Bios passwords

Award BIOS backdoor passwords:

ALFAROME BIOSTAR KDD ZAAADA
ALLy CONCAT Lkwpeter ZBAAACA
aLLy CONDO LKWPETER ZJAAADC
aLLY Condo PINT 01322222
ALLY d8on pint 589589
aPAf djonet SER 589721
_award HLT SKY_FOX 595595
AWARD_SW J64 SYXZ 598598
AWARD?SW J256 syxz
AWARD SW J262 shift + syxz
AWARD PW j332 TTPTHA
AWKWARD j322
awkward

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 LKWPETER
BIOSTAR lkwpeter
biostar setup
biosstar SETUP
CMOS Syxz
cmos Wodj
OTHER BIOS PASSWORDS BY MANUFACTURER
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

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 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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Using a professional service

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.

Links to Motherboard Manufacturers

If you need additional documentation about your motherboard, location of jumpers / dipswitches,
location of the battery, BIOS settings, etc., we've included links to most of the major motherboard
manufacturers here.
2 the Max Concord Magic-Pro
A-trend Elite Computer Systems Matsonic
Abit Epox Microstar
American Megatrends FIC PC Chips
Amptron Freetech QDI
Aopen Giga-Byte Siemens
ASUS IBM SuperMicro
Biostar Intel Tyan
Chaintech