Information compiled by Shivu

How to Bypass BIOS Passwords?

BIOS passwords can add an extra layer of security for desktop and laptop computers.
They are used to either prevent a user from changing the BIOS settings or to prevent
the PC from booting without a password. Unfortunately, BIOS passwords can also be a
liability if a user forgets their password, or changes the password to intentionally lock
out the corporate IT department. Sending the unit back to the manufacturer to have the
BIOS reset can be expensive and is usually not covered in the warranty. Never fear, all
is not lost. There are a few known backdoors and other tricks of the trade that can be
used to bypass or reset the BIOS

DISCLAIMER

This article is intended for IT Professionals and systems administrators with experience
servicing computer hardware. It is not intended for home users, hackers, or computer
thieves attempting to Crack the password on a stolen PC. Please do not attempt any of
these procedures if you are unfamiliar with computer hardware, and please use this
information responsibly. LabMice.net is not responsible for the use or misuse of this
material, including loss of data, damage to hardware, or personal injury.

Before attempting to bypass the BIOS password on a computer, please take a minute to
contact the hardware manufacturer support staff directly and ask for their recommended
methods of bypassing the BIOS security. In the event the manufacturer cannot (or will
not) help you, there are a number of methods that can be used to bypass or reset the
BIOS password yourself. They include:

 Using a manufacturers backdoor password to access the BIOS

 Use password cracking software

 Reset the CMOS using the jumpers or solder beads.

 Removing the CMOS battery for at least 10 minutes

 Overloading the keyboard buffer

 Using a professional service

Please remember that most BIOS passwords do not protect the hard drive, so if you
need to recover the data, simply remove the hard drive and install it in an identical
system, or configure it as a slave drive in an existing system. The exception to this are
 Information compiled by Shivu

laptops, especially IBM Thinkpads, which silently lock the hard drive if the supervisor
password is enabled. If the supervisor password is reset without resetting the and hard
drive as well, you will be unable to access the data on the drive.

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Backdoor passwords

Many BIOS manufacturers have provided backdoor passwords that can be used to
access the BIOS setup in the event you have lost your password. These passwords are
case sensitive, so you may wish to try a variety of combinations. Keep in mind that the
key associated to "_" in the US keyboard corresponds to "?" in some European
keyboards. Laptops typically have better BIOS security than desktop systems, and we
are not aware of any backdoor passwords that will work with name brand laptops.

WARNING: Some BIOS configurations will lock you out of the system completely if you
type in an incorrect password more than 3 times. Read your manufacturers
documentation for the BIOS setting before you begin typing in passwords

Award BIOS backdoor passwords:

ALFAROME ALLy aLLy aLLY ALLY aPAf _award AWARD_SW AWARD?SW AWARD
SW AWARD PW AWKWARD awkward BIOSTAR CONCAT CONDO Condo d8on
djonet HLT J64 J256 J262 j332 j322 KDD Lkwpeter LKWPETER PINT pint SER
SKY_FOX SYXZ syxz shift + syxz TTPTHA ZAAADA ZBAAACA ZJAAADC 01322222

589589 589721 595595 598598

AMI BIOS backdoor passwords:

AMI AAAMMMIII BIOS PASSWORD HEWITT RAND AMI?SW AMI_SW LKWPETER

A.M.I. CONDO

PHOENIX BIOS backdoor passwords:

phoenix, PHOENIX, CMOS, BIOS

MISC. COMMON PASSWORDS

ALFAROME BIOSTAR biostar biosstar CMOS cmos LKWPETER lkwpeter setup

SETUP Syxz Wodj

OTHER BIOS PASSWORDS BY MANUFACTURER

 Information compiled by Shivu

Manufacturer Password

VOBIS & IBM merlin

Dell Dell

Biostar Biostar

Compaq Compaq

Enox xo11nE

Epox central

Freetech Posterie

IWill iwill

Jetway spooml

Packard Bell bell9

QDI QDI

Siemens SKY_FOX

TMC BIGO

Toshiba Toshiba

TOSHIBA BIOS

Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass the BIOS password if the
left shift key is held down during boot

IBM APTIVA BIOS

Press both mouse buttons repeatedly during the boot

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Password cracking software

The following software can be used to either Crack or reset the BIOS on many chipsets.
If your PC is locked with a BIOS administrator password that will not allow access to the
 Information compiled by Shivu

floppy drive, these utilities may not work. Also, since these utilities do not come from the
manufacturer, use them cautiously and at your own risk.

Cmos password recovery tools 3.1

!BIOS (get the how-to article)

RemPass

KILLCMOS

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Using the Motherboard "Clear CMOS" Jumper or Dipswitch settings

Many motherboards feature a set of jumpers or dipswitches that will clear the CMOS
and wipe all of the custom settings including BIOS passwords. The locations of these
jumpers / dipswitches will vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer and ideally
you should always refer to the motherboard or computer manufacturers documentation.
If the documentation is unavailable, the jumpers/dipswitches can sometimes be found
along the edge of the motherboard, next to the CMOS battery, or near the processor.
Some manufacturers may label the jumper / dipswitch CLEAR - CLEAR CMOS - CLR -
CLRPWD - PASSWD - PASSWORD - PWD. On laptop computers, the dipswitches are
usually found under the keyboard or within a compartment at the bottom of the laptop.

Please remember to unplug your PC and use a grounding strip before reaching into
your PC and touching the motherboard. Once you locate and rest the jumper switches,
turn the computer on and check if the password has been cleared. If it has, turn the
computer off and return the jumpers or dipswitches to its original position.

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Removing the CMOS Battery

The CMOS settings on most systems are buffered by a small battery that is attached to
the motherboard. (It looks like a small watch battery). If you unplug the PC and remove
the battery for 10-15 minutes, the CMOS may reset itself and the password should be
blank. (Along with any other machine specific settings, so be sure you are familiar with
manually reconfiguring the BIOS settings before you do this.) Some manufacturers
backup the power to the CMOS chipset by using a capacitor, so if your first attempt
fails, leave the battery out (with the system unplugged) for at least 24 hours. Some
 Information compiled by Shivu

batteries are actually soldered onto the motherboard making this task more difficult.
Unsoldering the battery incorrectly may damage your motherboard and other
components, so please don't attempt this if you are inexperienced. Another option may
be to remove the CMOS chip from the motherboard for a period of time.

Note: Removing the battery to reset the CMOS will not work for all PC's, and almost all
of the newer laptops store their BIOS passwords in a manner which does not require
continuous power, so removing the CMOS battery may not work at all. IBM Thinkpad
laptops lock the hard drive as well as the BIOS when the supervisor password is set. If
you reset the BIOS password, but cannot reset the hard drive password, you may not
be able to access the drive and it will remain locked, even if you place it in a new laptop.
IBM Thinkpads have special jumper switches on the motherboard, and these should be
used to reset the system.

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Overloading the KeyBoard Buffer

On some older computer systems, you can force the CMOS to enter its setup screen on
boot by overloading the keyboard buffer. This can be done by booting with the keyboard
or mouse unattached to the systems, or on some systems by hitting the ESC key over
100 times in rapid succession.

Some P4 Computers’ BIOS can be bypassed by pressing Power button and F or J (on
keyboard) simultaneously, Please keep in mind that this may cause the motherboard to
be dead, but most of the time this works.

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Jumping the Solder Beads on the CMOS

It is also possible to reset the CMOS by connecting or "jumping" specific solder beads
on the chipset. There are too many chipsets to do a breakdown of which points to jump
on individual chipsets, and the location of these solder beads can vary by manufacturer,
so please check your computer and motherboard documentation for details. This
technique is not recommended for the inexperienced and should be only be used as a
"last ditch" effort.

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Using a professional service

 Information compiled by Shivu

If the manufacturer of the laptop or desktop PC can't or won't reset the BIOS password,
you still have the option of using a professional service. Password Crackers, Inc., offers
a variety of services for desktop and laptop computers for between $100 and $400. For
most of these services, you'll need to provide some type of legitimate proof of
ownership. This may be difficult if you've acquired the computer second hand or from an
online auction.

BIOS Master Passwörter:

Award:
master
PASSWORT
setup
?award
admin
alfarome
aLLy
aPAf
award
award_?
award.sw
AWARD SW
AWARD_SW
AWARD_PW
award_ps
AWARD?SW
awkward
BIOS
bios*
biostar
biosstar
CONCAT
CONDO
condo
g6PJ
h6BB
HELGA-S
HEWITT RAND
 Information compiled by Shivu

HLT
j09F
j256
j262
j322
j64
lkw peter
key
master key
SER
SKY_FOX
SWITCHES_SW
Sxyz
TTPTHA
TzqF
wodj
ZAAADA
zbaaaca
zjaaadc
AMI:
ami
amidecod
amipswd
AMIPSWD
AMI
A.M.I.
aammii
AMI~
amiami
AMI.KEY
AMISETUP
AMI_SW
bios310
BIOSPASS
CMOSPWD
KILLCMOS
master
589589
 Information compiled by Shivu

ami.kez
ami°

Advantace Integration:
Advance

Biostar:
Biostar
Q54arwms

Concord:
last

CTX International:
CTX_123

Daewoo:
Daytec
Daewuu

DELL:
DELL

Digital Equipment:
komprie

Freetech:
Posterie

HP Vextra Serie:
hewlpack

IBM:
IBM
MBIUO
sertafu

Mach Speed:
 Information compiled by Shivu

sp99dd

Megastar:
Star

Toshiba:
24Banc81
Toshiba
toshy99

WIMBIOS BIOS:
Compleri

Zenith:
3098z
Zenith

Micron:
sldkj754
xyzall
Miconics
QDI:
QDI

Quantex:
teX1

Research:
Col2ogro2

Shuttle:
Spaceve

Siemens Nixdorf:
SKY_FOX

Super Micro:
ksdjfg934t
 Information compiled by Shivu

TMC:
BIGO
dn_04rjc

M Technology:
mMmM

Packard Bell:
Bell9

Nonetheless, Hiren’s Boot CD has the collection of some of the BIOS Password
Cracking software. I suggest downloading that Boot CD and using it, this will save a lot
of time.

Please note: this does not list some of the manufacturers such as Acer and Azus, as
mentioned please call the customer service for more help. BIOS can seriously damage
your PC. BIOS Password for PC can be easily reset by removing the battery while the
burning question is for Laptops. For laptops first call the customer service center and
follow with them and if they can’t there are as always the third party.

KEEP IN MIND - There is nothing that cannot be cracked or hacked in the world of
digitals, everything is possible, it’s only the matter of time. There will be a solution
available!

This article was taken from the net; I am not the legitimate author. Thanks to the person
who wrote this.

Shivu