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sollyp
07-07-2002, 12:05 PM
I have a freinds computer. It is an old 486 they wish to use it forword processing for their daughter at college. When it boots up it does normal memory check and then goes to blank screen and asks for user id pressing return gets pat that but then it asks for superuser password. people who gave computer to freinds had it in their office but have not used for a long time and no one knows pasword I cant get into bios and it wont boot from floppy - any ideas please?
Sterling_Aug
07-07-2002, 12:33 PM
Try a program called "KillCMOS". It may clear out the passwords for you.
sauton
07-07-2002, 06:34 PM
You could also try resetting the BIOS by removing the relevant jumper from the motherboard - tricky to identify if you haven't got the manual but you might be able to make it out by reading the labelling on the motherboard.

Also, try removing the battery from the motherboard. It'll look like a small coin between the size of 5p and 10p pieces. Leave it out for an hour or so, replace and try again. This should have cleared the CMOS memory and hence the password.
marsto666
07-12-2002, 04:03 PM
your 486 may have a soldered-in barrel shaped battery rather than a coined shaped one. If so, get a piece of wire and connect one electrode to the other for a few seconds to short it. Then try booting the computer. As far as CMOSkil goes, you have to get past the password screen before you can run it, so don't bother with that.
kazuza
07-12-2002, 04:11 PM
No deal! In some laptops, superuser password isn't stored in BIOS, but in the digital ID chip. There are some utilities and tricks that can help you override it, but I'm afraid I cannot discuss this matter with you due to professional ethics. If you can prove you are the owner of that laptop, take it to QSP (Qualified Service Personnel) and they will unlock it for you in no time. I would check, also, if the harddrive is "password secure" . If this is the case, you only have a fiew atempts to acess it, after that, only QSP can unblock it with a Random Algorithm Sorter, using your hard drive serial number. Other choice is just to put in another hard drive...