Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I bought a used Dell Latitude 505 notebook on ebay from a pawn shop. I
want to erase the hard drive so that I can reinstall a clean version of
windows xp pro. However, currently, the BIOS configure setup is
disabled, admin password is enabled and configure passwords is enabled.
The current boot order in BIOS is 1) diskette drive 2) internal hard
drive 3) USB storage drive 4) CD Drive. The installed BIOS version is
A02. I see the most recent version of the BIOS is version A09. The
computer will boot to the Windows logon screen but the Windows Admin
account has a password which I do not know. I can log on to the Guest
account. The notebook has a CDRW/DVD combo drive. It does not have a
floppy disk drive.

What's the best way to remove these passwords and reinstall Windows
XP Pro?

Daniel

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

dgrnyc@yahoo.com wrote:
> I bought a used Dell Latitude 505 notebook on ebay from a pawn shop. I
> want to erase the hard drive so that I can reinstall a clean version of
> windows xp pro. However, currently, the BIOS configure setup is
> disabled, admin password is enabled and configure passwords is enabled.
> The current boot order in BIOS is 1) diskette drive 2) internal hard
> drive 3) USB storage drive 4) CD Drive. The installed BIOS version is
> A02. I see the most recent version of the BIOS is version A09. The
> computer will boot to the Windows logon screen but the Windows Admin
> account has a password which I do not know. I can log on to the Guest
> account. The notebook has a CDRW/DVD combo drive. It does not have a
> floppy disk drive.
>
> What's the best way to remove these passwords and reinstall Windows
> XP Pro?
>
> Daniel
>
Do you have either a spare notebook or a notebook HDD enclosure? If so,
and if the HDD is not encrypted, it may be simplest to mount the drive
on another machine, wipe it, set up what you want and put it back into
the 505. I don't know how easy it is to crack the Admin P/W on Dell's,
but on IBM's it's almost impossible, so I wouldn't got the BIOS route.
Notebook enclosures can be had to under $20 if you shop around.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I do have a Dell Inspiron 8600 which I use as my main notebook. I think
the hard drive from the Latitude D505 is compatible with the Inspiron
8600. I don't know if the Latitude's hard drive is encrypted or not,
but I could try your suggestion. Thank you for your reply.

If I flash the BIOS from A02 to A09 will that remove the BIOS passwords?

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"dgrnyc@yahoo.com" <dgrnyc@yahoo.com> wrote:
>However, currently, the BIOS configure setup is
>disabled, admin password is enabled and configure passwords is enabled.

Do you know the BIOS password? If so, you can go into the BIOS with
F2 on boot and disable the passwords using the instructions in the
BIOS. If not, you've bought yourself a half-rock, go back to the pawn
shop for details on the original owner, and ask him for the password
or officially transfer ownership to you, then call Dell for the
backdoor password available to registered owners.

You could put the hard drive in (an external enclosure attached to)
another machine and rebuild XP Pro from scratch (you have the disks
and the COA?), but you're really going to want the BIOS setup
password.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"dgrnyc@yahoo.com" <dgrnyc@yahoo.com> wrote:
>I don't know if the Latitude's hard drive is encrypted or not,

If it boots without a password, the hard drive password is not
enabled.

>If I flash the BIOS from A02 to A09 will that remove the BIOS passwords?

No. Dunno if it'll ask you for a password while doing the upgrade,
and it sounds like you won't be able to change any BIOS settings, so
this may be somewhat dangerous...

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

There is some hope, given that you are still able to boot the computer, even
with the password protections in the BIOS. I have seen, but never used,
software that claims to sniff out BIOS passwords, similar to other password
crackers. May I suggest googling for "BIOS password cracker"???

.... Ben Myers

On 20 Jul 2005 22:07:05 -0700, "dgrnyc@yahoo.com" <dgrnyc@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I bought a used Dell Latitude 505 notebook on ebay from a pawn shop. I
>want to erase the hard drive so that I can reinstall a clean version of
>windows xp pro. However, currently, the BIOS configure setup is
>disabled, admin password is enabled and configure passwords is enabled.
>The current boot order in BIOS is 1) diskette drive 2) internal hard
>drive 3) USB storage drive 4) CD Drive. The installed BIOS version is
>A02. I see the most recent version of the BIOS is version A09. The
>computer will boot to the Windows logon screen but the Windows Admin
>account has a password which I do not know. I can log on to the Guest
>account. The notebook has a CDRW/DVD combo drive. It does not have a
>floppy disk drive.
>
>What's the best way to remove these passwords and reinstall Windows
>XP Pro?
>
>Daniel
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I can accesss the BIOS screens without entering a password, but the
BIOS admin password is enabled which prevents me from changing the boot
order. The current boot order in BIOS is
1) diskette drive
2) internal hard drive
3) USB storage drive
4) CDRW/DVD Combo Drive
Currently, I can boot to the Windows desktop but only as "Guest" as
the Windows XP Administrator account has a password that I don't
know. The short term goal is to reinstall windows and my applications.
I do have the COA and the Windows XP CD. I was thinking if I could
erase some crucial windows files then the computer would be forced to
boot from the CD which would allow me to reinstall Windows.

The longer term goal is to remove the BIOS passwords so that I'll
have complete control over the computer.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I have filled out the form to transfer ownership and the remaining
warranty to my name. I'm just waiting for Dell to process this and
notify me that their ownership and warranty records have been changed
to my name. Daniel

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I don't think the hard drive in the Latitude D505 is compatible with my
Inspiron 8600. So that shoots down the idea of putting the hard drive
from the Latitude into the Inspiron to erase it and reinstall Windows.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"dgrnyc@yahoo.com" <dgrnyc@yahoo.com> wrote:
>I can accesss the BIOS screens without entering a password, but the
>BIOS admin password is enabled which prevents me from changing the boot
>order. The current boot order in BIOS is
>1) diskette drive
>2) internal hard drive

Probably your best bet at this point is to go to another machine and
build the boot floppies from the XP disk's application.

Actually, if you wipe the hard drive, it'll skip that and boot from
CD. Use a DOS boot disk and fdisk, for instance.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I ended up using F12 to set up a one time boot from the CD drive. That
let me boot from the Windows CD and erase the hard drive and reinstall
windows. I'd still like to find some way to remove the BIOS passwords.
Still working on that one. Suggestions welcome.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<dgrnyc@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1121985340.856813.127980@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I don't think the hard drive in the Latitude D505 is compatible with my
> Inspiron 8600. So that shoots down the idea of putting the hard drive
> from the Latitude into the Inspiron to erase it and reinstall Windows.
>

Sure it is. A laptop hard drive is a laptop hard drive.

Tom

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Thanks for the tip Tom. I learn something new every day. Just because
the disk drive housing from the Latitude D505 is different from the
housing of the Inspiron 8600 doesn't mean I couldn't take the hard
drive out of the Latitude housing and put in in the Inspiron housing
and then put it in the Insprion. Luckily, the F12 trick allowed me to
boot from the Windows CD and reinstall windows. I'm still trying to
remove the BIOS passwords. Does anyone know for certain if you flash
the BIOS from version A02 to A09, will that erase the BIOS passwords?

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"dgrnyc@yahoo.com" wrote:
>
> Thanks for the tip Tom. I learn something new every day. Just because
> the disk drive housing from the Latitude D505 is different from the
> housing of the Inspiron 8600 doesn't mean I couldn't take the hard
> drive out of the Latitude housing and put in in the Inspiron housing
> and then put it in the Insprion. Luckily, the F12 trick allowed me to
> boot from the Windows CD and reinstall windows. I'm still trying to
> remove the BIOS passwords. Does anyone know for certain if you flash
> the BIOS from version A02 to A09, will that erase the BIOS passwords?

I've flashed a BIOS, many a time, and was never asked to re-enter
any passwords... The old ones always remained.

Notan

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I have not ever encountered a BIOS update which removes BIOS passwords. Best to
invest (if any $ required) in BIOS password cracking software, especially
because you can boot and run the system... Ben Myers

On 22 Jul 2005 08:20:22 -0700, "dgrnyc@yahoo.com" <dgrnyc@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Thanks for the tip Tom. I learn something new every day. Just because
>the disk drive housing from the Latitude D505 is different from the
>housing of the Inspiron 8600 doesn't mean I couldn't take the hard
>drive out of the Latitude housing and put in in the Inspiron housing
>and then put it in the Insprion. Luckily, the F12 trick allowed me to
>boot from the Windows CD and reinstall windows. I'm still trying to
>remove the BIOS passwords. Does anyone know for certain if you flash
>the BIOS from version A02 to A09, will that erase the BIOS passwords?
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Notan" <notan@ddress.com> wrote in message
news:42E10F8E.494F8A3D@ddress.com...
> "dgrnyc@yahoo.com" wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for the tip Tom. I learn something new every day. Just because
>> the disk drive housing from the