Resetting a BIOS password

Question

I was recently given a laptop off of a family relative, and they said they have set a password trying to be secure, however they have forgotten the password. It is an Acer 5750G laptop, and I am not to keen on taking it apart and removing the CMOS battery, and I am not to sure whether it is soldered or not. What is the best way to remove the password?

If I enter the password wrong 3 times (exceeding the limit) will it just wipe the HD?

I don't really want to try this, but it should be worth noting that they don't care about the data considering they only just bought it before this happened.

This certainly implies that it will lock the computer, not wipe the HD. — Douglas B. Staple, May 14 '13 at 22:51
If you are using a TPM and resetting the bios resets the TPM, it will wipe the hard drive (if your hard drive was encrypted with a key stored in the TPM) — Scott Chamberlain, May 15 '13 at 01:03
possible duplicate of Reset or remove the BIOS password on my laptop — Brad Patton, May 15 '13 at 13:37

score 7 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 01 '14 at 21:58

7

Shutdown the laptop.
Remove the battery.
Remove the large bottom cover from the laptop.
Remove the sticks of RAM.
Hold something metal (e.g. a flat-head screwdriver) against the "J1 J2" jumpers (circled in the picture below) for about 5-10 seconds.
Place the RAM back in, put the cover back on, attach the battery.

Now when you turn the laptop back on, there should be no password prompt and you can boot the operating system!

picture showing location of reset jumpers

edited Jan 01 '14 at 21:58

iglvzx

23,609

answered May 14 '13 at 22:51

rob

14,228

1

is that screenshot for a Acer 5750G? – Scott Chamberlain May 15 '13 at 00:58
Im sorry that this is a late reply, but I realised I was attempting to short the wrong points. Can you please explain this in steps? When I remove the RAM, and replace a conductive material where you stated, nothing happens. – Brandyn May 28 '13 at 09:07

Resetting a BIOS password

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