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82805
January 22nd, 2012 12:00
BIOS administrator password is unknown.
I made a dumb mistake a month or two ago. I was on vacation (I carried my laptop with me). I wanted to make sure room service folks couldn't boot the system to the Windows login screen, (I trust no one). So, I set the BIOS user password and mistakenly set the admin password as well. I later disabled the user password when I got home from vacation but forgot to do the same for the admin password. A month has gone by since I did this. The other day I needed to make a boot order change to the system and when I receive the admin password screen after entering F2, I then realized I forgot to disable the admin password. I can't remember the password either so I'm locked out of my system's BIOS settings.
I'm expecting a call back from Dell Support to help me resolve this issue without having to crack open the laptop case. Is this possible? I've seen information on the Internet that mentions Dell having a BIOS password generator and all that is needed is the service tag number. I ask because the tier 1 support person I was on the call with didn't seem to knowledgeable to say the least.
Vostro 1000, Service tag < ADMIN NOTE : Email id removed per privacy policy >, Phoenix BIOS version 2.6.3
Bay Wolf
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January 22nd, 2012 12:00
When contacting Dell, you will have to prove that you are the owner of the notebook that is on record with them.
Then they will give you a Master Password for your system that you can use to go in and disable the BIOS password.
If the tech doesn't know anything about this, ask for someone else.
kduck28
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January 22nd, 2012 13:00
@ bay wolf,
Thanks for the confirmation.
kduck28
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January 23rd, 2012 18:00
Well I guess I'm the luckiest man in the world. This evening I stumbled upon the password I thought I forgot. Now everything is back to normal. However, I have one question about the Vostro 1000 service tag. Why doesn't the Vostro BIOS security screen show the additional numbers to the service tag number. For example, XXXXXXX-ZZZZ. I have no idea what (if any) the rest of the service tag number is (-ZZZZ). As a matter of fact the Vostro 1000 security screen only displays the "enter password" box. Howver, my Latitude C400 displays a different security screen listing the full service tag number. For the Vostro, I only know my first seven numbers on the sticker attached to the bottom of the PC and listed on my invoice. Is there a way to determine what the rest of the tag number is?
Bay Wolf
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January 23rd, 2012 18:00
I am not familiar with the -ZZZZ part. My service tag number doesn't have the extra 4 digits.
kduck28
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January 23rd, 2012 19:00
Interesting. Because before I rediscovered my password. I found this website which provided a BIOS password discovery utility. The tool prompts you for the first seven numbers (xxxxxxx) and also the second four where the values can be either "-595B" or "-2A7B". Then it gives an eight character password as the result. The password provided enables the user to use it to over-ride the forgotten BIOS password. This worked for my Latitude PC but not for the Vostro because I don't know what the last four numbers are (or should be) for the Vostro's service tag (if any).
Bay Wolf
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January 23rd, 2012 20:00
I cannot discuss ways to "crack" a BIOS password. It is against the TOU that we agreed to when signing up for this forum.
But you can try this. Open a CMD window and type in the following
The command will give you the Service Tag, the model number of the notebook and the vendor.
Try this on both of your systems and you can compare them.
kduck28
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January 24th, 2012 05:00
I understand completely and I'm not suggesting you give me advice on cracking the BIOS. I'm just confused as the different ways that Dell has made the security screens (through F2) display when entering the BIOS configuration between their different systems. Oh well, its their prerogative. And I guess the Vostro systems have only a seven character service tag. I did execute the command and it gives me no more than what I get from other system utilities like SIW (System Information for Windows). Thanks anyway.
Bay Wolf
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February 6th, 2012 18:00
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