Backyard Hacker’s Tips to Recover a BIOS Password or Simply Just Reset It

Recovering BIOS Password 101

Passwords are a two edged sword; of course that includes any BIOS password too. They keep your “sensitive” information safe and away from the eyes of the world but they can be such a trouble if you forget them. Why, they will also keep you out of your own stuff in case you forget them. It’s like losing the keys to your own Ferrari – it’s a great car, but no ride.

Disclaimer

Take note that the tips and procedures mentioned here are for personal information purposes only. They are not intended nor designed to be a comprehensive guide for all types of desktops, laptops, netbooks, or any other portable computer equipment. You may use the information mentioned here but at your own risk. There is no guarantee that you won’t lose your data or that your hardware won’t get damaged.

The Options

There are five options for you and anyone who needs to recover a BIOS password. These options are: removing the CMOS battery, changing motherboard jumper settings, using MS DOS commands, using third party software, and using a backdoor BIOS password. Choose any of these options that work best for you. Remember, you may use them at your own risk.

1. Removing the CMOS Battery

The CMOS is the motherboard’s memory. It’s where the settings you chose for your BIOS are stored, which also includes the password you set up for it. In order for it to retain all the settings you saved, it requires a battery. Remove the battery and every setting in the BIOS is thus erased. Almost every single motherboard on the planet has one – of course there are a few exceptions but your motherboard will have one, most likely.

In order to remove the battery, you need to open you desktop’s tower case. Yes, you need direct access to the motherboard in order to do this. Before opening the case however, you should shut down your computer and remove all the plugs and cables at the back (a safety measure for both the genius and simple-minded person out there).

Once you have the CMOS battery in sight, you may remove it using a flat screwdriver. It’s as big as a coin and it has a silver color. Remove it and keep it off for a couple of minutes. Put it back, close the computer case, put the plugs back on, power it up, and see if you can access the BIOS. If the password is still there then remove the battery and keep it off from 30 minutes to an hour then try to access the BIOS again.

2. The Jumper Method

In case the coin battery thing doesn’t work you may adjust the jumper settings on your motherboard. You will need the schematic diagram of your motherboard in order to find out which jumper you need to remove. If you don’t have your manual or diagram, check out the motherboard and look for jumpers near the motherboard. It will be labelled with CMOS, CLEAR, CLR, or CLEAR CMOS (or something to that effect).

There will be three pins where the jumper is located. It should be connecting the centre pin with either the pin to its left or the one to its right. If the jumper joins the centre pin and the left pin then remove it and use it to connect the centre pin to the pin on the right (and vice versa in case it’s the other way around). Keep it in this position for a few seconds then put it back to its original position. Your CMOS should be cleared and you should be able to change your BIOS settings.

3. MS DOS Command Prompt

If your operating system allows you to boot to an MS DOS prompt then boot your computer to that. If you have a bootable CD or DVD that can boot to an MS DOS prompt then boot your computer using that. You can also use a bootable USB flash drive that can boot to an MS DOS prompt.

Once you’re at the command prompt issue a “debug” command. Then enter the following commands at the hyphen prompt: “o 70 2E” and “o 71 FF” followed by a “q” or “quit.” Restart your computer and then try to access the BIOS.

4. Third Party Software

There are some third party software programs that can reset the BIOS password for you. Note that some of these programs will cost you some money although some of them are free.

5. Back-door BIOS Password

Some manufacturers use a “ back-door” password that can be used to access the BIOS even if the user has forgotten the password they set up. You may look them up according to BIOS firmware maker names. Another option is to contact your computer manufacturer’s tech support helpdesk and get a backdoor password from them. Note that calling tech support to recover a BIOS password will cost you some money.

Charlie is a free lancer writer and content builder for many Technology sites where he has written more articles on resetting bios password and some other tips and tricks on computer bios password protection against hackers. In this post, he wrote backyard hacker’s guide to recover bios password with ease, when next he will be writing here, we are expecting him to write on some other tricks on computer bios password hack.

If you have any question to ask Charlie about this topic or how you can recover your own computer bios password, please feel free to ask in the comment section below.

More About Me

Olawale Daniel

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Olawale Daniel is a seasoned blockchain technology consultant and digital media entrepreneur with years of experience in digital marketing, real estate, and tech publishing. He has had the chance of working with multinational firms in the field of marketing, branding, publishing and leadership. He loves tech support services!

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