Please help my job may depend on it :(

Hey hows it goin? I hate to bother you but I recently had my laptop stolen that I bought second hand from ebay and I recovered it, but the sons of guns who stole it put some kind of system password on it and I can't even reach the login screen. My computer is a Gateway nv54 and I believe it still has windows 7 as the OS. Is there any possible way I can recover my computer without having to go to a shop? Because I simply don't have the money. I tried booting a new OS disk to override it but it still asks for the password before the boot list.

HELP PLEASE

-Thanks

 

http://majorgeeks.com/downloads25.html
Look here

 

Maybe this is purposely not being spelled out, if so i apologize. What are you pointing him to on the linked page? BIOS password related?

 

um, yeah. It sounds like he has a power on password set, so he needs to clear BIOS to get to Windows, so I linked to the MG tools for BIOS resetting.(CMOS De-Animator, Bios) I have not had to use any tool such as these so I linked to all of them, so he could try then until he finds one that works. Because its a laptop pulling the MOBO battery may not be an option like most desktops.
Just out of curiosity what where you thinking?

 

Just curious as i have never even heard of this application, how will it work if you can not get to the login screen???

 

Right, he may not even be able to boot from a CD, so he'll have to find the battery & cmos jumper if it has one, or pay someone to clear it.
See, I stated I have never used those tools, but they are useless, because if the password is set you can't boot to an OS to use them... chicken & the egg.
If you can boot from CD use UBCD it has a BIOS password rest tool I think.

http://dogber1.blogspot.com/2009/05/table-of-reverse-engineered-bios.html


What model of laptop???
These passwords are CaSe SeNsItIve.

AMI BIOS Backdoor Passwords:

A.M.I.
AAAMMMII
AMI
AMI?SW
AMI_SW
BIOS
CONDO
HEWITT RAND
LKWPETER
MI
Oder
PASSWORD
Award BIOS Backdoor Passwords:

(eight spaces)
01322222
589589
589721
595595
598598
ALFAROME
ALLY
ALLy
aLLY
aLLy
aPAf
award
AWARD PW
AWARD SW
AWARD?SW
AWARD_PW
AWARD_SW
AWKWARD
awkward
IOSTAR
CONCAT
CONDO
Condo
condo
d8on
djonet
HLT
J256
J262
j262
j322
j332
J64
KDD
LKWPETER
Lkwpeter
PINT
pint
SER
SKY_FOXSYXZ
SKY_FOX
syxz
SYXZ
TTPTHA
ZAAAADA
ZAAADA
ZBAAACA
ZJAAADC
Russian Award BIOS Passwords:

%øåñòü ïpîáåëîâ%
%äåâÿòü ïpîáåëîâ%
Phoenix Backdoor BIOS Passwords:

BIOS
CMOS
phoenix
PHOENIX
Other Manufcaturers Backdoor Passwords: (manufacturer name – password)

VOBIS and IBM – merlin
Dell – Dell
Biostar – Biostar
Compaq – Compaq
Enox – xo11nE
Epox – central
Freetech – Posterie
IWill – iwill
Jetway – spooml
Packard Bell – bell9
QDI – QDI
Siemens – SKY_FOX
SOYO – SY_MB
TMC – BIGO
Toshiba – Toshiba

 

Don't know about Win7, but in XP, there is a default Admin account if you go to Safe Mode.
Have used it successfully a few times to remove passwords.

 

My best idea is to find the CMOC battery and remove it for about 30 seconds then replace it this will clear the CMOC and you should be able to get into it.

I have not been able to find a manual for this laptop but here is a picture of the motherboard, the CMOS battery is the black round thing surrounded with white plastic in the bottom right corner of the top picture.(it is actually silver but it looks black in the pic)



But as to how you can access this i do not know so first take the panels from the bottom of the laptop and see if it is visible.

 

Just curious as i have never even heard of CMOC?

From my post:

But I'd try *hacking* it out before I'd take an entire laptop part, I know from asking an IBM field tech, some of their passwords cannot be reset in the field - no flashing - no battery, nothing. I say "some" because there is a site with instructions to create a connection and recove the password on older IBM laptops.
http://sodoityourself.com/hacking-ibm-thinkpad-bios-password/

The OP never said the BIOS version on the Gateway.

 

I believe he meant CMOS.

 

Oops :-o back to spelling school CMOC should read CMOS

No criticism was intended, i have never heard of that application and maybe there was a way to boot from it.

 

@ foogoo, I was curious what could be asking for a password BEFORE windows even starts to boot so i assumed it was BIOS. I don't mess much with BIOS except for boot order and some other basic settings. I've had a 2 person tech team since we computerized in 1995, they are fantastic and they like it better when I don't contribute to problems.

Assumptions have had me kill a computer before so when it linked to a whole page, I wanted to confirm what direction that was.

 

For those who commented on safe mode and windows default administrator, what it seems is the problem here is that the computer doesn't get that far. It's asking for a password BEFORE it loads Windows.

Before trying the programs foogoo linked to, i would read through what each of them says. It's a mini lesson in what could be asking for the password and how it works and what the alternatives are (moving the jumper). I would try it via program first before cracking open the case. I have a old Windows2000 password crack CD that had some extra useful functions on it, fixing CMOS was one of them and it was very handy and easy.

 

somebody might as well play devils advocate - how's anybody sure this laptop is kutthroats??? no offense meant, just saying i've seen this happen

whats this got to do with netwoking???

 

Considered it. In fact, i've heard so many stories lately that I have to figure a high percentage of such stories are bogus.

In the end, just getting past BIOS isn't going to get you into windows. Jumping pins to reset the BIOS is also not a secret, it's easy to find with the right search.

 

Gateway NV54, I have found my old BIOS password and there is no way I can find out the HDD user password because they made it whatever they wanted it to be.

@jimi the only thing I've ever stolen was a dollar from my mom's purse when I was 5, and when she found out she kicked my *** 4 times the same night. I'm just trying to get help and I understand where you're coming from but can we be mature and help please?

@Handygal Are you saying that "jumping pins"(not very computer savvy myself) will solve my problem? I have the kind of HDD user password that is integrated into the BIOS and I have my BIOS key but the HDD user password is proving to be the pain in the butt please if I can get into this laptop by the 5th I will still be employed for 2011.

-Thanks

 

Okay will this reset the BIOS and the User HDD password? If there is no way I can save my work then so be it but I still would like to be able to get into my laptop without paying some guy a ton of cash. The HDD password and BIOS are integrated I believe because the BIOS box comes up and then the HDD user pssword box comes up and I have no way of knowing that. Please help me.

 

No, I don't believe clearing anything in CMOS is going to help if you have a HDD password. Some systems have an option of turning the HDD password on and off in the BIOS. Did you ask the seller about the password? I guess it would depend on the ebay listing, if they said it would actually function and boot to windows or not.

There are tools for the HDD password. Now that we know that it's HDD password, we can look at giving you the information for that problem. I'm going to check for a link right now.

 

And every time I have had to get into Safe Mode or enter the BIOS, it has come before Windows loads.

 

Greetings, Kutthroat Committee.

Can you boot to a CD? (Apologies if you have answered this previously).

If so, and there is important data that you must retrieve before 05Jan11, you might consider burning and booting to a live Linux distro and transferring your files to another machine.

 

Yes the laptop was FULLY FUNCTIONAL on arrival, but the seller wouldn't know the password, as the computer HDD password was added after it was stolen. The feature wasn't activated prior to being stolen. And thanks so much for your timely responses. I will try and appreciate any help you can provide for me.

 

No I cannot boot to a cd, all I can do is turn the computer on, enter the BIOS password, and guess at the HDD user password before it locks up from the failed attempts. NOTHING ELSE.

 

When you are at the BIOS looking at the password spot, is there an option to set to default?

 

You have tried to boot to a Linux disk? You can boot to a live environment even if there is no hard drive in the machine, so the HDD password problem is moot.

 

Possible they NEED to access the drive for folders and files required for their work?

 

So, it seems like you have to put the BIOS password in and then it immediately asks for the HDD password. Am I correct in saying that even if you put in the correct BIOS password, you cannot get into the BIOS to configure it? Maybe the BIOS is set to boot from the HDD first, thereby keeping you from booting to CD.

 

YES....immediately after I input the BIOS password the HDD password pops up and I cannot do ANYTHING without putting that password in. There are no other options, keys, or anything to move me forward without that HDD password. Its killing me.

 

Negative. Only two options are 1. Enter the Bios Password 2. Enter the Hdd User Password

I feel so unlucky :confused

 

In this situation, you would have to take the hard drive out of your laptop and install it into desktop computer using a 2.5 to 3.5 IDE adaptor. If your drive is SATA, and the desktop is SATA, no adapter is needed.

You could use something like HDD unlock to see if it is able to find the HDD password. You can try before you buy. You would have to check their site for supported hard drives. Another way is by booting UBCD and using the ATA Password Tool but I am not sure if it supports SATA. HDD unlock does. If you are not comfortable moving hard drives, then have someone you know do it for you.

And, sorry to say, success is not guaranteed. If the data is not important, you might be better off buying a new drive. The people who stole the computer might very well have deleted your data. You can get a 320GB SATA for about $50. The HDD unlock software is $20 so in effect your drive is $30.

 

Doesn't look like an option.

http://www.hddunlock.com/download/

 

I was told that buying a new drive when the HDD password is integrated with the BIOS wouldn't do any good because it will still be locked and it could possibly lock the new HDD. And how exaclty do I use HDD unlock? Do I burn it to a cd then put it into the effected computer while its booting?

 

And the HDD unlock says windows vista or xp supported. The computer has WIndows 7 on it.

 

I have never heard of a HDD lock affecting the laptop itself, especially if you know the BIOS password. The HDD password is stored on the disc itself. Maybe somebody on this board can clarify that. As far as burning HDDunlock to a CD, no, you have to install the laptop HDD into another desktop computer that is running a 32bit version of XP or Vista and run the program on the desktop computer. That way, you avoid the BIOS password. You can read the FAQ of the program here.

 

So this will work on windows 7?

 

No, the program will not work on Windows 7. The drive has to be installed into a computer that is running a 32bit version of XP or Vista. But, it will not make a difference if the laptop drive has Windows 7 on it. The program will search for the password regardless if Windows 7 is on your drive or not. That is what I assume by looking at their website. You might want to send them an email to make sure it will find a password on a drive with Windows 7 installed on it (32bit or 64bit).

 

Being the HDD password is integrated with the BIOS someone told me to try taking out the CMOS battery I guess I will try it while I wait on an email from them and a better alternative from someone here.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Some things just happen for reasons I guess.

 

No I don't have a linux disk. Are you sure this will work though? Because I'm almost sure that the password is integrated into the BIOS

 

Any luck?

 

I've found a fair amount of information that says a HDD password and a BIOS password are not the same thing, not necessarily related and so before going through all the information for each type, it's helpful to know what you really have.

Some information from pwcrack.com which is similar to the info I've seen on several sites while looking for a HDD crack that was recommended.

The program that was recommended will look in the hard disk firmware section only and attempt to reset the password there. Compatible hard disks are listed or checked by a utility.

 

So there is nothing I can do? As far as what I really have, I have a Gateway NV54, T4400 dual core processor, 320gb hdd and windows 7. The thing boots up, shows the Gateway Screen, then the BIOS password entry box appears, then another box comes up in the same format and asks for the HDD user password. Thats where I'm stumped please if anyone can help.

It appears that even if I take out the hard drive and replace it with a new one that it won't work, or atleast thats what I collected from the selection you posted from pwcrack.com

 

If you have (had) another hard drive EXACTLY identical to the locked one, you may be able to switch the circuit board off the drives to get it going again.

 

There is another thread about this computer on another site? It says that you have the BIOS password and you don't care if you lose the data.

With those assumptions, your options seem to be:
*Try a linux CD.
*Try the HDDunlock, first by checking with the compatibility utility. It's related program, repair station, is a pay program that would preserve your data.
*Return the laptop to the ebay seller for a refund.

Assuming that you don't care about the data on the laptop, and since you are willing to change the harddrive that seems to fit, it doesn't make a lot of sense to be attached to this particular laptop. Get your money back and buy something else used/refurbished that you actually can access. Maybe you and the seller call this functional, but just having power isn't functional at all.

Link to the auction and we can help formulate the argument for an ebay claim if you need to go that far.

 

Or if the drive is good, just locked, you could connect as a slave to another machine, delete the partition (drive) then reformat.

 

I think you're missing some of my posts. The laptop was stolen from me after I bought it. I had this laptop and was using it perfectly prior to it being stolen. The thieves(or the person who was caught with it) activated those features on the laptop for whatever reason while they had it, and now that I've recovered it Idk the codes besides the BIOS password. Yes I put it up on another site and I put that I don't care about the data because it seems that there isn't a way I'm going to get it back anyway. The eBay seller isn't responsible for my laptop being stolen and the return time has passed anyway so thats not an option. I really need to make this work some kind of way because I've invested what I consider alot of money.

Will a Linux CD automatically boot without the hdd coming into play?

HDD unlock okay I will try this hopefully it will work without the hdd password being a factor.

 

How do I do this? I can get another hard drive from eBay I will have to check to see that its EXACTLY identical or not.

 

As for ebay, I don't think i'm missing anything about the ebay seller except for how the laptop was listed. Hasn't got anything to do with being stolen, who is responsible for that or how this laptop came to be there. If the return and dispute times have past then there is nothing to discuss anyway. The only thing you would recover is what you paid on ebay for the laptop. The rest of the story doesn't have anything to do with my point.

If you do check the compatibility for HDDunlock, and it's compatible, do not run the program. If the data means anything to you then it would be worth your while to look at the sister program, Repair Station, that does the unlock without wiping the drive. It's a pay program but it's guaranteed for 30 days. If it doesn't work you can get your money back. Likely faster and cheaper than finding another hard drive too.

 

I do not know if this would relate to your drive but I found this about trying to swap out the PCB.

Also this. This is the first time I have heard of a unlocked drive possibly becoming locked if installed.

Edit: I see that handygal has already linked the above. Sorry. One more thing. You say you know what the BIOS password is, correct? I am wondering if the people who stole the machine also changed that somehow. The reason I ask is because the BIOS password is needed to add the HDD password and how could they do that if they did not know what your BIOS password was. Also, if you remove the drive from the laptop, can you get into the BIOS config using your password?

 

I thought it was a possibility.
Thanks tgell for finding that.
That trick has saved me some drives, but they weren't locked.
Oh well.I tried.

 

I see what you are thinking TimW, but a hard drive password is different- I had a thread sometime ago, and we everything did not work.
I had a hard drive , myself that was locked, and I just wanted to format it, and clean it up to re-use the hard drive- no go.
I tried reading it from other machines, tried formatting it from other machines, but nothing would read it, or, clean it.
I have loads of password cracking tools, and I spent ages, just because I don't like being beaten- but I was, and in the end I destroyed it.
If the feature is in the Bios, then if you remove the hard drive, and when restarting, as suggested earlier should get you into the bios, then, you should be able to change the setting for the hard drive , remove password, and shutdown- put a new hard drive in and renew software. As for the locked hard drive, HDDunlock, as suggested may , or, may not work, but is about the only hope I could see, if you want that hard drive.
Nothing that I tried would even let me see anything on the one I had.
There was a suggestion, long after the post from omeone that I never tried, as I had got rid of my one, but I will try looking back to see if I can find it- Still do not know if it would work though- If I can find it, I will come back.
Good luck