Fit a new harddrive in an old laptop

I have just done this. One needs to dismantle the laptop first. Solder a push button switch with extended wires across pins 4&5 of the serial eeprom 24c02. Then reconnect the screen, keyboard & a/c power pack. with a tooth pick press power on switch whilst holding push button on. When the factory mode screen comes on release the push button. Next go to bios setup F2 and ALT-p to the password page. Now enter your new password this will overwrite the old pass word. My approach is slightly different to this following method as it is les likely to brick the laptop.
http://www.archive.org/web/2003110302606

Press Ctrl + F11 While booting
The moment you see the dell logo Press the Ctrl key and start tapping the F11. If it has the restore image it will take you to the restore page. If there is not restore image it won't work

Hi there.
If the laptop was bought for you as a engagement gift and your friend has proof of purchase then Dell will be able to give you the master password as bios passwords cannot be cracked that easily.
Here is Dell customer support site >>>>>>

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/contact_technical_support?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

Good luck and thanks for choosing FixYa!!

first of reset bios to default.
you can can use any xp disk as long as you have cd key(any valid cd key for that matter)and install fresh copy (factory set/default)
eg I have 4 laptops and a tower pc all of which I have xp pro installed from same disk and same key +sp3 and ie8 and nav360

Hi , If you have forgotten the BIOS Password there is only one way either you give your PC to an expert or you need to open the PC and reset the jumper in the motherboard.

Hello I am having the same problem. I have two batteries neither of which are detected even at full charge. My laptop only runs when its plugged in. My bios appears just as you said it remains stuck on the first page. This happened after my machine shut itself off i think due to overheating. I have done many upgrades and it has run great for over a year now. I have a much larger processor than my motherboard was meant for but it still ran with it in. Have you made any changes to your laptop recently? This happened to me right after i replaced the harddrive. Please let me know if you have fixed the problem thanks!

log on to www.dell.com and place an online order for a new DELL system

What do you mean exactly?

To increase or decrease the backlight brightness use Fn-key(next to left Ctrl-key) with up and down arrows.

There is not some key-combination to turn off the screen, you can make your computer turn it off after some time (if you're using XP this can be done in control panel->Power options), or just close the lid :)

You'd batter buy a new Dell Latitude CPI battery at a online laptop battery store.

Have you tried to run the Dell Diagnostics? If YES, what were the results? If NO, please run the DELL Diagnostics and tell me the results. thanks