Password Problem-Dell

[shizznizz980]

I just bought a Dell Latitude Laptop P3 500mhz with 256mb For 80 Bucks and when you turn it on it shows a grey and black screen saying administrative password on it what can I do to log in on the windows is there anyway I can reset it and upgrade it to xp anyways?

[2.2 Straight six]

a while ago my uncle was telling me about the little batteries inside computers, so when you pull the plug they keep the time, these little batteries allow the clocks to work, apparently they also save the passwords. he said if you take them out and leave the computer with NO power at all for like 24 hours it "forgets" the passwords.

im nto sure if this will work or not. dont hold me responsible if it screws up.

p.s. - please resize your sig.

[circeseye]

to upgrade it to xp you need to access the bios right at start up(not sure which it would be but try puching del,or f8 or f2 one of the 3 will bring you to the bios) and set the first boot as your cd drive. put in you xp cd and restart the laptop. it will load the xp cd and you can install xp

[shizznizz980]

Ok thanks, but I have one more question If I upgrade it to xp on the start up will it forget about the whole password thing and let me in? Because right now its a windows 98 so if I make it xp it will be a whole new computer and let me in?

[Oz]

2.2 Straight six, that will only reset your BIOS password.

If you just want to reset the password, get a tool called ERD Commander. To use it, burn it to CD and when your computer boots, press delete (usually) to enter setup (BIOS). Somewhere in there should give you boot options - change the First Boot Device to your CD Drive, the second your hard drive.

If you wish to wipe everything that's on there off, repeat the above step to boot from your CD drive, put the XP CD in and do a fresh installation. During setup, opt for a fresh installation rather than an upgrade, and when it asks you which partition to install onto, delete the current partition and create a new one - this will cause the XP disk to format the hard drive before installing a fresh copy of XP.

PM me for further help if you like.

Oz

[circeseye]

dude???? thats what i said??? you just wrote it diffrently. and its a dell so pushing del usually doesnt work with them to get to the bios. its usually F2 or F8

[Gohan Ryu]

I have a Dell d600 to play with so I was able to check a few things...

1. The BIOS password is what Shizznizz wants to reset, not his Windows Admin password - the grey and black screen he described is Dell's BIOS password screen.
2. It's F2 to get to the BIOS.
3. There are several passwords in the Dell BIOS - you either need the "Primary" password or the "HDD" password. The grey and black screen you described will tell you which. If it says "This computer system, xxxxxxxid#, is protected and needs a password" then you need the "Primary" password. If it says "The primary HDD needs a password" then you need the HDD password.
4. The bad news is....if it's the Primary password you need then you're shit outta luck (as they say). You can't get into the BIOS without that password. You also can't change or disable any passwords without knowing the original password anyway - so it's a moot point.

On some older PCs pulling out the CMOS battery will reset the password. On newer computers there is a jumper setting on the motherboard that will reset it.

If you have a 3 1/2" floppy drive you may be able to download an updated BIOS flash which will create a bootable floppy disk and it will flash the BIOS - which will probably reset the passwords. Good luck.

[shizznizz980]

Thats exactly what it says its a white and grey screen with black letters and it says this system blah blah is protected by a password authentication system you cannot access the data on this computer without the correct password please type in the primary or administrator password and press enter.

Shit so I need to open it and take the battery out? And its not that new its a Latitude Cpx so I guess taking the battery out will work.

If I burn the erd commander on a cd and put it in will it boot it?

[Gohan Ryu]

Originally Posted by shizznizz980

If I burn the erd commander on a cd and put it in will it boot it?

Nope - ERD Commander is a utility for working with the Windows configuration. FIRST you have to get past the BIOS password before Windows will even start. THEN you will find out if there is a Windows Admin password. Maybe you'll be lucky and the previous owner didn't have a Windows password, but anyone who would put a password on the PC itself probably put in a Windows password also.

If your laptop came with Windows 2000 or Win98 I'd suggest running the WinXP compatability utility before you upgrade - that will tell you what you need to upgrade on your PC so WinXP will run properly.

[shizznizz980]

I dont get why the bios even has a password?

[Oz]

Has anyone looked up what the default BIOS password is in the user manual or on the net?

[Gohan Ryu]

The default is no password. There might be a hidden "universal" password for Dell support technicians (those friendly guys in India) but they'd probably never give it up. Worth a try though.

[shizznizz980]

Well I tried everything you guys told me but it didnt work. But I allready fixed everything doing a way easier process. Thanks For trying though.

[circeseye]

a way easier process??? what did you do throw it away and buy another j/k

[shizznizz980]

No I just called dell and they gave me the password even though I'm not the original
owner! and for the windows password I held control alt delete and typed administrator
and the password was blank then I pressed enter and was in and I was able to reset
the passwords. Thanks to techspot.com/forums