Forgot my bios password

yeah thanks for u comment i guess it gonna happen tat way  .Dell l501x uses  intel pch hm57 mother board i saw the manual it is having a clear cmos jumper  if i short  it will it reset the  bios password  like my old desktops .

There's no clear CMOS jumper. If you forget the password, call Dell - upon verification of ownership, they will issue a system-specific master password for you to use to clear the password.  The password is not stored in CMOS memory - it is stored in nonvolatile, flash EEPROM memory.

yeah called dell  they gave me a master code but tat didnt worked hence i was  told  to buy a new  motherboard :D  guess its time to move on  :) but my xps is just 18 months old :D

OMG unlocked my  bios tdy  cant believe dell tech representative didnt  knew abt  this or they were more interested in selling  me new mother board  

The simplest way to remove a BIOS password is to simply remove the CMOS battery.

A computer will remember its settings and keep the time even when it is turned off and unplugged because these parts are powered by small battery inside the computer called a CMOS battery.

If we pull out this battery, the computer will forget alot of its hardware settings, including its BIOS password.

This should not be performed on Laptops if you are not experienced working with laptop hardware.

Removing the battery won't do anything - the password is stored in flash EEPROM, not the CMOS.

Please share how did you finally unlocked it? I have black screen and no lamps are flashing. But fan and DVD is starting...

I hope reset of bios will help...

Hi kdanil,

Please let me know the exact issue you are facing at start up. Is the system prompting you to enter a password at start up? If so, please provide the screen shot of the same to assist you further.

Hi Sujatha K, 

Thanks for you help.

I have installed new drive (because my old one has some bad sectors) to my XPS (L501) and started to install Windows 8 from DVD drive.

The installation went as usual. Windows installer has prompted me to provide name for the computer and color schema. Then while it was continue the instalation my laptop just switched off without any messages.

Now when I press the power button on laptop I hear that hard drive is starting and DVD drive is initializing but NO LIGHTS and SRCEEN IS BLACK.

No reaction for any other buttons after that.

Was trying to remove, the hard drive, DVD derive and memory. After that by the pressing of the power button - no effect.

Were removomg the battery for 3 hours to reset CMOS - no effect.

I think motherboard is crashed. :(

Any idea?

Regards, Danil

Hi Danil,

I appreciate your technical skills. Try one last steps that is to check if you can run diagnostics on the hardware components of the system. Shut the system down, press and hold the Fn key on the keyboard and power on the computer which will launch diagnostics. Let me know if there is any error message.

You may also refer to the following link for assistance:

http://dell.to/16KQ3r0

I'm having the same problem and I'm stuck, how did you get your bios unlocked?

It has been a while ago i got ny hands on a utility which gave me the passwird for it depending on my biod and tat code u get when bios hangs up after unsuccessful attempts mine was pheonix bios which one is urs tell me the hang up code too

Mine is pheonix BIOS as well. My "System Disabled" code is 02775, and my service tag is <ADMIN NOTE: Service tag removed per privacy policy>