User level passwords are used to restrict unauthorized access of a computer. BIOS or CMOS passwords are used to prevent access to BIOS settings or to prevent PC from booting. Thus BIOS passwords are used to add or impose some more extra security to computers. In fact, BIOS or CMOS password imposes extra security. Besides this great security, this extra security feature become sometimes a pain or worry when anybody forget his/her computer's BIOS password or if other person changes the BIOS password intentionally. Remember, you don't need to worry if you face same type of difficulties. There are lots of ways to reset or remove or bypass the BIOS password. Some of the ways to reset/ remove/ bypass BIOS or CMOS passwords are:

• By removing CMOS battery
• By using motherboard jumper
• By using MS DOS command
• By using software
• By using Backdoor BIOS password

This page describes all the ways one by one. Hope, you may follow one of them and able to reset / remove / bypass BIOS password.

This is the easiest way to reset BIOS password. Most of the motherboards have a small CMOS battery. This coin sized battery stores all the BIOS settings and passwod also. For resetting password, just unplug your computer from electric power , open the cabinet and remove the CMOS battery for some time like 1-5 minutes and then put it back to the motherboard. The time varies. The time actually varies. I am using one Gigabyte motherboard. I just removed the CMOS battery and place it again and the BIOS password removed. This really reset all BIOS settings as well as the password. Remember, after resetting this, you will need to re-enter all settings.

Sometimes, it fails to reset CMOS password, then you have to try to remove the battery for at least one hour. I think, then the BIOS password resets.

If the motherboards CMOS battery is soldered, then it's difficult to reset BIOS password by removing CMOS battery. For this type of situation, you have to follow some alternate method.

All motherboard contain a jumper which is located near the CMOS battery. This jumper may be used to clear all CMOS settings along with the BIOS password. Most of the time, people don't find the jumper because of jumper location variation depending on motherboard brand. But it is located near the CMOS battery. If you don't find the location of motherboard jumper, please read the user manual of your motherboard and find out the location of your motherboard jumper. If you are unable to read the user manual of your motherboard, then you can also find the jumper near the CMOS battery. Most motherboard manufacturers label the jumper as CLR, CLEAR, CLEAR CMOS, etc.

After finding motherboard jumper, you have to do all steps carefully. There are 3 (three) pins and the jumper is joining the center pin to either right or left pin. Just look the pin and remove the jumper and join the center pin to the opposite pin. For example, if the jumper joins center pin to right pin, then remove it and join center pin to left pin. After doing it, wait for some seconds. Again, remove the jumper and join the center pin to the right pin. Start your comptuer and see that the BIOS password removes.

It's also possible to reset BIOS through MS DOS command if you if you have access to the system. For resetting BIOS password by applying this method, just follow the following steps:

Step 1: Open MS DOS from programs menu [Start -> All programs ->Accessories -> Command Prompt]

Step 2: Type the following commands one by one:

debug

o 70 2E

o 71 FF

quit

[The first character in the above commands is "o" (english letter) and not the number 0 (zero)]

Step 3: Restart your computer after finishing the above steps.

All these steps, reset the CMOS settings and BIOS password.

Little information about the working process of all the commands:

To reset BIOS password, MS DOS is used as a Debug tool. The "o" character in these commands [second and third command], outputs the values to IO ports. The number 70 and 71 are port numbers. These port numbers are used to access CMOS memory. By providing FF value we are telling CMOS that there is an invalid check-sum and it resets the CMOS settings as well as BIOS password.

Lots of software available to reset BIOS password and CMOS settings. You can use these software and within few clicks are able to reset BIOS password. Before trying to use these method, remember, you should have access to the system and be able to access MS DOS or MS windows. Some of the software to reset BIOS password and to reset CMOS settings are:

• KillCMOS
• !BIOS
• CmosPwd

The above mentioned ways are the ways to reset or remove BIOS password. There is another alternate way to remove or reset BIOS password and CMOS settings. BIOS manufacturers generally put a backdoor password in BIOS. These backdoor passwords always work irrespective of what password you have set in BIOS. All these are the master passwords which are used for testing and troubleshooting purposes. But all these passwords are hanged from time to time by manufacturers. So, you can't rely them always for all of the motherboard. Followings you will find a set of backdoor passwords of several brands of motherboard. All these passwords are case-sensitive and you may try them!

The default master password for AMI BIOS are given in the following list. You can use them for resetting or removing or bypassing BIOS or CMOS settings with password resetting.

• A.M.I.
• AAAMMMIII
• AMI?SW
• AMI_SW
• AMI
• BIOS
• CONDO
• HEWITT RAND
• LKWPETER
• MI
• Oder
• PASSWORD

The default master password for AWARD BIOS are given in the following list. You can use them for resetting or removing or bypassing BIOS or CMOS settings with password resetting.

• 01322222
• 589589
• 589721
• 595595
• 598598
• ALFAROME
• ALLy
• aLLy
• aLLY
• ALLY
• aPAf
• _award
• award
• AWARD_SW
• AWARD?SW
• AWARD SW
• AWARD PW
• AWKWARD
• awkward
• BIOSTAR
• CONCAT
• CONDO
• Condo
• d8on
• djonet
• HLT
• J64
• J256
• J262
• j332
• j322
• KDD
• Lkwpeter
• LKWPETER
• PINT
• pint
• SER
• SKY_FOX
• SYXZ
• syxz
• shift + syxz
• TTPTHA
• ZAAADA
• ZBAAACA
• ZJAAADC

The default master password for PHOENIX BIOS are given in the following list. You can use them for resetting or removing or bypassing BIOS or CMOS settings with password resetting.

• BIOS
• CMOS
• phoenix
• PHOENIX
  

The default master password for Misc Common are given in the following list. You can use them for resetting or removing or bypassing BIOS or CMOS settings with password resetting.

• ALFAROME
• BIOSTAR
• biostar
• biosstar
• CMOS
• cmos
• LKWPETER
• lkwpeter
• setup
• SETUP
• Syxz
• Wodj
  

Besides all of the above version of BIOS there are other many manufacturers of motherboard. Some of the other motherboard's BIOS password may like the following:

• Biostar - Biostar
• Compaq - Compaq
• Dell - Dell
• Enox - xo11nE
• Epox - central
• Freetech - Posterie
• IWill - iwill
• Jetway - spooml
• Packard Bell - bell9
• QDI - QDI
• Siemens - SKY_FOX
• TMC - BIGO
• Toshiba - Toshiba
• VOBIS & IBM - merlin

There are other backdoor passwords that you may try (for AMI/AWARD or other BIOSes) -

• LKWPETER

• lkwpeter
• BIOSTAR
• biostar
• BIOSSTAR
• biosstar, ALFAROME, Syxz, Wodj gvs.

Thus you can easily reset or remove or bypass BIOS or CMOS password easily. It is mentionable that all of instructions of this page are for experienced users. If you are a basic computer user, then please do all these carefully. I personally suggest that if you are not an experienced user of computer hardware then the above instructions may be applicable for you to reset / remove / bypass computer BIOS password. Moreover, I am not responsible for the misuse or use all of these information including personal injury or loss of computer data or hardware damage. So, use all these instructions and steps at your own risk. My personally suggestion is that be careful before applying any of this page techniques.

@Written by rancidTaste