Any ideas? I'm stumped!

D

dustman

New Member
I bought an older Dell Latitude CPI laptop at an estate sale, got it home, it booted to Windows XP-Pro, then asked for the administrator password. Of course, I don't have it, the previous owner is deceased, and the family has no idea what it was. I have a receipt for the computer, and it has the original service tag on it.

I can press F2 and get into bios, it will let me scroll down and change pages, but it won't let me change any values (right and left arrows). In security, it has an administrator password. You can opt to change it, but only if you type in the old password first.

It is set to boot from the floppy first, the hard drive second, and the CD third. Since I can't change anything, I can't change the boot sequence. I tried loading through the floppy, but no matter what disk I put in, it says non-system disk, replace and strike any key to reboot.

I put Drive Washer in the CD drive to see if I could just wipe the disk, but since it won't go to the CD to boot before it goes to the hard drive, I can't get it to there.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Dustman
 
Thanks for the response, BKRIBBS,

I tried it but it didn't work. When you turn on the laptop, it only gives you 2 choices, enter setup (F2) or load windows. F12 does nothing.

I can get into SAFE mode, but again, F12 does nothing.

I can get into the bios, but can't make changes there without the administrator password.

Thanks again,

Dustman
 
Thanks for the responses Stranglehold, wellhellothere, and Deviousmind,

I tried F8, F10, F12, nothing. I looked everywhere for a backdoor bios password, it's a Phoenix bios, but none of the backdoor passwords I found did a thing. I was given: phoenix, PHOENIX, BIOS, and CMOS, none worked. I have managed to use ActiveKillDisk on a floppy to wipe the hard drive, but other than eliminating the Windows passwords and the OS, it did nothing to the set-in-stone 'BIOS password.

I found bios password remover programs online and on youtube, but all of them said to go into windows (which the BIOS password prevents), or load from the CD, again, the bios password prevents me from changing any settings, and I can't change the boot order, CD being the last boot, which it never gets to because of the password!

Also, several people suggested contacting Dell and asking for an ownership transfer (I don't know the previous owner, so that's a non-starter), or ask Dell for help, and possibly their magic backdoor password. A Dell tech informed me that Dell will NEVER give that information out, nor will they do a transfer unless I can verify the previous owners information (even though I have the service tag, serial number and express service tag).

Man! What a bear!

Dustman
 
What about flashing the BIOS? Would that help?


dustman said:
A Dell tech informed me that Dell will NEVER give that information out, nor will they do a transfer unless I can verify the previous owners information (even though I have the service tag, serial number and express service tag).

Man! What a bear!

Dustman
Click to expand...

You could steal a computer and have all of that, which is probably why they won't say.
 
Yepper, Dell's a sweetie!

How do I flash the bios? I can't get on the net, can't do anything except enter bios (F2). That's it. I can't change any values or do anything but look at he settings, which I can't change.

Dustman
 
I doubt you even could, since it is password protected. However, you have to find the correct BIOS online and use the install method. It may be something like a live CD, but there are other methods as well.
 
dustman said:
I bought an older Dell Latitude CPI laptop at an estate sale, got it home, it booted to Windows XP-Pro, then asked for the administrator password. Of course, I don't have it, the previous owner is deceased, and the family has no idea what it was. I have a receipt for the computer, and it has the original service tag on it.

I can press F2 and get into bios, it will let me scroll down and change pages, but it won't let me change any values (right and left arrows). In security, it has an administrator password. You can opt to change it, but only if you type in the old password first.

It is set to boot from the floppy first, the hard drive second, and the CD third. Since I can't change anything, I can't change the boot sequence. I tried loading through the floppy, but no matter what disk I put in, it says non-system disk, replace and strike any key to reboot.

I put Drive Washer in the CD drive to see if I could just wipe the disk, but since it won't go to the CD to boot before it goes to the hard drive, I can't get it to there.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Dustman
Click to expand...

Return the computer for a refund.
best wishes
Paul
 
It's OK now

Well, I tried everything, nothing worked. Fortunately, we were contacted by a family member from the sale, (we had left our number just in case), and were given the password. It worked. I am NEVER going to buy a bios password protected computer again. Word to the wise: if you value your sanity, steer clear of those boogers!
 
Hope this will help. Haven't tried it yet, but if it does. Let us all know.

1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)

2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”

3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.

4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now

5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.

6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.

It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”

Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.

7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.

8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”

9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.

10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.

11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).

13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.
Click to expand...
 
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