No, removing the CMOS battery won't change the BIOS code... Sounds like you need to reflash the BIOS directly. You're probably not interested in investing the time to do that, so learn your lesson and buy a new one.

>>901240
yes disconnecting the cmos battery will reset the password and clear the cmos. which is like the ram that the bios runs in. it will also force the computer to refresh the cmos.

source: used to work in a computer store where the same customers would repeatedly return because their password "simply didnt work but they were typing it in properly." some laptops require long disassembly in order to access it.

the password is saved in the cmos, not the bios. even the fancy drive locker bios shits can be simply reset and tada! the hard drive is no longer "encrypted"

>>901245
I also recommend adding an easily accessible switch or just a wire or pin of some sort that allows easy bios resets by just opening the hard drive bay or wherever.

>>901245
>This is not about the password!

>>901247
>cmos is corrupted
>entering the password doesnt allow me to make changes to the bios
>reset the cmos

BUT I KNOWWW THE PASSSSWORRDDDD :D LOL

Im asuming you *have* tried F12 / F8 / Esc (whatever) key (for boot order menu)?

More likely than "it wos hacked, like.." is that you have a problem with whatever your booting from, eg CD/Drive not recognised - see if thats actually listed / recognised in Bios 1st, if not, try USB, or whatever.

hack would most likely lock you out the entire Bios, not just the boot menu - does the boot order save change *appear* to work? Bios key (F2/Esc?) "show boot menu" - Enable? What dont work, exactly?

>>901247
I just said that because people think questions like this are about unlocking stolen hardware - which they usually are.

>>901245
Is a good answer, but one that assumes desktop PCs or consumer laptops. This one is a business line and the cmos battery does not reset the password, this much I already learned from google.

>>901254
Nope. I get into the BIOS. But the option to change boot order cannot be selected. Many other options are also inaccessible. Basically all it does now is set the system clock and offer the option to mess up the memory timing. But to flash it I need to boot an iso image from the manufacturer with a DOS environment that contains the bios flash tool.

>>901255
Sounds like you have some sort of secure boot option set. HP laptops allow you to lock out other boot devices from your POST boot menu to prevent live loads. There are also options to disable boot from USB/Network etc, ad options to disable legacy boot (IE, allow UEFI boot only). If you are using windows 7 with legacy boot disabled, you're not going to see shit captain.

Dig through he BIOS settings for settings like "secure boot" or similar. I'm guessing these settings will either be in the security settings or possibly under boot options. Hit me with a model# and the OS you intend to use (as you should have when you posted) and i'll see if I can dig anything up.

>>901257
..and before some retard says "hurr its a fuji" I am aware, HP is an example, and if its a upper consumer/lower commercial range laptop, it will likely have these features.

>>901257
It's a Fu/Si E8410 and I used it for Ubuntu without problems for years. Now I want Tails.

I have it in pieces atm, but two hours ago I was in the bios, not the boot menu, looking at the boot option table, and hitting arrows, tab, space, return, enter, F-keys, and delete repeatedly for 10 minutes in an attempt to get to the menu option. The highlighted/cursor mark wouldn't go there. Keys are listed at the bottom, work in other menus, don't work for boot order or devices selection.

>>901257
>"secure boot"
If I missed that I will feel stupid tomorrow. But I don't think I would. Still might've.

>>901260
>>901266
Cheers. Looks like there is fuck all in there security wise short of disabling boot devices (see P27; http://pdfstream.manualsonline.com/c/cf228cda-3ba5-47b3-a129-f0b3ade2f809.pdf) so it's lot looking like security. Still worth a dig through though, I am only skimming this document at this point, but the index didn't reveal anything obvious.

Stupid question.. tried an external keyboard?

Meanwhile I found these, but they are TL;DR for someone who has no interest other than posting a reply on 4chan, so have a dig through and see if anything is relevant. If you're still stuck jump on the phone to fuji and see if they have any protips, otherwise it might be a straight up blown BIOS chip.

http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/250502-bios-can-access-bios-utility-but-cannot-change-settings.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/2w1tzn/cant_access_bios_or_boot_sequence_fujitsu_t902/

>>901268
Thanks. I will read up on those links. If it's a fried register then there's nothing to be done, but at least I will have the satisfaction of having reassembled that beast. Hopefully.

I tried both usb keyboard and the built in one.

>>901255

>>901245 is not a good answer. Almost every single factual statement in it is incorrect, or has been incorrect since over a decade ago.

Modern (i.e. less old than the Sega Genesis) computers store their settings in a flash chip, not an SRAM. Removing the battery will wipe the clock, but nothing else. This is why you now have to use the "clear CMOS" jumper, rather than just take the battery out.

Laptops, unlike desktops from 1993, are designed with theft in mind. They don't store the password that stops you using a stolen computer in a battery-backed SRAM, because that would be absolutely, utterly, unbelievably retarded. Decent laptops don't even store it in flash, because everybody and his dog knows how to replace a flash chip. Steal a Thinkpad, and you can fuck right off, because the password (and the disk encryption key) is stored in its TPM, and the security coprocessor is running lojack and has already phoned home. I digress.

Hard disks have also gotten with the times. When you set a hard disk password, the laptop says to the hard disk "hey this is your password". Clear the CMOS, the disk will still ask for it. Put the disk in another PC, the disk will still ask for it.

>>901260
E8410 has a TPM. That's probably not relevant, but it's something to bear in mind. You are not going to be "resetting the CMOS", or in fact doing anything security related unless you have all the required passwords.

Dumb question, but a lot of BIOSes have three passwords: one to boot the machine, one to enter setup and look at the settings, and one to actually change things.

Once you're in the BIOS setup, you go to the passwords page, and there'll be something like "master password", "setup password" or the like, that you have to select and enter the password into before the settings will unlock.

>>901255
If you're set on flashing the BIOS, why not just boot the ISO on another machine, copy all the shit onto a hard disk that boots FreeDOS, and slap that into the truculent laptop?

Why don't you just format the hard drive with DOS, boot from it and flash the BIOS?

It could be that you have the read only bios password and need the admin password to do writes. Could also be that the bios defaults to read only until you find the entry in the bios to enable changes. These two things are common with lenovo and Dell bios'.

Check the manuals to see if there is a pair of pins that you can jumper/short to reset your bios.

Last idea, get a blank drive, make it bootable and have your installation/iso copied on to it. That way you won't need boot settings changed.