On Tue, 2002-11-19 at 01:39, Kent West wrote: > Mark L. Kahnt wrote: > > >Anyone remember how to clear a password on a BIOS? I've got a box from a > >client that has stopped booting from CD, and this client is ready to > >move to dual-booting but this is his main desktop box and it needs some > >cuffing around the BIOS. The password was put on by the vendor of the > >box, who then went broke three months later. I need to get Windows > >working (certain key files were clobbered by yet another virus - > >including explorer.exe - likely others, but I'm finding them > >one-at-a-time) to at least extract some key data before re-partitioning, > >and currently, for some strange reason, Windows can't see the cd-rom at > >all (while 2DiskXWin does, so I know that the hardware is okay - only M$ > >is $crewed ;) > > > >Yeah, it's all complicated - simply put, I need to clear the BIOS > >password, and I've forgotten the normal trick (other than removing the > >battery and disconnecting the power supply, and hoping the CMOS is > >static RAM rather than EEPROM - which one guy I know used a number of > >years back for his garage-built line of boxes.) > > > > > Some older machines (486's and before) allowed you to hold down the > INSERT key during the POST which would reset the BIOS to the defaults. > Of course, this is absolutely useless information for more modern > machines, but thought I'd throw it out there for everyone's consumption. > > If the machine will boot off CD, you can pop in a KNOPPIX CD and use it > to get to the network and save your data off the hard drive this way. If > it won't boot off the CD but will boot off the floppy, Tom's Root Boot > might be of value. > > But simply taking the hard drive out and putting it in another machine > temporarily would probably be the quickest, easiest way to back up > whatever you need. > > Like others have said; pop out the CMOS battery and then short the > socket terminals with a 10-ohm resistor to reset the BIOS (or if you're > feeling brave, just put the battery in with reverse polarity for > half-a-second or so -- I don't recommend this, but my hardware guru does > it all the time and it seems to work for him). If you don't drain the > capacitors in this way, it could be days before the BIOS resets just by > simply removing the battery. > > Or find the reset jumper; look for markings on the motherboard, > different color jumpers, and/or the manufacturer's web site. > > Kent As I'd mentioned, the main reason I want to do this is that the machine has stopped booting from CD. I want to go into the BIOS and change the boot order temporarily. In the meantime, I can get Wind'ohs through to a safe mode command prompt to get to data files, and I have Red Hat with a boot floppy now which can mount everything. All that said, I need a working Wind'ohs on this box in order to defrag cleanly, re-partition and install Linux in dual boot. I'm not going to play around with Knoppix here, partly because I'm the guy that hasn't been able to get the iso to download for it. I do have Red Hat with a boot floppy, and that is working on his machine at present in rescue mode. -- Mark L. Kahnt, FLMI/M, ALHC, HIA, AIAA, ACS, MHP ML Kahnt New Markets Consulting Tel: (613) 531-8684 / (613) 539-0935 Email: kahnt@hosehead.dyndns.org
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