are using a laptop, you will need to use a backdoor password instead. These passwords are encrypted, but can be decrypted by running special key generating scripts.
  2. Turn on the laptop. When prompted for the password, guess three times. This will lead to the System Disabled screen. Don’t worry, the system is not actually disabled, it will boot up again when the power is reset.
  3. Take note of the displayed number. You will need this to generate the BIOS backdoor password. The series may contain letters as well as numbers.
  4. Generate a password. On a working computer, visit this site and enter the code from the laptop. The program will generate a password for you. This may take a few minutes.
    • Some laptops use the serial number of the laptop itself to generate a password. Refer to the table on the More Details section in the above website to see what numbers to input.

Removing CMOS Battery

  1. Open the computer. This method only works on desktop computers. Make sure that the computer is turned off. Remove the case from your computer so that you can access the motherboard. Unplug power cable from the back of the computer so that no power is reaching the desktop.
    • Be sure that you ground yourself before touching anything inside your computer, otherwise you might short a component.
  2. Locate the CMOS battery. The CMOS battery is round and silver, much like a watch battery. Carefully remove it from its housing. Wait for 5-10 minutes so that all of the power stored in the capacitors on the motherboard can discharge.
    • You can bypass the wait time by moving the CLR_CMOS jumper to the 'clear' position while the battery is removed. If you do this, it will automatically discharge the capacitor that is storing backup power to the CMOS chip.
  3. Replace the battery. All of the BIOS settings will be reset the next time that you turn the computer on. You will need to reset the time and date in the BIOS setup menu.



Tips

  • Sometimes the BIOS reset jumper has a "handle" and is colored a bright color to make it easy to locate. Also, look in your case near the bottom. If it is a manufactured computer then it probably came with a little sticker with the jumpers and the location of the reset jumper.
  • If you're really stuck, the PC manufacturer can often give out a "reset password" if you can prove you are the owner. This works with Dell but they usually charge.
  • If you are looking for Sony PCG Series BIOS Master Password try this one: http://elektrotanya.com/?q=hu/content/sony-pcg-series-bios-master-password

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