hey I got a good deal on a laptop, but the catch was that it had an unknown bios password. I was planning on just sending it in some place to have a new security chip put in, which would cost upwards of $100.

my question is: is there another way? I have heard that many laptops store their bios in flash, so you can't clear them with a dipswitch, or by removing the CMOS battery. however, I don't know what models that apples to.

so I was thinking, are there any hacker tricks that can get it? moreover, some flash memory will die after being unpowered long enough, how long does that take?

I was also intrigued by an idea I had. it would not be practical in my situation, but I was wondering what you thought of my idea. I was thinking "what if you had another computer run a brute force password cracker somehow hooked to the keyboard input of the bios protected computer?"

anyway, it is a Compaq presario 1500.

if you don't trust me (i.e. think I stole it) I can show you the winning bid email.

any help would be great, but I am still waiting on a new power supply, so I can't power it up yet.

since I would not want to compromise the security of any laptop owners out there, you can PM me some solution if you think they could be used by the wrong hands.

Well, you've got options. Look up the make and model for the board and locate a board manual - it should locate for you the correct jumpers y'need to flash wipe CMOS. If you can't find the manual, try it the old fashioned way and, with the power off naturally, reset each jumper you can find one at a time, see if that clears things out.

Alternatively, here's a list of generic manufacturers passwords - personally I recomend trying these first.


AWARD BIOS
AWARD SW, AWARD_SW, Award SW, AWARD PW, _award, awkward, J64, j256, j262, j332, j322, 01322222, 589589, 589721, 595595, 598598, HLT, SER, SKY_FOX, aLLy, aLLY, Condo, CONCAT, TTPTHA, aPAf, HLT, KDD, ZBAAACA, ZAAADA, ZJAAADC, djonet, %øåñòü ïpîáåëîâ%, %äåâÿòü ïpîáåëîâ%

AMI BIOS
AMI, A.M.I., AMI SW, AMI_SW, BIOS, PASSWORD, HEWITT RAND, Oder

Other passwords you may try (for AMI/AWARD or other BIOSes)
LKWPETER, lkwpeter, BIOSTAR, biostar, BIOSSTAR, biosstar, ALFAROME, Syxz, Wodj

Note that the key associated to "_" in the US keyboard corresponds to "?" in some European keyboards (such as Italian and German ones), so -- for example -- you should type AWARD?SW when using those keyboards. Also remember that passwords are Case Sensitive. The last two passwords in the AWARD BIOS list are in Russian.


Flashing BIOS via software

If you have access to the computer when it's turned on, you could try one of those programs that remove the password from the BIOS, by invalidating its memory.

However, it might happen you don't have one of those programs when you have access to the computer, so you'd better learn how to do manually what they do. You can reset the BIOS to its default values using the MS-DOS tool DEBUG (type DEBUG at the command prompt. You'd better do it in pure MS-DOS mode, not from a MS-DOS shell window in Windows). Once you are in the debug environment enter the following commands:

AMI/AWARD BIOS

O 70 17
O 71 17
Q

PHOENIX BIOS

O 70 FF
O 71 17
Q

GENERIC

Invalidates CMOS RAM.
Should work on all AT motherboards
(XT motherboards don't have CMOS)
O 70 2E
O 71 FF
Q

Your idea of linking up and using a mass password engine might work. Like I say, y'have options, it's just finding something that works. Definately try consulting the manufacturers website though.

Hope that helps. A

I think I may have found a program that can restore the original bios settings. I am still waiting on the power supply, so I can't really do anything yet. =]

Whoa, back the truck up. If all you want to do is reset the cmos settings and bios pasword, why not use the paper clip hole reset button that most manufacturers provide for the purpose? At least the older laptops had them. Check the owner's manual. Reflashing the bios is drastic, potentially risky and usually unecessary.

I am not sure laptops will allow that. I think most store the password in flash memory, to be more secure. but like I said, I will have to wait till the power adapter gets here before I try it.

I don't have the owners manual, I got it second hand.

Y'do now... (http://www.eserviceinfo.com/download.php?fileid=9035)

I am not sure laptops will allow that. I think most store the password in flash memory, to be more secure. but like I said, I will have to wait till the power adapter gets here before I try it.

I don't have the owners manual, I got it second hand.

Upon reflection, it is possible that more modern laptops don't allow this. Security measure. It's just that I've had a bad experience flashing bios so I tend to save that as a last resort. I've got a low mileage pci udma card I'd sell _real_ cheap. ;) If you can figure out how to disconnect the backup battery, I'd try that first.

if I do try to flash the cmos, should I just bridge the wires? or would it be better to do so with a resistor, to kinda take the spike out of it? perhaps a cap/resistor combo would be more safe :/

A laptop that I dealt with once didn't have a batterie, however the CMOS discharge jumper was located near where the RAM was inserted on the bottom of the laptop (through the little panel). It didn't have a jumper on it, so I had to use a conductive element to discharge the CMOS.

You shouldn't need to go as far as the original owner tried which meant pretty much dismattling the CPU and Graphics Chipset, and pulling the RAM out.

yeah, I am still waiting on the power supply, the ebay seller is a real dunce.

if you know what voltage the laptop uses you can buy a power supply at radio shack
the power requirements should be stamped on the laptop somewhere

I would rather have the exact one for my laptop. then I don't have to worry about burning anything out or having problems.

hey everyone, ram is on sale: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Kingston-Technologies-512MB-DDR2-SDRAM-Notebook-Memory-KVR533D2SO-512R-/sem/rpsm/oid/131001/catOid/-12995/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

my laptop takes DDR PC2100, would this work? I am thinking no, because it says PC2-4200, but I don't know alot about ram. never bought any =]

You'd be thinking no correctly. ;)

i am not sure

but according to what i can find online
one has 200 pins the other has 450 pins

Like My Anonymous said, but Leopold missed.

The PC2100 is an older RAM type, (in fact the same type as my machine) and the one you mentioned from the advert would be incompatible.

thats why i said "i'm not sure"
because i didn't know

you wanna know how much i know about ram?
my computer has some ram in it

so what would I look for to tell it would not work with my machine?

Whatever number proceeds PC2-xxxx - Whatever's currently installed is the right value for the make and model of the board - consult the board manual (I believe I pasted a linky for this very purpose previously) - it should tell you what values will work, as well as RAM population rules, etc.

Shelling out for RAM's not a thing y'want to make a punt on just on the off chance it might work - you either use the right type or you'll crap out the board. There aren't really any compromises or half measures y'can make in that regard.

Best case scenario if you put the wrong sort in - GF Protection trips in, cuts the power to everything, the machine won't boot at all until y'take the incorrect RAM chips out.

Worst case, you pop the processor and write off the motherboard at the same time.

Always consult the boards specification manual first.

the user manual above is a corrupt file. wont open =]

Mmmm, that's useful of them isn't it. If I recall there's 4 parts to the download, are y'absolutely sure its corrupted and not just spanned?

Alternativel try here - Compaq's Website (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/swPfinder?query=Presario+1500&tool=softwareCategory&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en)

it would not let me unzip it. thats all I know. winrar told me it was corrupt.

ok, so I got my power supply.

I tried the program (softpaq) that is supposed to reset the original bios settings, but it was cock blocked by the bios password. I also tried most of the passwords listed above.

is there anything else I should try before going after CMOS batteries?

I head there is a program called 911cd, but I don't know if it has the ability to bypass bios.

does anyone know if I can even reset the bios with a dipswitch/jumper/battery removal? or does the presario 1500 store its bios passwords in such a way that they do not need power?

does anyone know how to get this to work? or is it corrupt?
http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/9038/COMPAQ_Compaq%20Presario%201500%20Series.html

Compaq Presario 1500, Evo N1000, N1020 ser SC wPRS - The Compaq Presario 1500, Evo N1000, N1020 series Security Chip w/Password Recovery Service allows for resetting of Compaq Presario 1500
http://www.sharewareorder.com/Compaq-Presario-1500-Evo-N1000-N1020-ser-SC-wPRS-download-20551.htm

edit
here are a couple of sites that may be able to help you
http://www.pwcrack.com/index.shtml
http://www.globalshareware.com/Utilities/Other-Softwares/Password-Cracking-Services.htm

p.s. i haven't started on the simulation
i feel that you should because it's your project
i will help you with the diagnosis though

yeah, I was planning on doing the simulation this weekend, but I have to work a lot, try to get my laptop up, do a bunch of lab reports for my classes, and watch the super bowl. it will probably be next weekend before I get to it. unless I decide to go out of town, which would push it back again.

anyway, I found a owners manual for my laptop finally. I think I can just remove the batteries to get the password off. see section 1.3 of the manual to see what I am talking about.
http://www.killerkittykats.net/quik/cato/Compaq%20Maintenance%20and%20Service%20Guide,%20ev o%201020v%20+%201000v,%20Presario%201500.pdf

removeing the battery (it's about the size of a quarter) will clear the cmos, yes.


i have noticed that on certain ami chips the password is reset to ami
upon removeing the battery

nothing like that is mentioned in the manual so it probably will be reset to null

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/will-not-fix.jpg

;)

yay! bios password gone! thanks for you help guys.

grats )

now all you have to do is get the mother online and make your first post with it.

yeah, about that... turns out, my nice new 40GB hard drive was light enough to be mistaken as trash by my roommate. that is about the most depressing thing thats happened to me in a long ass time. not only have I been waiting, what feels like forever, to get it up and running, but my whole justification for not doing homework was that I would get my laptop running. and to top it all off, I have to wait 4-5 days for paypal to have enough money in it to buy a new hard drive, so I probably wont get it till the middle of next week.

I am so pissed

oh jesus, don't tell me
HE THREW IT AWAY !?!?!

yeah, she threw it away. brand spanking new. I didn't even open the anti static bag.

most women i know are clean freaks

another thing about women i noticed is
they like to rearrange the furniture about once a week
but they expect you to do the rearrangeing
they just tell you where to put it

finally got it up and running =], this is my first of many on my new laptop. I am lucky, someone near where I live has an open wifi =], not great speed, but its free =]

Congrat's again =)

and let me be the first to respond to your first post on you laptop
you make me wish i had one

edit
shit, i noticed qwerty beat me to it

let me be the first to say you make me wish i had one


AAAARGH. ;) It is true tho, none the less...