Laptop Head Ache

A old friend brought me his laptop (Acer Travelmate 2310) When you try to boot it to windows you get the following error message [Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM]. He only use's the computer for email and surfing the web so we decided to do a clean install. Problem is I couldn't figure out how to access the installation files on the hard drive, so I decided to do an install using my Windows CD and then install the drivers from the website. But to do that I had to go into the BIOS to tell it to boot from the CD-Rom first, only to find that it was password protected, and he doesn't have a clue as to what it is. (he got it second hand a while ago) So I went to the web and found 4 what they called "back door passwords" (PHOENIX, phoenix, BIOS, and bios) but they didn't work. Could someone tell me if there is an easy solution to my problem.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Generally you will have to contact the manufacturer of the laptop to get the password reset procedures. If this is a Dell laptop you should just be able to use f12 to open the boot menu. Though it's been a while since I've had to deal with a computer that's bios locked.

Your options are to contact the person he got it from and ask for the password, or call ACER and provide info, and as long as its not reported stolen to them, they should help you.

Acer isnt going to help with it unless you send the unit to them and pay 100.00.
""Acer refuses to assist customers with BIOS password issues. The only option they will discuss involves sending them your laptop and paying a $100 fee.

Here is a copy of an email from Acer Support:

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry. In order to have the BIOS or hard disk password removed (This include any biometric security), the notebook will need to come in to our repair depot for password removal. This service is not covered by warranty and unfortunately there is no other recourse to remove a BIOS or HDD password from the notebook. The flat fee for BIOS password removal is $100.00 US dollars plus tax. If it is a BIOS or HDD password and you would like us to service it for you, please contact our telephone technical support line at 1-800-816-2237. Hours of operation are 7am-9pm CST Monday-Friday and 8am-5pm CST Saturday and Sunday, excluding holidays.

Likely to search to see if its a stolen laptop and such

Heh I just realized I said Dell in my reply... I'm an idiot :eek2:

A thought... When I came across this problem in the past I would take the hard drive in question and put it in a different laptop with similar chipsets, start the reload, and pull the drive before it got to the second reboot. I then put it back in the locked laptop, and let it draw the drivers and settings for that machine. Time consuming, but a possible solution.