I have an old AST PowerExec 4 25SL laptop. It has not been turned on for over two years the bios battery is dead all the settings have been lost but the CMOS Password still exists. Is it stored in a chip? I still know my password so I do not have to bypass it but I was wondering about a couple of CMOS killers I have come across. clrcmos for older Bios pre 1996 and killcmoss for current systems. How are you supposed to use these, they run under DOS, but you can not get into DOS without entering a password, So how can they be used to kill passwords? The CMOS password will stop you getting into the system so you can not access DOS, hence you can not run the Com files. Am I being stupid?

Then perhaps they are made for people in your situation! On a laptop I couldn't advise you on clearing the CMOS hardware-wise because I've never opened one up. I don't even know if you're supposed to.

i know that for desktops, there should be a jumper configuration to reset the CMOS, but i have no clue what to do for a laptop. you should check out the manufacturer's website or manual if you have one.

i believe they're for computers that have their bios set up so you need a password to change bios settings, but not to access the computer.

Thanks, I was just curious because they were mentioned to me as tools for disabling boot passwords. When I found them I could not see how, as you have no system to run them on unless you enter a password. Now I understand they are for gaining access to the bios in order to change system settings.