bootup password on satellite m45-s331

**Ahcoraj** · January 13th, 2006, 09:03 AM

Ive tried searching the forums for about an hour now, but am giving up and posting. I have the above laptop with a power on password in the bios, due to the departure of a disgruntled employee.I've tried the backdoor passwordsfound by googling, and removing the cmos battery any other ideas? I have the same problem on his desktop (dell dimension 4300) as well. Thanks in advance....G

**Stalemate** · January 13th, 2006, 09:21 AM

Battery removal for 10-15 minutes should have worked to clear the CMOS password... notebook battery was out too? Just in case.

For BIOS recovery I tend to start at this page: http://www.tech-faq.com/reset-bios-password.shtml (was in my bookmarks).

I recall that Toshibas had need of a loopback plug to wipe the BIOS in the past. I hope that this is no longer the case.

**Ahcoraj** · January 13th, 2006, 11:11 AM

Thanks. I've seen that one in my googling, the unit has no serial, paralell port, or floppy. The owner tried physically removing the cmos battery and not replacing it, so there is none currently.. I've been reading about the rtc having a 10 yr battery on some, but it can be shorted, depending on the model. I'm afraid i'll have to try surgery. As it turned out, the dell was exceedingly easy theres a rtc reset jumper on te motherboard. I'm still interested in non invasive measures, as i won't have time to disassemble the unit til Monday....Thanks again.....G

**rgharper** · January 13th, 2006, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by Ahcoraj

Thanks. I've seen that one in my googling, the unit has no serial, paralell port, or floppy. The owner tried physically removing the cmos battery and not replacing it, so there is none currently.

Be sure if it's a laptop that you're not only removing the CMOS battery but the laptop battery as well. Similarly, for desktops, be sure you unplug it from the wall before removing the battery. I have seen several systems that won't reset until you remove ALL power.

**Ahcoraj** · January 14th, 2006, 07:10 AM

Thanks, Ive tried removing ALL power. All it does is make me set the clock first, then the password prompt comes up. I left it at my office with no power for the whole weekend, we'll see monday if that makes any difference. Until then, any input is still greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.....G

**confus-ed** · January 14th, 2006, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by a d e p t

Battery removal for 10-15 minutes should have worked to clear the CMOS password..

It does when the password isn't directly written into a flash eeprom, the issue with laptops is that they are 'emminently nickable' & thus they are often designed this way on purpose to prevent it being 'so easy' & no amount of being unpowered will clear that up for you ..

Manufacturers like to keep the utilities that can re-write the eeprom 'despite' very close to their chests for understandable reasons, & for some models there is only dissassembly as a choice, as you have to remove a chip to do any flashing ..

This link will find you a Toshiba Authorized Service Provider (asp, they call it) who will have the required stuff/knowledge.

**Social Enemy** · January 14th, 2006, 09:26 PM

I'm not sure if this is related to your situation or not, but I've seen a few Toshibas that when the hard drive is not being detected it will prompt for a password at POST.

**chirkware** · January 18th, 2006, 12:30 PM

Have you tried the suggestions on this site?:

http://www.hackfaq.org/reset-bios-password.shtml

Scroll down to the "Vendor Specific Solutions for Resetting the BIOS Password" (almost halfway down. Shows several Toshiba laptop password reset techniques/workarounds.

**Damned Angel** · January 24th, 2006, 12:53 PM

Not sure if you are still dealing with this, but Toshiba has several new password removal methods.

While I did not find your exact model number listed, here are some things to try:

Remove the wireless NIC from the bottom on the unit and look for PAD2 (should be in the corner next to where the antenni come out. Short this and restart the machine

Again remove the wireless nic and look for jumper c738 or . Short it and restart the machine.

The last way is to call toshiba (you will need to be an authorized tech) and they will issue a challange/response code that will generate a backdoor password for onetime use to let you in.

Hope this helps.

**Ahcoraj** · January 25th, 2006, 11:40 AM

Thanks Angel, there was a c738, but shorting it did nothing. Guess i'll have to give up and pay the 250$ the toshiba shop is saying its gonna cost to fix....sux....Thanks all....

**Loopy** · January 25th, 2006, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by Ahcoraj

Thanks Angel, there was a c738, but shorting it did nothing. Guess i'll have to give up and pay the 250$ the toshiba shop is saying its gonna cost to fix....sux....Thanks all....

Woah, what did you say/do to your employee?

**Ahcoraj** · January 25th, 2006, 01:22 PM

it's a former employee..

**confus-ed** · January 26th, 2006, 04:58 AM

Originally Posted by Ahcoraj

it's a former employee..

Is it your job btw to think about such things - & I don't mean sacking him - I mean planning for what happens if you do sack folks ?

You should have planning in place for this sort of stuff already, most places I know the guy wouldn't be getting any final wage released to him, until the laptop was returned in working condition, or it could be established that any 'non working ness' was accidental & not malicious ...

**Ahcoraj** · January 26th, 2006, 05:56 PM

This was for a suite mate of one of our best clients.the whole story is too long to tell. They got a copy of the cc statement they used to buy it and can now proceed through toshiba...thanks again

**whizatit** · June 4th, 2007, 03:47 PM

He is correct the PAD2 is the BIOS reset for almost all toshiba laptops, if they want $250 to reset it thats insane because it only takes 5 mins max to do as sometimes you have to solder the terminals together to get it to work correctly.

I run a Mom & Pop shop and we reset at least 10 -20 a month since the password anomoly came out. You either have to have the loopback for the parallel port or the serial port, or you have to short PAD2 or C738 in order to reset the bios password.

Them charging $250 for you to ship it off and open a cover, take a card out then short a pad is insane O_O