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resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:58 am
by AndyB
Ever had one of those tech jobs that you just can't get done? I've been given a Dell Latitude laptop that had a bios password on it and the only way of getting it to boot to the OS was to spam the F12 key to bring up the boot menu, I've tried everything to crack it, none of the online tools or downloadable programs have done much, but i have managed to get it to boot directly to the OS so I am making some progress, but i'd like to do the full job.
if anyone knows how i can sort this out please post the info because i'm close to giving up, the service tag is BFV1SY1-1DB3 and its a Latitude E5530, any help will be very welcome.
Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:13 am
by evovi
your gonna need to contact dell who will give you a code based on certain bits of info they will get from you, you will need to provide proof of ownership maybe if you are an IT company they will release this based on the fact you are working on it. Afaik dell no longer has a manual reset for the bios for security
Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:36 pm
by GlobusDiablo
I did this once to a Dell I had after a standard format. Apparently the coding is pretty much unbreakable (yeah right). I was told by Dell that they couldn't help me, and no one I knew could either.
Luckily I remembered the password by chance. I'll never be encrypting my harddrive this way again..

This was some 10 years ago, so hopefully things have changed.
Good luck B.
Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:44 pm
by Yoda
You can try to reset CMOS by removing CMOS battery. Requires partial disssasembly.
Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:46 pm
by Loriath
Yoda wrote:You can try to reset CMOS by removing CMOS battery. Requires partial disssasembly.
This, but you have to short the battery posts to drain the Capacitor.
Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:49 pm
by TorTorden
Yoda wrote:You can try to reset CMOS by removing CMOS battery. Requires partial disssasembly.
That was my thought as well, but was also thinking "it can't be that simple" :\
Did this to my compaq in the early 90's, with a boot up password, completely forgot it by next morning..
Luckily I remember reading in the instructions about this precise thing and there was a jumper on the mother board that cleared the CMOS and unset the password.
After learning how simple it was to bypass it I decided passwords are stupid and physical access is total access.

Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 2:41 pm
by AndyB
TorTorden wrote:Yoda wrote:You can try to reset CMOS by removing CMOS battery. Requires partial disssasembly.
That was my thought as well, but was also thinking "it can't be that simple" :\
Did this to my compaq in the early 90's, with a boot up password, completely forgot it by next morning..
Luckily I remember reading in the instructions about this precise thing and there was a jumper on the mother board that cleared the CMOS and unset the password.
After learning how simple it was to bypass it I decided passwords are stupid and physical access is total access.

my research turned up plenty of examples of people trying to reset the bios pass that way, none of the succeeded.
as for the windows password, i charge people £15 to clear it when they forget it, it takes me less than 5 minutes

Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:25 pm
by ZaxLazerblast
You can try to flash the bios to A17 to reset the password.
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/ ... s/advanced
Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:04 pm
by AndyB
already tried it, it won't let me flash the bios without entering the password

Re: resetting a laptop bios password
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 6:16 pm
by Icpmcp
I have the same problem on my Asus N550jv Laptop
Didn't work a week after I got it
Sent it to repair
Got it back with the UEFI Bios locked
Keys from Asus to unlock it didn't work
If I ever get a new Computer it won't be an Asus if they are so incompetent