How to Reset / Remove / Bypass Forgotten BIOS or CMOS Password?

BIOS passwords are used to add some extra security to computers. You can either set a password to prevent access to BIOS settings or to prevent PC from booting.

Reset_Remove_Bypass_Forgotten_BIOS_CMOS_Password.png

But sometimes this extra security might become a pain when you forget the BIOS password or someone changes your system BIOS password intentionally.

Advertisement

But there is no need to worry. There are many known ways to reset / remove / bypass the password:

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

Now I’ll try to explain each method one by one:

DISCLAIMER: This information is intended for experienced users. It is not intended for basic users, hackers, or computer thieves. Please do not try any of following procedures if you are not familiar with computer hardware. We’ll not be responsible for the use or misuse of this information, including personal injury, loss of data or hardware damage. So use it at your own risk.

By Removing CMOS Battery:

CMOS_Battery.jpg

Almost all motherboards use a small coin sized CMOS battery to store all BIOS settings along with the password. To reset the password, unplug the PC, open the cabinet and remove the CMOS battery for approx. 15-30 minutes and then put it back. It’ll reset all BIOS settings as well as the password and you’ll need to re-enter all settings.

If it fails, then try to remove the battery for at least one hour.

By Using Motherboard Jumper:

Almost all motherboards contain a jumper that can clear all CMOS settings along with the BIOS password. The location of this jumper varies depending upon the motherboard brand. You should read your motherboard manual to check its location. If you don’t have the manual then look for the jumpers near the CMOS battery. Most of the manufacturer label the jumper as CLR, CLEAR, CLEAR CMOS, etc.

Advertisement

When you find the jumper, look carefully. There will be 3 pins and the jumper will be joining the center pin to either left or right pin. What you need to do, is remove the jumper and join the center pin to the opposite pin. e.g. if the jumper joins center pin to left pin, then remove it and join center pin to right pin. Now wait for a few seconds and then again remove the jumper and join the center pin to left pin.

Make sure to turn the PC off before opening the cabinet and resetting the jumper.

By Using MS DOS Command:

This method works only if you have access to the system when its turned on because this method requires MS DOS. Open Command Prompt from Programs menu and provide following commands one bye one:

debug
o 70 2E
o 71 FF
quit

NOTE: The first character in the above commands is English alphabet “o” and not the number 0.

After providing the above commands, restart your system and it should reset the CMOS Settings along with the BIOS password.

If you are curious to know how it works? then let me explain the above commands:

In this method we are using the Debug tool of MS DOS. The “o” character present at first in these commands, outputs the values to IO ports. The number 70 and 71 are port numbers which are used to access CMOS memory. By providing FF value we are telling CMOS that there is an invalid checksum and it resets the CMOS settings as well as BIOS password.

By Using Software:

There are a few software which can also reset CMOS settings or BIOS password or both within a few clicks. But as stated above you should have access to a system which is turned on and should have access to MS DOS or MS Windows:

  • CmosPwd
  • KillCMOS

By Using Backdoor BIOS Password:

Some BIOS manufacturer put a backdoor password in BIOS which always works irrespective of what password you have set in BIOS. Its a master password which is used for testing and troubleshooting purposes.

AMI BIOS Passwords:

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

AWARD BIOS Passwords:

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

PHOENIX BIOS Passwords:

BIOS
CMOS
phoenix
PHOENIX

Misc Common Passwords:

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

Other Manufacturer BIOS Passwords:

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

NOTE: All these passwords are case-sensitive and are changed from time to time by manufacturers.

Also Check:

How to Enter BIOS Settings on Your Windows PC?

How to Reset / Recover / Change Forgotten Administrator Password in Windows?

Published in: Troubleshooting Guides, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Plz help me I have dell latitude E 6330 core i 5 i enter the bios passward but its not work then suggest me some

  2. Hi ive got Packard bell laptop ,its locked with bios code.T code i get on screen is 05687 really struggling please can you help

  3. I’ll Try It On My HP PC..I Forgot My Bios Password And I Don’t Know How I Can By pass It Because When I Turn My PC On,it Is Required.

  4. It is a Dell Inspiron 1564 And the Phoenix BIOS is asking for a password to bypass. I ordered this laptop online and the previous owner never gave me the administrator password which makes sense so I tried resetting the computer back to factory settings and now I’m being prompted to enter the bypass password. Has anyone been in this exact situation or know the most likely possible password so I can get the operating system up and running? Thank you!

  5. I have forgotten my Advent 7113 laptop Bios password even though i have removed my Cmos battery and laptop battery for more than one week. Please what can i do to clear it?

  6. I çant unlock my latitude e5530 I can’t get to the bios to reboot it lock by pass word I can’t remember

  7. I have forgotten my Bios user password but I remember the supervisor password. How to remove user password from BIOS. My laptop is Mi Notebook Pro. I am still able to access my BIOS but forgotten the user password.

  8. If you know the supervisor password then reset it to blank password and it will clear the user password.

  9. I forgot the password because is been long I operate the system.
    I have tried many ways to remove it: By removing the cimos battery, resetting the jumper

  10. I have a Getac B300 G4 with a locked bios and none of these work!! I can get into window 7 on boot, the operating system is Windows 7 Ultimate. I had to remove the hardrive from another Identical Laptop the same is which I’m on now. I can use one of the three usb on the locked one but not the other two and I can’t boot from usb or cdrom. The only option I have is to do it on the windows system on the computer, at least I can boot into windows 7 ultimate. can anyone help on this issue. it’s phoenix bios and 8 digits or numbers required, not 5 Thank You.

  11. Thed HD password and the admin pass word has me locked out please.help
    I have a. Acer aspire and I’m locked out HD password and admin. Please help

  12. Hi I have laptop Acer with mother board EG50-KB MB, How to remove BIOS Password,Please advise me!!!

  13. My hp envy has a forgotten bios password.
    After 3 attempts it returns the code 60096512.please help to unlock!!! Thanks

  14. @Daniel: What device was it? I am stuck on an Acer Nitro 5 with the same problem and can’t even HDMI out into another display or play music via Bluetooth. Can you tell me something about your device?

  15. Yeah so now my motherboard battery just exploded and it doesn’t smell good in my room I’ll need a new battery

  16. I have a HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G2, forgotten my BIOS password. Can it be reset by removing the battery & CMOS battery, shorting the CMOS battery contacts and re-installing the CMOS battery??

  17. Hi i have a mecer xpression laptop and tried everything to get rid off the PhoenixBIOS password, could i get any idea off how to get rid off it mecer xpression,

  18. Hello guy i need your help
    I uninstalled a usb settings in the device manager mode, when i boot it demand for current password which i have no idea about it is acer 5810t

  19. I have a dell n7010 cmos bios issue I’ve tried backdoor passwords I’ve tried command prompt debug. And also hirens cd tools, removing cmos battery for extended time nothing works I’m thinking There is a bad cmos motherboard issue

  20. I have Windows 7 pro on it. Downloaded windows 10 but runs too slow or freezes so I want to put windows 8.1 but having issues.

  21. I’ve got a Toshiba nb255 note book. I had it worked on in Indiana. ….. anyway I know my password but I don’t know the administrator password ( HDD/SSD) , so the hard drive doesn’t run. Help Thxs mike

  22. when I remove the cmos battery in period of 15 to 30 minutes should i switch on the pc?

  23. Microsoft tech staff seem to have been made aware of the use of debug, and it has been depreciated from the windows-10 OS.
    Well, AFAIK, it is only for 16 & 32 bit systems and while it was useful for doing ;things; with files it is also limited to doing some file manipulations within a FAT filestore.
    Also limited to small drives because of the drive access API’s

    Maybe DEBUGX will work – if you can find it – and … remember it is an OS,memory and file, partition table and drive setup manipulation facility – so can do nasty things as well as nice things to systems.

    There are other utility programs available – usually described as hex editors – and some may even work under win-10

  24. I need Help. My Mecer Desktop was Locked by Daughter and it is asking for Admin Password. She has no idea what the password is because we have tried all what she thought was what she put but none works. I need to open my Computer really plse!!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

NOTE: Your comment may not appear immediately. It'll become visible once we approve it.