Uhh... anyway to bypass a bios password?

[datalink7]

For some reason I can't get past it with any of my passwords. I have no idea why.

Would flashing it work?

edit: BTW... I have a MSI K7Master as my motherboard

 

[ozone13]

No, if you dont' have the password, you'll probably have to pull the cmos battery to reset it.

 

[datalink7]

the funny thing is, I know I accessed it a couple of months ago... and I have been using the same 4 passwords for years now. i have no idea why they don't work (and yes I checked caps lock).

 

[Need4Speed]

pull the battery

 

[prosaic]

Originally posted by: datalink7
the funny thing is, I know I accessed it a couple of months ago... and I have been using the same 4 passwords for years now. i have no idea why they don't work (and yes I checked caps lock).

Doesn't sound funny to me. Does anyone else have physical access to this system -- especially when you're not around?

You say that you've been using "the same 4 passwords for years now." For everything? Is it possible that someone else knows your passwords?

You might want to at least consider the possibility that you've been sabotaged deliberately. Easy enough for someone with a few seconds unsupervised access to that machine to do if they've figured out the password.

Insofar as pulling the battery is concerned, that works on most older systems. There are some systems that this won't work on, and others where it may work but you actually have to use a soldering iron to accomplish the disconnection (not a worthwhile risk unless you really know what you're doing because of the possibility of heat damage to components).

If you run into a wall you can always have the OEM (assuming that the OEM isn't you ) get past the password for you.

Just one more thought. If this BIOS supports separate startup and BIOS setup passwords you might try using whatever key combination is required at POST-time to try to get into setup. Maybe one of your passwords will work to get you into the BIOS setup routine. In that case you should be able to reset the startup password.

- prosaic

 

[Woodchuck2000]

Pulling the battery is normally not the best solution - Most modern motherboards have a BIOS reset jumper. If you change the position of the jumper and power the machine on, the bios is reset. Look in your manual for jumper locations.

 

[prosaic]

Oh yeah, good point! I danced all around it and never hit that particular target!

Some of the MBs I've seen lately require you to use special equipment to accomplish the reset.

- prosaic

 

[spanky]

or clear the cmos. there are also some bios password hacks, assuming u can get into windows.

 

[Mallow]

type them very very slowly

 

[Whitedog]

Clearing the CMOS does it, though it resets everything, which defeats the purpose of the password. lol.

Why do you have your BIOS passworded anyway? Is it a company computer or something?

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: Whitedog
Clearing the CMOS does it, though it resets everything, which defeats the purpose of the password. lol.

Why do you have your BIOS passworded anyway? Is it a company computer or something?

My thought's also. It always irks me when someone does it just to say "I have the power" all He-Man like. There's this guy at work that put a password restriction in Internet Explorer. The computer is used to access an ActiveX "QuickLook" database program on one certain website. That's all the PC is allowed to be used for. Every time you accidentally close it or the power resets, we have to call him at home to get it back online. What makes me sick is that he is greeted with the "Allow access to only this site without a password" EVERY SINGLE TIME yet he continues to ignore it.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: Whitedog
Clearing the CMOS does it, though it resets everything, which defeats the purpose of the password. lol.

Why do you have your BIOS passworded anyway? Is it a company computer or something?

Because last year, when I was in the dorms, someone went into my room and messed with my computer. The door wasn't locked because my roomate was there, but he probably didn't even notice the person come in (he had autism and didn't notice much of anything ever). So I set a password to bios and to log onto windows.

I meant to get rid of it over the summer but for some reason just never took the 2 seconds to do so Now it came back and bit me in the ass

I'll try out some of the suggestions when I get home. Thanks

 

[CZroe]

BTW, my Intel D850GB uses Flash instead of CMOS. I guess I'd be screwed if I needed to do that

At school, we had to reset about 5 PCs CMOS. It took 1min+ to reset without a jumper to short. I have seen some boards that seem to be able to maintain their charge for almost an hour!

 

[ericboo]

I believe this software can reset the password and it is free via link from Techtv here.

 

[sciencewhiz]

some motherboard manufacturers have lists of master passwords on thier websites.

 

[CZroe]

Another idea:

Try an emergency BIOS "recovery flash." Many motherboards will flash the BIOS with whatever is on a floppy disk to recover from a failed flash if you boot a certain way. I've seen it work on motherboards that wouldn't even beep, much less output to the screen. If the BIOS is a different version, you will likely get the CMOS Checksum error and it will allow you to delete it

If that does work, perhaps you can try various BIOS chips from other motherboards until one "works" enough to give you a CMOS error? Make sure you don't insert one backwards!