inspiron 2200, bios protected password. How do I reset or remove that password.


ultimately the cd rom has failed and I need to change the boot sequence to boot from usb device to install os

Remive the CMOS battery. Also, if the bboard has a CMOS reset jumper, short those pins. Doing so will clear the CMOS.

most new motherboards now have a CMOS reset jumper, look in your motherboard book to see where it is located.

depends on who makes your motherboard though. Dell especially are quite secretive about motherboard components.

when you open up your machine have a look and see if you can determine whos the manufacturer of your motherboard and chipset and what not.

take out the CMOS battery and let it be for a short time before reinserting it. this should clear the CMOS settings including your password.

thanks everyone for the help

You can follow the advice given by the others to reset the password, but you cannot install OS with a USB CD-ROM. You, most definitely, will need to change your CD drive before you can install a new OS.

I'd like close this one with a "Didn't see that one coming" Removing the Cmos battery did nothing. And as it turns out there was nothing wrong with the CD rom, I had a stop code that indicated hardware failure.

It turned out to be the memory that was causing problems, I never thought to check because it was a new chip. I guess live and learn, i replaced the ram and installed OS just fine.

Thanks for the help.

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