I was working on some stuff in Setup yesterday and accidentally set a password I don't really want. I was in the Setup options by pressing F2 at startup, and the Security tab. Now, when I start the computer a small dialog opens that says "Enter Current Password:" It's not a user login, but some kind of boot login, the background of the screen is entirely black and there's only the small dialog mentioned above. I know the password and can log in, but it wasn't there before and I wish I could get rid of it. I went back into Setup to see if I could change it back but I'm not having any luck. Would anyone know what this is and how to get rid of it? Thanks.
If you can go to the BIOS (or UEFI?) setup, try to return to the default configuration, save the change and reboot.
I don't know how to create a screenshot because the screen comes up before anything else is loaded. Robin, it's a Toshiba L305 laptop with Vista. I've tried getting into BIOS by pressing Esc after pressing the power button but it never worked. A screen with text on it flashes then disappears. It does it whether I let go of Esc or keep holding it. I took some covers off the back looking for the CMOS battery but it's not there. Took the keyboard out and it's not there either. That's about as far as I'm comfortable going. Do you know of another way to reset BIOS?
Unfortunately RTC battery is on the motherboard just between the plastic cover underneath keyboard and the other side of the motherboard. You need to remove the motherboard to access the battery. Maybe this helps a bit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y5ljZlblzs
Have a look through this thread, the last post in particular.... http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1385089
BIOS Setup Utility Access Keys for Popular Computer Systems BIOS Setup Utility Access Keys for Popular Motherboards BIOS Setup Utility Access Keys for Major BIOS Manufacturers
I finally got. I found a YouTube video that demonstrated the jumper method used in clubhouse1's link. It was a major pita. Remind me to never do that again. lol
Here's the one I used. Mine's a Satellite L305. He uses a different model in the video but it worked on mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbXW6-PngZk