Okay before everyone gets on their high horse, I will explain my
situation; I just bought this from a guy on craigslist whom I cannot
reach at the moment. It is not stolen, but I have a BIOS password that
I can't get past. Please save the smug replies and try and help an
honest forum member with any suggestions on how I can get rid of it or
of a shop that will do it for me. I am continuing to try and reach the
seller, but at this point I need help so it won't be a door stop. Does
anyone know where the cmos battery is in this model? Will removing it
reset the password or is that a waste of time?
Thanks for any help.
It doesn't matter where the CMOS battery is, removing it won't help you.
The password is stored in flash or EEROM or a security chip ... it
doesn't need power to remember it. Those days are long gone.
The usual way to remove a password on older Toshiba products are to
either use a parallel port dongle or a special floppy disk (you may need
a floppy drive). An online search will reveal how to make either or
both. It's much more difficult on later USB models, and in many cases
the techniques have not yet passed beyond the realm of "company
confidential".
ken10254 wrote:
> Okay before everyone gets on their high horse, I will explain my
> situation; I just bought this from a guy on craigslist whom I cannot
> reach at the moment. It is not stolen, but I have a BIOS password that
> I can't get past. Please save the smug replies and try and help an
> honest forum member with any suggestions on how I can get rid of it or
> of a shop that will do it for me. I am continuing to try and reach the
> seller, but at this point I need help so it won't be a door stop. Does
> anyone know where the cmos battery is in this model? Will removing it
> reset the password or is that a waste of time?
> Thanks for any help.
On May 28, 11:00 pm, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOS...@neo.rr.com> wrote:
> It doesn't matter where the CMOS battery is, removing it won't help you.
>
> The password is stored in flash or EEROM or a security chip ... it
> doesn't need power to remember it. Those days are long gone.
>
> The usual way to remove a password on older Toshiba products are to
> either use a parallel port dongle or a special floppy disk (you may need
> a floppy drive). An online search will reveal how to make either or
> both. It's much more difficult on later USB models, and in many cases
> the techniques have not yet passed beyond the realm of "company
> confidential".
>
> ken10254 wrote:
> > Okay before everyone gets on their high horse, I will explain my
> > situation; I just bought this from a guy on craigslist whom I cannot
> > reach at the moment. It is not stolen, but I have a BIOS password that
> > I can't get past. Please save the smug replies and try and help an
> > honest forum member with any suggestions on how I can get rid of it or
> > of a shop that will do it for me. I am continuing to try and reach the
> > seller, but at this point I need help so it won't be a door stop. Does
> > anyone know where the cmos battery is in this model? Will removing it
> > reset the password or is that a waste of time?
> > Thanks for any help.
Thanks Barry; I appreciate your answer. This is the newer Libretto,
U105, so I assumed that it had a EEPROM chip. Do I need to contact
Toshiba or do you know of anyone who can do this kind of reprogramming?
On Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:44 -0400, Barry Watzman
<WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote:
:>It doesn't matter where the CMOS battery is, removing it won't help you.
:>
:>The password is stored in flash or EEROM or a security chip ... it
:>doesn't need power to remember it. Those days are long gone.
:>
:>The usual way to remove a password on older Toshiba products are to
:>either use a parallel port dongle or a special floppy disk (you may need
:>a floppy drive). An online search will reveal how to make either or
:>both. It's much more difficult on later USB models, and in many cases
:>the techniques have not yet passed beyond the realm of "company
:>confidential".
Quite a few of the newer Toshiba models are now using a "challenge
system". Special hot keys are pressed on power up and a code is
displayed on the screen. The Toshiba certified tech (requires a
Toshiba Tech ID) at a Toshiba ASP then must call a special support
number. After reading off the code displayed on the screen the tech is
given a code to type in to remove the password. In some cases this is
immediate and in some cases the ASP Support department has to send an
email to a special server in Japan and wait for a reply. Once they
receive the unlock code they call the ASP tech back with the correct
code to type in. The computer can NOT be turned off while waiting for
the code so AC power is a necessity. If the computer is powered off
while waiting the whole process had to be stared again.
Also note that if you do have to go through a Toshiba ASP they are
REQUIRED to see some sort of proof of ownership before doing a bios
password removal. Not all of them do it all of the time but you should
be prepared just in case.
me/2
:>ken10254 wrote:
:>> Okay before everyone gets on their high horse, I will explain my
:>> situation; I just bought this from a guy on craigslist whom I cannot
:>> reach at the moment. It is not stolen, but I have a BIOS password that
:>> I can't get past. Please save the smug replies and try and help an
:>> honest forum member with any suggestions on how I can get rid of it or
:>> of a shop that will do it for me. I am continuing to try and reach the
:>> seller, but at this point I need help so it won't be a door stop. Does
:>> anyone know where the cmos battery is in this model? Will removing it
:>> reset the password or is that a waste of time?
:>> Thanks for any help.
On Thu, 29 May 2008 04:54:12 -0700 (PDT), ken10254
<kwolfdds@gmail.com> wrote:
:>On May 28, 11:00 pm, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOS...@neo.rr.com> wrote:
:>> It doesn't matter where the CMOS battery is, removing it won't help you.
:>>
:>> The password is stored in flash or EEROM or a security chip ... it
:>> doesn't need power to remember it. Those days are long gone.
:>>
:>> The usual way to remove a password on older Toshiba products are to
:>> either use a parallel port dongle or a special floppy disk (you may need
:>> a floppy drive). An online search will reveal how to make either or
:>> both. It's much more difficult on later USB models, and in many cases
:>> the techniques have not yet passed beyond the realm of "company
:>> confidential".
:>>
:>> ken10254 wrote:
:>> > Okay before everyone gets on their high horse, I will explain my
:>> > situation; I just bought this from a guy on craigslist whom I cannot
:>> > reach at the moment. It is not stolen, but I have a BIOS password that
:>> > I can't get past. Please save the smug replies and try and help an
:>> > honest forum member with any suggestions on how I can get rid of it or
:>> > of a shop that will do it for me. I am continuing to try and reach the
:>> > seller, but at this point I need help so it won't be a door stop. Does
:>> > anyone know where the cmos battery is in this model? Will removing it
:>> > reset the password or is that a waste of time?
:>> > Thanks for any help.
:>
:>Thanks Barry; I appreciate your answer. This is the newer Libretto,
:>U105, so I assumed that it had a EEPROM chip. Do I need to contact
:>Toshiba or do you know of anyone who can do this kind of reprogramming?
See my reply to Barry's post. If you are unable to get the password
from the seller and are in the US I would recommend going to Toshiba's
website and finding the nearest PREMIER ASP and give them a call. They
are more likely to know the process for your model than Toshiba's
so-called tech support.
On May 29, 7:23 pm, me/2 <n...@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> On Thu, 29 May 2008 04:54:12 -0700 (PDT), ken10254
>
> <kwolf...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> :>On May 28, 11:00 pm, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOS...@neo.rr.com> wrote:
> :>> It doesn't matter where the CMOS battery is, removing it won't help you.
> :>>
> :>> The password is stored in flash or EEROM or a security chip ... it
> :>> doesn't need power to remember it. Those days are long gone.
> :>>
> :>> The usual way to remove a password on older Toshiba products are to
> :>> either use a parallel port dongle or a special floppy disk (you may need
> :>> a floppy drive). An online search will reveal how to make either or
> :>> both. It's much more difficult on later USB models, and in many cases
> :>> the techniques have not yet passed beyond the realm of "company
> :>> confidential".
> :>>:>> ken10254 wrote:
>
> :>> > Okay before everyone gets on their high horse, I will explain my
> :>> > situation; I just bought this from a guy on craigslist whom I cannot
> :>> > reach at the moment. It is not stolen, but I have a BIOS password that
> :>> > I can't get past. Please save the smug replies and try and help an
> :>> > honest forum member with any suggestions on how I can get rid of it or
> :>> > of a shop that will do it for me. I am continuing to try and reach the
> :>> > seller, but at this point I need help so it won't be a door stop. Does
> :>> > anyone know where the cmos battery is in this model? Will removing it
> :>> > reset the password or is that a waste of time?
> :>> > Thanks for any help.
> :>
> :>Thanks Barry; I appreciate your answer. This is the newer Libretto,
> :>U105, so I assumed that it had a EEPROM chip. Do I need to contact
> :>Toshiba or do you know of anyone who can do this kind of reprogramming?
>
> See my reply to Barry's post. If you are unable to get the password
> from the seller and are in the US I would recommend going to Toshiba's
> website and finding the nearest PREMIER ASP and give them a call. They
> are more likely to know the process for your model than Toshiba's
> so-called tech support.
>
> IIRC the ASP lookup page is at:
>
> http://pcrepair.toshiba.com
>
> me/2
Thanks for the info. It gave me a lot to think about and made me
decide to put the darn thing on eBay as a parts machine with a full
disclaimer of its condition. Sold in 10 minutes! Good riddance
Toshiba Libretto U105 BIOS password removal? 
Linear Mode
