hello,
I've got an issue with a toshibia (model no: PS241E-6HWP1-4C) laptop. My idiot of a nephew has locked it by putting a password in the BIOS. Now i can't access it and my work is still on it. :help:
What can i do to fix it?
Thank You
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hello,
I've got an issue with a toshibia (model no: PS241E-6HWP1-4C) laptop. My idiot of a nephew has locked it by putting a password in the BIOS. Now i can't access it and my work is still on it. :help:
What can i do to fix it?
Thank You
im assuming laptops are similar to desktops in the sense that they have a CMOS battery on the motherboard... so if you can find this, and take it out for a few mins, then replace it, you should find that the password has been removed :)
not sure but you will still be able to get the information off the hard drive if it is important.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=593137
or there are other solutions.
Thank Paul, but i just want to get this thing back in order mate.
i believe that laptops have an extra security or something and its not as simple as taking a battery out, although i could be wrong.
Also my laptop is the TOSHIBA SATELLITE model.
Any idea?
If you can find out the motherboard type you maybe able to flash the Bios this should release the password?
Ask your nephew for the password? ;)
Generally it won't; laptop BIOSes are usually quite hard to unlock if you don't know the password. It isn't just a matter of removing the CMOS battery, or flashing the BIOS. I don't know if your laptop is a supported model that has a parallel port, but might something like THIS help?
edit: I'm assuming that your nephew either doesn't remember said password or has, in fact, been garotted....
my nephew the fool, doesn't remember the password. Whats happened is that i bought this laptop from carboot sale about 3 months ago. The last time i used it was about 3 weeks ago. He must have put a password on just after that and now he say's he doesn't remember! I'm right cheesed off..he deserves a clip around his ear!
Oh forgot to mention that my toshiba has this number on it too: "s2410-601" and it doesn't have a parallel port.
Definately try and take out the cmos bat if you can (not sure how hard it will be to get to). Sounds like a good place to start.
Im pushing it with this but try and find a jbat jumper on the motherboard and remove it, replace it to the left or right depending on where the free jumper is for 5 seconds, then take it off and put it back into its original position.
Well it works on desktops anyway but never really opened up a lappy myself other then for adding ram.
Good luck!
Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass the BIOS password if the left shift key is held down during boot
-- taken from here.
Might be worth a try.
There are backup password for bios's, they might be available on the net or you can try contacting toshiba
take it too a laptop technician its not worth the effort. Laptops are extremely compact and you need to place everything in the right order with the right place. Its not worth taking everything out to get to the cmos and then find out that resetting the bios didn't work just pay the extra couple of squid and let someone else worry about it. If you do take it apart I heavily suggest you photograph every section remove
If it has a parrallel port, you will need to buy an adaptor that puts the correct pins together- The one posted on Ebay should do the trick...
I have had to do it with a laptop of my own, stupid family members...
bit of a pain in the arse these, you need to short the battery and if i remember, its not easy to get to. get the keyboard out and take a peek, if it is solderd on just short it, if its on a plug unplug it overnight
old toshibas dont have the added security chip.
anywhere near the midlands ?
you used to be able to get tools to read bois passwords we used to do it alot @ college on there pc's :P
yep there still on hirens cd, dont work on anything made in the past 5 years afaik :(
Hi, I am new here just wondering I have a Acer Travelmate 4150 & I am having the same peoblem I have forgotten my BOIS password. I know I wrighten it down but cant find. Is there any other places that can help me. Thank you
Welcome to Hexus (as a noob to the forums I'm sure you will be spared a "Holy Thread Revival Batman" comment - glad to see you searched the forum first!
The advice is much the same. If you can dismantle the laptop, removing the CMOS battery will reset the CMOS (BIOS Settings) and should reset the system so that the password is cleared.
Most Acer laptops actually have a DIP switch that allow you to reset the password under the keyboard. Simply move this, power it up and it'll blank the password. Power down, move back and you can reset it :)
Not sure if Acer still make them like that, but they certainly did as close as a couple of year back :)
I'm afraid this is rarely the case now Peter :(
The password isn't often stored in the user BIOS space on laptops, meaning clearing the CMOS is ineffective. They are usually on some form of Flash chip, often encrypted, that is separate.
Of course, this depends on the laptop and it is the first port of call to try :)
A lot of laptops using the ATA lock now when a BIOS password is set, meaning that simply removing the drive and putting it in an enclosure won't always work. Again, this depends on the laptop though.
Sony are notorious for doing this (plus its major hassle to get the data back if the laptop dies but the disk is fine :()
Yes - I know laptop security has improved a lot - still worth a try as you say.
Some HP laptops do that too - however the ATA lock can be removed relatively easily with the drive removed from the computer - but it is a pain. (Does not apply if the drive supports encryption of course - when the password is needed to provide the decryption key)
I've had a couple of experiences here.
On a Dell Dimention D510, a Password lock on the hard drive, although you set it in the BIOS, it actually kicks in before the BIOS so you cannot reset it, Swaped the nard drive over to another laptop and while I can access the BIOS now the one the hard drive was swaped too is now locked.
I tried to ghost it but it just refuses to mount or detect the hard drive, luckly dell was nice about it and let me swap the drive for a new one.
simular thing happened on a Toshiba A200, Hard drive lock that kicks in before BIOS so nothing you can do.
Toshiba do not give out BIOS updates so cannot reflash or reset it and while they'll have nothing to do with it directly, they will give you contact details for a "Toshiba approved" company who will reset the BIOS and reimage the disk to factory settings (they will not skip the reimage or recover data) and charge you £300+vat+shiping to do so.
Which is a bit of a **** when the laptop cost under £500 to start with.
Still it does make a sort of sense as a data protection vs theft. Luckly the student who set it was found and remembered the password, we then locked all the BIOS with a password we know so it will not happen again. :rolleyes: