Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
A BIOS password provides a surprising amount of security on a computer. So much so that if the password is lost, the chances for recovery are slim.
How do I remove BIOS password? I can't boot CDs; how can I fix this without knowing the BIOS password?
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You probably can't.
BIOS passwords - which you enter before even booting to allow the process to proceed - turn out to be fairly tough items to crack. That's (mostly) great news if you're trying to protect your computer.
Unfortunately, it's pretty bad news if you don't know the password and need to get in.
Let's review the options...
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BIOS Passwords
Example BIOS chip on a motherboard
The BIOS, or Basic Input Output System, is the software that's actually stored in a memory chip on your computer's motherboard. It performs many functions, but the one that we're most familiar with perhaps is that it's the software the gets control of your machine from the moment you turn it on or when you reboot it. It's then responsible for locating the boot device - hard disk, CD, USB or floppy - and loading the software that takes over the next stage of the boot process from it.
Many, if not most, BIOS's can now be programmed to require a password before allowing you to do anything.
By anything, of course, I mean anything; if you don't know the BIOS password, you can't boot, you can't alter any BIOS settings, and, of course, you can't reset the BIOS password.
As I said, it's fairly strong security, if that's what you're looking for. Given how often people forget passwords, it's almost too strong; if you forget it, you are very likely completely out of luck.
I know of four scenarios if you forget your BIOS password.
Changing the Password Normally
Almost every brand of BIOS is different, so I can't give you step-by-step instructions. There's at least one bit of information, though, that is common:
In order to change or remove the BIOS password, you need to know the BIOS password.
It makes sense, of course, from a security perspective, but when you're faced with a machine whose BIOS password is unknown, it puts you in a very difficult position.
Potentially, an unsolvable one.
Hardware Reset
Very few computer manufacturers provide consumers with the ability to reset the BIOS password by setting a jumper on the motherboard. The only way to know if this will work for your computer is to contact the manufacturer of the computer or its motherboard.
The reason that this is infrequent is that the jumper defeats the purpose of the BIOS password in the first place. For example, a thief who has successful stolen your machine can contact the manufacturer, find out how to reset the password, and get right in.
Factory Reset
I have heard of some scenarios where the computer manufacturer will, possibly for a fee, reset the BIOS password for you. Typically, that means shipping your computer back to the manufacturer where they have access to resources that you and I do not, and they perform whatever magic is appropriate for their machine to unlock it.
Naturally, this is a good theft deterrent because a thief isn't likely to bother sending a machine off to a manufacturer where it can likely be traced back to him.
I do believe that this is also a very uncommon practice, but I could be wrong.
Motherboard Replacement
There may simply not be a way to reset the password, and therefore, no way to unlock the BIOS.
One alternative in this scenario is then to replace the motherboard, BIOS and all. With a new motherboard with an un-passworded BIOS, you'll have access to everything you need.
Computer Replacement
Sometimes, the bottom line is simply that a machine with an unknown BIOS passwords is, for all practical purposes, unsalvageable. It's a shame, but it's an unfortunate reality. If the hard drive is not itself password protected (the subject of a future article), getting a completely new computer and either installing the old hard drive, or attaching it as an external drive, is perhaps the most expeditious solution.
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BIOS passwords actually provide a surprising level of security, but only to a point, as an unprotected hard drive could be placed in a different machine without a BIOS password.
Regaining control of a computer whose BIOS password is unknown is iffy at best and frequently a lost cause.
Bottom line: don't forget the BIOS password.
Article C4777 - March 26, 2011 « »
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
March 30, 2011 6:59 AM
Reading the comments on removing / replacing the battery...
I've seen several motherboards where there IS no battery... I'm assuming the BIOS is some sort of power-independant memory or there are some (possibly disguised) capacitors that charge while the Pc is in use.
April 2, 2011 8:21 AM
Unfortunately, not setting a BIOS password isn't always an option.
In our household there are two of us: myself, a computer-literate person, and my mother, who wouldn't know a BIOS from a Bitmap or a User from a USB.
For her sake, I've implemented a BIOS password, because God help us both if she happens to hit the Wrong Key while the computer is booting and finds herself at the BIOS screen! Being scared to death (which she definitely would be) and frantically trying to "get out of it", there is a better-than-middling chance she would end up randomly Changing Something by mistake... and God Only Knows what that would be!
So I've set a BIOS password, an evil I must live with for our mutual protection. It's just my Windows logon password, so there's no chance of my forgetting it; but she has no idea what it is, so we're both safe.
April 6, 2011 8:37 PM
Thru my travels. Some motherboards had a reset bios button, also some had a jumper that you take off, and most had nothing. You real need the motherboard manual.
April 10, 2011 6:04 AM
Leo
Please comment on this article:
http://www.tech-faq.com/reset-bios-password.html
This seems to be fairly complete and isn't as pessimistic as you appea to be. There seems to be something that you, or they missed, or more likely, that I missed.
--DBTsr
10-Apr-2011
July 21, 2011 4:02 AM
I liked your article. I think for most computer users it is a good message to send to remember your passwords. I think that you could have done more as far as educating people about the options for when you can't remember. I am surprised that you didn't talk about the most common solutions for removing a BIOS password. I think you could really benefit by making a update to this article or a new article about what to do when you can't remember the bios password. I know that it is a commonly searched term and a lot of people need help with this.
I own a own computer and laptop repair / tech support business so I actually run into this problem all the time. I can honestly say 100% of the time I can remove the BIOS password with virtually no effort. The new anti-theft models take more time to remove than most but usually I can have the BIOS password removed in less than 10 minutes. Typically 5 minutes. I thought you could benefit from this information and feel free to use this information for this article or a new one. These are my typical solutions.
1) master password AKA backdoor password- typically only 2005 and earlier models but certain manufacturers used them longer.
2) cmos battery removal works on almost all laptops and pc's except for the newest ones with anti-theft by hard hard password cache. (how to remove this one is below)
3) short the jumpers method -
4) EEPROM decoding method - you need an EEPROM reader.
5) loopback dongle method - For older computers with a 25 pin port. While dongle is in the password is disabled when you remove it the password goes back to normal. For a locked system this allows you to access the system and boot menu to boot from cd so you can flash the bios with a new version and erase the password. Here is a link to the article about how to build one. The compatible models list is missing a ton of models because he only tested it one those models. It works on a lot more models than listed. http://www.instructables.com/id/Toshiba-Laptop-BIOS-Reset-Dongle/
6) IC Extract method - remove bios chip and put a new one in.
7) Flash the bios with a new version - works on every pc and laptop except for the password on a hard drive cache.
8) Hard Drive BIOS password cache - use a linux live cd to edit the partitions and delete the password cache partition. You need to securely delete the partition I suggest a 7 wipe dod standard wipe there is a free program for this called dariks boot and nuke it has secure hard drive wiping.
Here is a link to a site that has all the master passwords for almost every motherboard listed. They also list a million other bios related removal tools.
http://www.biosflash.com/e/bios-passwords.htm