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BIOS password on DELL Inspiron 8500

My son was given an 8500 by a legit owner who didn't transfer ownership with DELL. It wants a BIOS password and DELL isn't helping at all. He completed their transfer of ownership form 2 months ago and has heard absolutley nothing since. This model uses an EEPROM chip that must be reset or bypassed acively rather than removing the BOIS battery.

Can you give us detailed instructions on how to bypass/reset the password?

We haven't been able to find a local tech that would guarantte results, onlyefort and we would have to pay them even if they aren't successful.

We would sure appreciate your assistance.
Thakn you.

Don Jones

Posted by avatar on Jan 23, 2009

    • By avatardonejjones Jan 25, 2009

    • The article you referred me to is IBM Think Pad specific. Can you please refer me to a DELL 8500 article or give me specifric instructions for the DELL 8500?



      Also, do any of the "100% guaranteed" CD/downloads work for this or are they just for passwords after you are booted up and can get into the BIOS?



      Thank you for your help.



      Don Jones

    • By avatardonejjones Jan 26, 2009

    • Thank you.



      That is kind of what I thought too about the password CD/download programs.



      Let me make sure that I understand on the dongle (that’s a new term to me).



      I jump the appropriate wires together, probably by soldering them then insulating them. Then I plug it into the parallel port; LEAVE IT PLUGGED IN; then power it up as normal, correct?



      Do I have to keep it plugged in to work?



      In order to access the BIOS to clear/reset it, I would use the F8 key during the power up cycle to get into the set up routine, correct?



      Please do send me the eePROM clearing method too in case we can’t get into the BIOS using the dongle.



      Thank you again.



      Don Jones

    • By avatardonejjones Jan 27, 2009

    • Geekman,



      Thank you for your help.



      How are the pins numbered on the parallel connector and is that looking at the computer face or at the wire end?



      IF I use the shorting method, do I semi permanently attach the jumpe wire, reassemble the computer and then power it up or is there another way to power it up without reassembling it?



      If the eePROM chip is near the memory slots, can I access it through the memory access plate or do I have to disassemble it?



      Is that same eeprom chip used on all of the DELL laptops?



      Thanks again for your help.



      DELL claims this lockdown feature is to discourage theft of the laptops but we both know most users never input the password so there goes the deterent because the tei9f is willing ot take the chance on it not being locked and throwing it away if it is locked down.



      Not only that, if you call DELL trying to transfer ownership without knowing the original owner's information, DELL refuses to contact the original owner to ask if the computer is stolen or a legitimate transfer because "It would be a violation of the original owner's privacy for us to contact them." That is rediculous beause if it is stolen, then thhey could give my contact information to the police and maybe help recover the computer.



      Thank you again for your assistance.



      Don Jones

    • By avatardonejjones Jan 27, 2009

    • When I went to DELL to dowload ASSET.COM, I found several different listings. Which one do I use?



      Also, I found a utility that was called SUSPEND TO DISK. Do you know what that is and waht it is used for?



      Does the dongle work on DELLS? I received a comment on another thread that that th dongle only works on Toshiba laptops but I don't think you would tell me to make it and use it if it didn't work on DELLS too. I'm wondering if the dongle needs to be wired differently for different brands.



      Thank you again.



      Don Jones

    • By avatardonejjones Jan 30, 2009

    • Geekman,



      There were several versions of ASSET.COM listed on the DELL webste. Which one do I use or does it make any difference?



      I will try the dongle first and let you know what happens.



      As to shorting the chip and destroying it, I wouldn't be anyworse off that we are mnow and I ocuold always try to find a good used motherboard which is about he only option that I see if he 2 methods you listed don't work.



      Is there somewhere that I can find more information on what the dongle is used for? I'm sure with as many contacts as it has, it must do more than just by-pass the passwords.

Solutions (2)

Best Solution

Your computer has been protected by a Power On password.
If you didn't set this password then ask the person who set the password on the computer.
This password is near impossible to crack, try various names, pets, kid's names, family names/places, street names etc. There are no back door passwords and the password is not stored in the BIOS and removing the BIOS battery won't erase the password.
The password is stored on an EEPROM chip and you need electronic knowledge to build an EEPROM reader, then pull your laptop apart, solder the reader to your laptop, connect the reader's connector to a working computer, and run a program to read the contents of the EEPROM, identify the password from the downloaded data, unsolder the reader, put the laptop back together, boot up and insert the password. You can now enter the BIOS and change the password or remove it.
For further info goto http://sodoityourself.com

The Power On password and the Hard drive password are designed to prevent unauthorized access to the laptop and the data that is stored on its hard drive.
Removing the hard drive from the protected laptop and inserting it into another laptop will not work, you still cannot access the data on the hard drive without the correct password.

    • By avatarChris Hingee Jan 26, 2009

    • I don't know about the 100% guaranteed CD downloads, because you cannot get pass the BIOS password to select a CD as a boot device to boot up this CD.

      I sent you the wrong info on the Dell, I have a couple of methods, the EEPROM clearing method is not for the faint hearted (can send you details if you wish), but a better and more simpler method is to make a dongle that you plugs into the parallel printer port.

      Buy 25 pin male D Sub connector or use an old printer cable and join the following wires together. Make sure the joined wires do not short against each other, insulate them.



      1-5-10,
      2-11,
      3-17,
      4-12,
      6-16,
      7-13,
      8-14,
      9-15

    • By avatarChris Hingee Jan 26, 2009

    • Plug the dongle onto your laptop printer port and power up. It should start normally into Windos. You may also be able to get into the BIOS to disable the password.

    • By avatarChris Hingee Jan 26, 2009




    • You don't have to leave in this dongle once it is running and you remove the password from the BIOS.



      The other method :-

      If you can no longer access the BIOS setup, it may be possible to short out the chip responsible for storing the setting (as well as the Dell Service Tag) and grant access to the previously locked setup. Personally, I’ve done it on several Latitude models, although getting physical access to the chip required completely disassembling the laptop and removing the motherboard. On the bottom of the board, quite often near the RAM slots, is the target 24C02 serial EEPROM. By shorting pins 3 and 6 while powering up the machine, the chip is disabled and the Dell laptop goes into “manufacturer mode,” where the BIOS password no longer exists. The Service Tag data can be re-entered using the ASSET.COM utility, it is available from Dell’s WEB site.

      Be careful because the pins are very close together, don't short out the wrong pins, the number 1 pin is marked with a small dot/indent.

      It’s a dangerous, but clever and impressive little hack that just might get you out of a tough spot with a machine that would otherwise be a simple paperweight.

      The Dell Service Tag number is printed on a label on the bottom of the laptop.

      After you clear the EEPROM then :-

      You need to create a floppy boot disk and copy the ASSET.COM utility onto this floppy.

      Then boot up with this floppy, and at the command prompt type asset /? to get the help instructions on how to re-enter the Service Tag number, you can also put in an asset name and ownership name using this utility.

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