BIOS Password problem

[maryj]

I recently bought secondhand a Cyrix II which was given a BIOS password by the company which originally sold it. This is Target Computer Maintenance, associated with PC Science, from the York area of the UK. Their manual says to contact them for the password, but they no longer seem to exist. An ex-employee I found on the web advised I try "Chuck" but this has not worked, and I have tried many other words with no success. Any advice on how to crack this problem will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[scroatbagg]

Hi Maryj, why not take it back to the place you bought it from and get then to sort it out or better stil exchange it for one that does work!! In the uk you do have rights and the pc you have bought is not fit for its purpose.. Where did you buy from, Morgan??

[maryj]

Hiya... Thanks for your reply. I bought it from a colleague who wouldn't know what the BIOS was so had never tried to get into it! The company who sold it to him 5 years ago no longer seem to exist, not in the phone book, no trace on the net, so no joy there. I just had some advice to find a bios cracking program through a search engine and there seem to be loads out there. I have one running now on the other computer, so fingers crossed...

[Paleo Pete]

Many motherboards have a jumper top clear CMOS, which will also remove the password, if you can't find the correct jumper it's possible to do the same thing by removing the battrery for a couple of minutes. Find the jumper if you can, that's always better...It should be listed in the motherboard manual, if you don't have one you can go to Wim's BIOS (http://www.ping.be/bios/) and look up the motherboard using the BIOS ID String, you'll find links there to many of the manufacturer's sites.

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So many idiots, and only six bullets...
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[maryj]

Right Pete, thanks for that. I've found the jumper in the motherboard book. As a total novice at this stuff I'm naturally nervous about
"clearing the CMOS". I've been warned that it's all a little delicate and that you can really mess up your computer by fiddling with it unless you know what you're doing. What will it actually do other than remove the password please? And is there anything I need to do afterwards to restore its settings? Just like you said, so many idiots....

[tjaymadison]

Welcome, maryj! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

You will lose any 'special', non-default settings in your BIOS setup,
but if you can successfully clear the password, you can reset those.

Click here (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/mbsys/cmos.htm) for some tips. Good Luck! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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"I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."
-- Charles Babbage, mathematician, computer pioneer, analytical engine designer (1791-1871)
-- (Question: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?')

"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand."
-- Homer Simpson

[maryj]

TJ, thanks that's very helpful and reassuring. I am still concerned about messing up the system though, especially since receiving an email from a contact I've made who used to work for the company who made my pc. He says that I am very likely to have an IBM Mwave soundcard installed, and that it's notorious for causing major trouble if you try resetting the jumper, and that it could take hours of configuring to get it sorted out.
I like to try to sort out stuff myself, and have learned loads since getting my first PC only 4 months ago. However I'm feeling a lot out of my depth now, and am thinking of calling in my local friendly computer man to sort this one out... Is this wise or am I just being a scaredy cat do you think? Any opinions gratefully received.... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

[Black Swann]

Hi maryj

To find out what BIOS manufacturer of the motherboard when you first turn the computer on you should have a screen which tests the RAM and detects your CD and other drives (black background with white writing). On this screen it should say the BIOS manufacturer (eg American Megatrends (AMI), Award, Microid Research (MR), etc...) then either at the bottom or top it should give you your BIOS string eg: xxxx - xxxx - xxxx - xxxx (you get the picture). Alternatively open the casing and attempt to find the BIOS chip on the motherboard and read the manufacturer from there. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif

If you can get the BIOS string go to a search engine such as [/URL] or [URL=http://www.excite.com] (http://www.lycos.co.uk) and type in the figures you have found as they appear.

Else, you could try these default manufacturer passwords:

American Megatrends: AMI
Award: AWARD_SW or STAR
MR: MR

When clearing the jumper, which the "Password Clear" jumper to the other position and start the system, when it has started power down and replace the jumper to its former position. CMOS/BIOS should start from scratch and load default settings, all you have to do now is check all settings against current config and check whether both coincide. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif

I know how frustrating this can be, I have been through it myself recently...

Regards

Lee

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Confucious, he say, "Don't use cannon to kill mosquito.. use a nuke instead.."

[maryj]

Thank you all the kind and clever people who have offered me advice with this problem. I'm afraid I took the easy route and asked my computer expert to sort this out for me, he did the jumper thing which did mess up some stuff in the configuration as I had been warned it might. He sorted this out within a few minutes instead of my taking several hours, and now all is well.
So you were right! I'm so impressed, and will be back for more advice next time I hit something I can't handle.