I have a major problem at the moment. I am repairing a friends laptop which is not bootable to Windows including Safe Mode and all other Advanced Startup options. I want to boot from CD but 1st option in boot sequence is HDD, problem being that the BIOS is password protected and my friend does not know the password. I have tried all the usual default passwords for Acer and Phoenix like setup, bios, phoenix, cmos etc I will have to reset the password but I know that some laptops have the password integrated on a different chip and removing the CMOS battery/shorting the jumpers does not always reset. Just wondering if anyone knows if this will effect this particular laptop or instructions on how to short the jumpers for this laptop Thanks in advance Build a man a fire, he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Why does he not know the password? You DO realize that the reason often is the laptop was stolen!! If he is the legitimate owner, he can get a hold of the manufacturer and they can probably give him a universal password that works, if he can prove he is the one who registered the computer. You could check the manufacturer's web site for info, or in manuals or service guides for how to remove a password, but there are often no instructions for how to do that in them these days. Otherwise passwords are difficult or impossible to remove from more recent laptops and notebooks - e.g. you may have to buy a new motherboard, or a used one with no passwords, or have someone replace the chip that the password is stored on, if that's even feasable. Removing the cmos and main battery from them to remove a password hasn't worked for many years. Lots of things can cause the problem you are having. Some are not fixable the the Windows CD. You can run an XP Repair installation without having to change the boot order, and without booting from the CD. Go to the Microsoft site and download the 6 floppy Windows XP Setup set - make the floppies, boot with the first one, and by the time the sixth is loaded you can run a normal or Repair Setup Choose the SECOND chance to Repair if you repair - install to the same directory, and you won't lose anything already on the drive. How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341/

There is no floppy drive on the laptop. Is definitely not a stolen laptop, he bought it 2 years ago in PC World and he has all the receipts and documentation. Tried the default BIOS password which is 6 0's but didnt work. Have decided to take out the hard drive and put it in my desktop with a 2.5 - 3.5 converter. Will backup data and then format it. Then as it won't be booting from HDD I can load from Windows CD again. It definitely boots from CD as I tested by removing Hard Drive and putting in a bootable Lindows CD I had lying about Build a man a fire, he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.