Lost BIOS Password

Sorry to bother you guys about this but here's my problem:
I have four old Tulip laptops at my firm (Motion Line 5/120) that have Phoenix made BIOS’s. Now, I have to get through the passwords that the former IT guy put on them (both on the boot sequence and the BIOS setup). Bypassing any of the passwords would be equally good. I don't want to open them in order to remove the battery so the universal password seems to be the only viable solution. But I failed to find any useful passwords ("phoenix", "PHOENIX" and "CMOS" don't work). Or maybe some of you could tell me where I could find a detailed disassembly manual in electronic format? Cause the manuals for all the laptops have disappeared ( a lot of things disappeared with that guy, including himself. He left for Canada last year, never to be heard again...).

 

Why don't you try contacting the BIOS manufacturers' technical support hotline, maybe they can assist you.

 

I don't think they have a hotline in Romania.

 

Guess you have to get new computers, or rip that BIOS out of the laptops.
If u lose your BIOS password, I would say that your BIOS is rendered useless, because without the password, you cannot access the BIOS nor can you even touch it.
The best solution is: DON'T set a BIOS password.

 

It wasn't me who set them. And it's impossible to contact the guy who did. Also new laptops would be the normal way to do it if only my boss wasn't such a cheap @$$! (

 

Hi, thenenea

You do not have to take out the Batties.

Please make a note of your BIOS setting before do anything.

You can just reset the reset Jumper. [which will clear the BIOS]

Or you can have a read here:- How to Bypass BIOS Passwords

Good luck to you. [You do not need luck a it is easy ]

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

The problem is I disassambled aprox 80% of one of the laptops and still haven't found the battery. The last 20% percent is right now quite a mystery because it's a clamp like metal sheet that it's firmly fixed on the base with no apparent knob or any other visible means (strange thing is I have access to all the major components but not the battery). As for the jumper, the only thing that I found was a very small switch, which I hesitate to temper with because of the absence of the manual. I tried to find the manual on the Internet but no luck so far...

 

Hi, thenenea

The jumper\dipswitch is best to reset.

Have you tried these passwords.

Try the first two if neither work reboot and try the other two.

phoenix, PHOENIX, CMOS, BIOS.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

You can use a program call Kill CMOS, it works really well, also see the following link:

http://labmice.techtarget.com/articles/BIOS_hack.htm

Hope this helps...

Cheers

 

Hi, thenenea

Here is a Link to Tulip Computers drivers and manuals:- Tulip Computers

Hope you find what you wont.

Take care,
TheQuest

 

Sorry guys, tried those passwords already. Probably the laptop producer modified the BIOS so it won't accept the backdoor Phoenix passwd. And I can't use a passwd cracker because I don't have the user password so I cannot boot. As for the manuals I've only found manuals for their latest models.

 

Hi, thenenea

Have you tried to email them to see if they have a copy of your Motion Line 5/120 Manual.

Tulip:- Contact Us

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

quick q

how do you get in your BIOS?

thanks

 

Hi, phatkid77

Press Delete key at Post.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

thanks!!...got in looked around, damn no magic button to make CPU faster

pentium 4
2.0ghz
system bus 400mhz
mem. 266mhz

 

Hi, phatkid77

Nooooooooo you have to tweak the settings.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

If the laptops try to boot of a floppy, which is very much standard settings for ALL PC's, then you can use "Kill CMOS" to break the BIOS password.

Cheers

 

Hi, Blackspear

Good Idea but if you are like me that is the first the I change in the BIOS,
to stop any tampering with the MB and OS. [I set first boot device HDD0]

But worth a try.

The simplest is to reset the reset jumper usualie next or near the battery.

Take Care.
TheQuest

 

It doesn't boot from floppy, not even if I remove the hdd.
I cannot access the reset CMOS jumper as I cannot access the battery area ( it is enclosed in a metal, clamp-like box designed probably for protecting the BIOS from tampering - and I couldn't find a way to open it without destroing what's inside ).
I wrote an E-mail to Tulip Support but so far no answer.

 

have a look at
http://www.hackersprogrammers.com/articles/bios.htm

 

Thank you all guys. I've managed to "force" the laptops to boot from FDD and then hacked the BIOS. Thank you for your suport and advice.

P.S.: The Tulip support team finally sent me a reply: "You need to remove the BIOS battery." Doh!