dell laptop bios password?

[getyourbiglobster]

i bought a dell laptop at a pawn-shop and was very
surprised when i could not get past the bios password.
i called dell, but was offered no help because i was
not the original owner. ahhhhhhhhhhh! do i have a 500$
paperweight?

i took it apart to see if i could take out the bios
battery, but found nothing. i have also tried all
kinds of default passords, all of which were no help.

i'm hoping i didn't just get burnt by this pawn shop.
i have called them and they said if it powers up then
they sell it as working.

anybody?

[jet_rider]

The bios password can be reset with a key you get from dell. There is no jumper on current dell laptops like on the standard desk tops. Since you are not the original owner here is what I would try. 1 call dell and ask to speak to a supervisor and explain to him or her what is going on. Ask what warranty you can purchase to give you access to the information you need. Or if you need proof of purchase from the pawn shop and verification from the police it is not stolen or something like that. 2 go to the news groups and ask for help. No I don't know which news group to go to, but I am sure there is one out there that can handle this information. 3 beg the pawn shop owner for the former owners name and then maybe the purchaser from dell would be willing to help you. The key is just an algorithm that needs to be run to flash the password out.

[getyourbiglobster]

so far the pawn shop has been no help whatsoever.

and:

the minute dell hears that i am not the original owner they are finished talking to me.

-i have had this thing apart and cannot find a cmos battery anywhere.

-i have tried various suggested passwords. nothing works.

-i have found a program that generates a master password after you enter the model #. nothing.

in some of my research i have found references to the "service tag". anybody know what this is?

well, back at it.

[jet_rider]

The service tag is on the bottom of the laptop. It is a code that tells dell what the pc is kind of like a serial number.

[Carl Price]

Originally posted by getyourbiglobster the minute dell hears that i am not the original owner they are finished talking to me.

I believe you, but that crap is a helluva policy to have. Do you imagine you will ever be the original owner of a Dell since they have that attitude?

[HAL9000]

Is it just a BIOS password that you are trying to get past or is it a password that gets you booted into the system. If it's just a BIOS password, try KILLCMOS

NOTE: When downloading, some virus scanners may detect this as a virus as there is a virus that goes by the same name. This is not a virus, but a utility to erase the BIOS password. This may/may not work on your system.

[getyourbiglobster]

i am resurrecting this thread because i have since been able to boot windows nt. the problem that i am faced with now is the NT login.

-i have no contact with the former owner
-i do not have the original NT cd

i have heard of programs loaded to a floppy that on boot will search for and alter or destroy passwords, but my comp. does not have a floppy drive.

so, i guess my options are:

1. boot from cd-rom containing one of these programs. (how do i set my comp. to boot from the cd-rom?)
2. boot from my windows 98 cd. (is this a good idea?)
3. boot from another copy of windows NT. (could i possibly use a trial version for this?)

any help or advice on my 3 (or more?) options is greatly appreciated.

[getyourbiglobster]

i guess i'm just going to try and run the linux/NT boot disk.

[David_Jones]

If you can now boot the PC (got past the BIOS password) then why not just reformat the HDD and install Linux / Windows as you desire?

BTW, how did you get past the password? Did KILLCMOS work?

David.

[getyourbiglobster]

actually i get past the bios only to be confronted withe the NT user login/password.

then i put in my win98 disk and am now browsing around the dos prompt. i am clueless here so i don't know how or wheter i should try to run fdisk then install my copy of win98 over the NT?

it also look like i am limited as to what i can see in dos.

re: the bios password:: i actually obtained the master through quite a bit of sweet talk.

anyway, what do you think about trying to run fdisk then installing win98?