BIOS password problem

Discussion in 'Laptop Hardware' started by speekergeek, Jul 20, 2008.

  1. speekergeek

    speekergeek

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    76
    Likes Received:
    0
    I set up my aspire with a password on the BIOS. same password I have used for a Looooooonngg time on other stuff. I have tried hitting caps lock and I cannot get into my aspire now. it will let me try three times before making me restart.

    any freakin ideas?

    how many characters does it have to be? is it 8? It took my password and now won't let me back... sunuvabiatch this sucks :oops: :evil:
     
    speekergeek, Jul 20, 2008
    #1
  2. speekergeek

    speekergeek

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    76
    Likes Received:
    0
    SOLVED

    I am an idiot, or the computer twisted my password some way.

    i took it apart and removed the small battery to reset the Bios settings.... never doing that again.
     
    speekergeek, Jul 20, 2008
    #2
  3. speekergeek

    Kev50027

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2008
    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    0
    Ouch, sorry that happened man. I suggest installing the updates, there might be one for the BIOS in there somewhere.
     
    Kev50027, Jul 20, 2008
    #3
  4. speekergeek

    coredumpz

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2008
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    I did the same mistake today...
    But I am positive that the password was typed in correctly.

    Facts:
    0- all updates done right before this.
    1- the 'supervisor password' field changed to 'set'
    2- the 'user password' field never did ('clear' was always the message even after 3 attempts to set the password)
    3- it was possible to activate the password prompt even with the 'clear' displaying in front of 'user password' (this should not be possible according to the manual). Since it was possible, I assumed that is was only a text update problem...

    I should have smelled that something was wrong at event (2) and should never have tried to activate the prompt...
    Easy to say now.

    Anyway, DO NOT TRY to do this using the current BIOS version.
    Does anyone know if there is a default user password that may have been set from factory?
    Any backdoor password or something?

    Well... maybe a set screwdrivers will do the trick (it is good to know that we only have to remove the battery)... :-(
    Or maybe the Acer tech support will know of a better method...
     
    coredumpz, Jul 21, 2008
    #4
  5. speekergeek

    coredumpz

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2008
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    I solved it by removing the battery a couple of days ago...
    As anyone been able to set the user password and activate the boot password prompt with this BIOS so far?
    Is there any working procedure? (it is not critical, but I would like to have the password set... it is pretty easy to lock a machine if that machine doesn't have the protection in place...)

    Off-topic:
    Since the machine was wide open, I decided to upgrade the RAM, using a 'Kingston 1GB PC2-4200 CL4 200-Pin SODIMM'.
    Now I have 1.5 GiB and working as expected. I am also a lucky owner of a Samsung S.S.D. (IMO, this duality in S.S.D. models without properly informing the users before sale is a quite despicable behavior)...
    I am waiting for the kernel sources though (they have to follow the GPL). Among other things, I'd like to have VirtualBox working...

    Apart form all this, the AAO is still an excellent UMPC...
     
    coredumpz, Jul 25, 2008
    #5
  6. speekergeek

    janss

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2008
    Messages:
    220
    Likes Received:
    0

    And it is also something we have seen, are seeing, and will be seeing from all manufacturers in the industry.
    They buy a batch here, another there.. where ever they can get it cheapest, and the blocks on the puzzle just keep changing....
     
    janss, Jul 25, 2008
    #6
  7. speekergeek

    coredumpz

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2008
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Maybe I didn't express myself clearly enough. My problem is not with the change in brand, and not even with a slight change in specifications.
    However, one thing is to receive a disk from a different lot but similar in specifications, another completely different thing is to receive a disk that has less then half the write speed...
    I am sure that you can recall lots of examples of alternative lots with such a dramatic decrease in performance, but I must confess that I cannot recall a single one!
    Although I am able to recall at least one example of Lacie triple interface external disks (USB2 , Firewire 400 and Firewire 800) where you can find Seagate and Hitachi hard drives inside. There isn't any significant difference between both lots and this case is clearly not a problem for me...

    I also doubt that the extra 200 mAh that may eventually been given to the Intel SSD owners would be enough to compensate them for the SSD loss in write performance...

    BTW, I would say that the AAO battery has a similar volume to the 4400 mAh battery fond in the Asus eee pc 701. Does anyone have any idea if it would be technically possible to have a 4400 mAh battery using the 2200 mAh/2400 mAh enclosure?

    Well... this is going way off-topic. Sorry.
     
    coredumpz, Jul 26, 2008
    #7
  8. speekergeek

    fizikz

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2008
    Messages:
    41
    Likes Received:
    0
    I have also run into this same BIOS password problem. I haven't solved it yet as I don't want to open it up. I hope a software solution is found soon.
     
    fizikz, Jul 26, 2008
    #8
  9. speekergeek

    Aypee

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2008
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    BIOS password problem: when you type it at the boot sequence, type the letters in uppercase (with shift key), even if you typed them in lowercase in the Bios. The numerals (0-9) must be entered without the shift key.
    This method solved may personal bios password problem... ;)
     
    Aypee, Jul 26, 2008
    #9
  10. speekergeek

    oneoneca

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2008
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Typing the password with Caps Lock on solves the problem for me. I had contacted Acer tech support and had been told that the machine would have to go to a repair depot and that there would be a $100 USD flat fee for removing the BIOS password. Spent ages trying every possible typing error I thought I might have made (twice!) while setting the password before finding this thread.

    Thank you Aypee for saving me $100 US plus shipping!

    Have sent a reply to Acer tech support expressing my displeasure with their service.
     
    oneoneca, Jul 28, 2008
    #10
  11. speekergeek

    janss

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2008
    Messages:
    220
    Likes Received:
    0
    I can't think of any on top of my head, but I can't remember them specifying any read/write/access times for the SSD either. The only thing they specified was the amount of storage. On the other hand with HDD's the manufacturers usually specify the make and model, or atleast the rpm of the drive in question, which is not the case with these SSD's.

    And don't get me wrong, I do not like this switch any more than you do!
    I think the amount of switched parts in the One is rediculous, different SSD's with significantly different speeds, different TFT's with other having 16 ms and other 30 ms panel, 2200 mAh versus 2400 mAh battery... What will be found out next?


     
    janss, Jul 28, 2008
    #11
Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments (here). After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.