jamespond

How do i find out the bios settings password.I havn't set this so i think it must be a default password or something.I contacted packard bell but havn't received an answer off them.

My computer:
Packard Bell Imedia 5066
AMD Athlon 1600+

MAC

HP bios locks certain models of computers to help them when they TS warranty claims. If you know for sure the user has not been tweaking bios settings, then you have eliminated a large portion of problems. To defeat this you can pull the cmos battery overnight. Reinstall battery and when you fire the computer back up it will grab the bios defaults and have no password. This of course, is only helpful if you are comfortable in setting up bios.

jamespond

i would rather not start taking cases apart and removing batteries as im sure id do some damage.seeing as im the only user and i have not set any bios password it must be either packard bell or currys who put the password on. neither has replied to my numerous emails.my computer came with xp preinstalled by the way if this matters.

Mister Zee

You could try a few generic password that many OEM's will set. For example:

lock, locked, password, etc..

If you really can't get it, then the only solution is to reset the CMOS, which can be tricky. Make sure to be soft with the manipulations, or you could screw up the circuit around it. (the damn pin holding the battery is often fragile). Anyway, just be careful if you do that.

I doubt that PB will give you an answer on that, for security reason, unless you have some client number or valid original code. If they do, they would be really stupid, could be a stolen PC...

Bytes Back

There are numerous programs on the net that will ferret out a bios password, just do a search for BIOS+PASSWORD and that should turn something up.

LoctOut

you need a proggy called killcmos. It will wipe out any pasword, and set everything to default

Mister Zee

That could be another solution yeah.. I missread, sorry. I thought the guy had a USER password, not system. Yeah, do that, it might work. Just make sure you get the one for your BIOS (look at the version of the BIOS wqhen your PC boots. usually it's at the bottom of the screen.

jamespond

Ok I tried all the above but I cant get(I also sent Packard Bell another email but im not expecting an answer).So heres what I know uptill know.

My computer:
Packard Bell Imedia 5066
AMD Athlon XP 1600+
256mb

Motherboard:
Name: Explorer (MS-6511) rev. 1.0
Type: Flex-ATX motherboard
Manufacturer: MSI

Below is a site with pictures of my bios screens.

www.packardbell.co.uk/support/node485.asp

If any more infomation is required please ask.

Lukas

I don't understand:

is this a System password or a BIOS password?

can you boot your system without entering password?

I know that laptop-BIOS-passwords can be cleared with (I don't know the word for that) an adjusted printer-cable-plug

paralel plug that is...

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jamespond

Right from the top:

I switch on my computer and the screen goes black then a packard bell logo comes up. Along the bottom it says press f2 for bios settings. I press f2 and it says:

Enter CURRENT Password

i can only enter upto seven digits then an X comes up. after 3 times the computer loads in normally

Shawn

Have you tried not entering a password and just hitting enter past the "Enter CURRENT PASSWORD" prompt?

I have seen BIOS in the past that will still prompt for a password, even if the password field is blank.

If even that doesn't work, you might try finding an online group of users of the same model computer you use, maybe someone else has had this same problem. Another option if it is still under warranty (which I assume it is, sounds like you just got this computer) would be to take it to a shop that does warranty work for Packard Bell, and have them reset the BIOS password for you.

jamespond

I tried that but it didnt work and packard bell and currys wont give me the password.

A Quote from Packard Bell:

"Packard Bell has already set up your computer in the factory so that you benifit from the optimal performance of your computer."

Sorry but I would have thought that seeing as its my computer i would be able to do whatever i want with it.

Lukas

exactly,

don't understand: It's YOURS. How can they be denying you acces to the BIOS?

it's like you bought a car, and weren't allowed to pop the hood...


Bull$*it

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Bytes Back

See if this helps

http://www.pwcrack.com/BIOS/bios.html

jamespond

Done it at last

Thanks Bytes back!!!!

And all others for the advice.

2535

Come on then what was it?

i bet there wasn't even a password did you find it out?

this could be very intresting how many other people have OEM computers with the bios locked and aren't allowed the password?

when you hand over your hard earned cash it becomes your system.

Zedric

Sure, and then you f*ck up the BIOS and complain about it at the store. Then it's the stores headache. Of course they want to avoid that.
So I suppose we who want (and know how) to access and change BIOS settings will have to solve the problem this way.
But then again, "we who want (and know how)" don't often buy brand computers, do we?

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jamespond

Well i used a program called !bios. It seemed to do the trick,it just deletes the old password(i think).Anyway I have not had any more problems with it so it must be ok.Below is a quote from the website of !bios, I only used it as a last resort.




!Bios can do crude, brutal attacks ("blasters") which removes password from a lot of Bioses. A bit dangerous though, can give unexpected and unwanted results