i got this system from a school that was throwing it away. i've reformatted the harddrive but can't access the bios because of a password. therefore, i can't change the boot order to set my cdrom first. i'm stuck and can't install. is there a way to install without booting to D first or any other solution.

hi; Search for a shareware called killcmos. That can clear the password, but works under M$. good luck

There are several ways to clear/bypass a bios protected by a password. The easist way is to disconnect or remove the BIOS battery from the motherboard and leave it disconnected for at least an hour. This will clear any and bios settings and passwords. The downside to this method is that you lose all of your cmos settings. The second method is to find the clear password jumper on your motherboard. If you Use this if you can't find the battery or if you don't want to lose all of your cmos settings. The downside to this is that not all motherboards have this jumper. Another problem with this method is that you have to identify the maker of the motherboard so that you can download the manual from their website. Since you got the system from a school, it may be tough to identify who made the motherboard because schools tend to buy the cheapest, generic, no brand crap they can obtain. e-mail me at silicon_insect@operamail.com if you need any more help.

I disconnected the bios battrey on my laptop for well over 2 hours and I am still not able to log into the laptop. Help is greately appreciated. Thank You, Fukare yimtatu.

FOR: NOTEBOOK PASSWORD PROBLEM. First thing is to remove ALL batteries and ac adaters from the notebook. Some notebooks have 2 batteries and some have UP TO 3. they are: 1. MAIN battery - The battery you power the notebook up on. 2. RTC/CMOS battery - The battery for password and cmos settings. 3. RESUME or RAM battery (ONLY ON SOME NOTEBOOKS) - The battery for the resume to disk or resume to memory feature. The reason for removing all the batteries is because the notebook senses that you removeed 1 so it started pulling power from another battery. They do this so that it is easy to replace batteries without resetting any settings.

FOR: NOTEBOOK PASSWORD PROBLEM. ANOTHER thing is that some notebooks have something similar to what I would call a flash chip for passwords, meaning pulling all the power from the notebook WILL NOT do anything to the password. These notebooks require a KEY disk or KEY device (which hooks to one of the external ports of the notebook) to be hooked up before you boot the notebook this allows to bypass the password. I know that my Toshiba T4400SXC can use either one. The problem with these notebooks is that ONLY AUTHORIZED Hardware Techs. have these KEY devices or disks. I know I had to send mine to Toshiba to get it unlocked. You MIGHT be able to find one on the internet if you search long and hard but I have no clue how they work.

FOR: EITHER PROBLEM (NOTEBOOK or SCHOOL DESKTOP) ANOTHER way of getting around this is a MASTER password (just like the key disk/device is ONLY in the hands of AUTHORIZED HARWARE Techs. ONLY). Also FOR THE DESKTOP. When you pull the battery make sure you also pull the AC cord or it will get power from the AC cord to power CMOS (to help in replacing the battery). If none of these answers help goto: WWW.MOTHERBOARDS.ORG ...to find out who manufactured your motherboard.