Locked bios

ok and if i can't find the registered owner ??

or is it easy to find the original owner with the service tag ??

ok thanks for that i just looked and all service tags have been removed

and i doubt the seller was the original owner so looks like i need another board  :(

The registered owner needs to transfer the system into your name with Dell.

If you can't find the registered owner, you will need to replace the mainboard to unlock the system.

But in saying that i have a board that boots to bios, but when i turn it on i just get a blank screen and a flashing cursor

when i choose DVD drive as first boot i get the same , any ideas on that one ??

If you can get hold of a service tech's disk for dell systems you may be able to get past the admin password screen.

Tha's what i use when i'm repairing a system or getting it ready for resell after purchase from ebay or where ever.

Either the system boots to a password prompt (which means it has a password set) or it boots to a flashing cursor (in which case it's likely a bad mainboard). Which is it?

Unplug the system, remove the battery and hold the power button for 30 seconds.  Remove and reinstall both memory modules and the hard drive.  Try powering up again.

If you still get nothing, remove the battery and try again -- if that solves the problem, the battery is bad.

If  you still can't get the system to pass POST, unplug the hard drive and try again.  If the system will then boot to a BIOS screen, the drive is bad.

If you still get nothing thereafter, the mainboard is toast.

Ok sound good i will give that a try if im un-succefull with this other mainboard with bios password lock

System boots to a blank screen with a flashing cursor , i can access bios by tapping F2 while the dell logo screen is up

No it's a bios lock can't get past the gray and white screen ,can't do anything without passing this ,working on it now but

the code i got is invalid lol

I read into that bios reset cd but i don't think it will help as my system wont allow F12 or any recofig of the system until this password is entered  :(

You will boot from the disk once you have it burned on a disk. I didn't think it'd work for me but it will. I've never seen a system yet that would not allow a boot from disk option from the dell start screen .(like hen you first turn on the system and see the dell logo.

You can clear bios locks with the same disk. Search online for a iso of the disk. That's where I got mine. Takes a little time to figure out what to do but it works. You can even put the service codes by on the system with it.

Well no harm in trying, i already have a password wipe CD but it won't allow that so i will try this one

fingers crossed