Stuck w/o BIOS password.v.EBay

I am a Computer Technician with a company here in Texas. A

Dell Latitude CP M233XT

was brought in.

The lady said she had bought this off of EBay (eek). Once she recieved it, she found it is pass protected.



When the computer is turned on, it goes directly to a gray and white
screen that says

"DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION
www.dell.com

Checkout 19

This computer system, #CDMWR**-595b, is protected by a password
authentication system. You cannot access the data on this computer
without the correct password.

Please type in the primary or administrator password and press <Enter>"

===

It looks like she got Ebayed! I have tools to get around BIOS passes, but nothing is working with this one. There HAS to be some freaking way around it.

Blah... I hate Ebay.




And before you throw red points at me, notice I have been here for a long time. I'm a good person. :p This is no trick.

Ideas, anyone???

It looks like you're going to have some soldering to do :D

From what I can find, Dell can do it for you (read: get you a master password), but you'll need the previous owner's data, then Dell needs to transfer ownership of the laptop to you, and then they'll help you (if you're lucky).

If you don't want to deal with Dell, check this out: http://www.dellpassword.net.ms/

Are you telling me resetting the bios wont clear the password?

Did you try pulling the jumpers out ?

Apparently, Dells store their BIOS passwords on a separate chip - removing CMOS battery won't help, and there are no jumpers. The "solution" involves soldering directly on that password chip to short the chip - not worth the trouble if you ask me...


On another note: that laptop has probably been stolen...

Someone steals the laptop, doesn't have the recovery disk(s) to clean the hard drive and start all over, takes out the hard drive and puts a new one in. Most Dell's don't like that and give the message you are getting... thief puts the laptop on eBay to get rid of it, and you're stuck with it... you call Dell, give them the tag number, and they'll probably tell you that it's been stolen... end of story...

I would call Dell, and tell them what happened. Give them the serial number - if it's been stolen, they can tell you, and you can tell your customer. If it's not been stolen, try getting the information from the previous owner and have Dell transfer ownership so they can help you...

generally people dont get negged just becasue they are new. they get negged becase they ask how to crack a password without giving any relavent info, without any backgrund info and sound shady. And then stumble to answer the simplest of questions. Negative is right, dells are a pain to crack. Have her contact the previous owner and get the password? or atleast transfer info.

good luck. Oh, and its probably not the best idea to mention your companies name on a web forum. Becasue later if you ever ask any more sensitive work related questions people know where you work and it can get you in toruble.

Related to this thread, it is funny I came across one guy asking for the same issue about his Dell Latitude D505.

I had checked it last two days ago and been working around inside out but did not find anything. I had checked and searched and SWEAT but did not find any informative stuff directly from Dell.com or other source. Not to mention I had downloaded much of the manuals and stuff from their site (PDF).

I also suspect the guy had stolen it or acquired it legally but the guy seems to be honest, and he is an Aircraft Mechanic getting 10x my salary :D, so that makes sense on trusting him, huh?

Anyway, the problem is his wife messed up with the Admin password (CMOS). That is the short story.

I'll check the link that Negative had given and try it when I get home today and update you if some positive situation happened.

-GONE

Well,

My view is that e-bay should be made illegal in all countries throughout the world :cool:

They are careless scum, and well deserve terminating.............and as a computer tech, I would say to someone who bought off e-bay........"£$$%^%^&* OFF" simply because they think that they can get things cheap, pay less, cut corners and so on................

Yes, I actually know several solutions to the problem, but I will not post them for obvious reasons, nor reveal them because the bitch has to learn not to deal on e-bay :D

For those who wish to neg me for my opinion (first amendment right) please post so I do not have to look for you

;)

You could

A) Speak to Dell.

If it's stolen inform the police & they will get e-bay involved & go & sort the seller out. You are unikely to get your money back & may have to hand over the laptop.

B) Sell it back on ebay (sold as is)

Steve

Dell BIOS backdoors, are created from the service tags. If you have the Service Tag you can get the password, you can also call Dell and give them the SN to get your service tag. This program will calculate the backdoor from the ST.

-Maestr0

Maestr0,

Quote:

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This program will calculate the backdoor from the ST.

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I've tried the same program (latitude.exe) several times 2 days ago, with no positive results.

Quote:

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From the program it says:

Usage service_tag_number
Service tag must be 5 letters long

---

And the Dell service tag (found at the back of the Laptop) is actually 7-digit and not 5-digit long the way the program (latitude.exe) had mentioned. :(

(maybe the program is telling atleast 5 digit or so - but when I entered the first 5 digit of the service tag or the complete 7 digit, it returns the same Master password which is useless when I tried to enter in the Admin PW screen of the Laptop). Sorry it didn't really work in my case.

nihil,

Quote:

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Yes, I actually know several solutions to the problem, but I will not post them for obvious reasons, nor reveal them because the bitch has to learn not to deal on e-bay

---

How about if the wife really forgets the Admin PW? Can we arrange something? :p


-GONE

Update:

Yesterday I spent 1 hour and 45 mins. on the phone with Dell. I talked to 4 people and was transfered to the wrong place on my on the 3rd. The 1st didn't speak English the best either.

I was able to find out:

1. The computer belonged to some company. (They would not tell me which one. They WOULD let me guess, but of course I had no idea.)

2. The service code is #CDMWR**-595b. This is NOT on the bottom of the computer as they INSISTED it was. Nor was the express code. I found #CDMWR**-595b on the BIOS screen.

3. The express code. After telling Dell about 500 times that I WAS LOOKINGS on the BOTTOM OF THE COMPUTER, the guy finaly told me the express code which he was able to find using the service code. Blah...

4. The seller of this lapttop has 100% positive feedback on EBay. This does not mean much, but I thought I would have a look.

5. The buyer can go to Dell's site and fill out some info (Personal of course) and have the ownership moved over to her. Dell will have a look at her info and then contact the company that owned the comp. If they have sold it to anyone, the change will go through. Then she must call Dell back, wait 11ty hours on hold and then ask all over again about the BIOS pass. If the computer was stolen, they will let the buyer know and... I don't know.

Neg, thank you. :)

Maestr0, I have DL`d that .Zip and will try it out. Thank you!

Do you own a paper clip?

:D

What might I do with this paperclip?

Maestr0,

The zip did not work. It was worth a try though. Thanks again.

Would someone explain to me about this whole "Do you have a paperclip?" question? Does this involve shorting out the BIOS chip? Please do tell.

I 'think' he is referring to the practice of pushing the 'reset' button via a pinhole in the case :D

Hi,

I doubt if there is a reset button; that is the sort of thing you find with routers and stuff that is in a secure environment.

I don't know that particular model, but as you are having a problem with the BIOS password, it will not be stored in the BIOS so re-setting it will do no good.

There should be a separate eeprom chip that holds the password. Basically you use the paper clip to clear the eeprom chip and then you are in business.

I will have a look for the instructions/link and PM them to you.

:)

EDIT: how many password generating programs have you tried...............I am aware of two, and I am not quite sure which models they are supposed to cover..............I will have a look at those as well...........try them first (if you haven't already) and try clearing the eeprom chip as a last resort ;)

Quote:

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Yes, I actually know several solutions to the problem, but I will not post them for obvious reasons, nor reveal them because the bitch has to learn not to deal on e-bay

---

its responses like this that keep people interested in learning about security away from here. a few morons that want to profess they know all and tout themselves in public, i was fortunate that when i first tumbled upon this site it was in an earlier and friendlier era

DISLEX

Hi, I have just got back so I will try to dig that stuff out for you Sunday morning.

I have not done one of these for almost a year, but as I recall, the generators create the "default" password NOT a "master" password...............so if the previous owner changed it, it won't work and we are left with the paperclip solution? which is not infallible.

I see from your responses that we are on the same "wavelength" particularly regarding e-bay:)......I know of a few personal instances and many reported ones of people buying "bricks"...........frequently routers that do not have a reset mechanism, or laptops :eek:

I guess the chances of success are about 60% based on my experiences.

jxrry59

Quote:

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ts responses like this that keep people interested in learning about security away from here

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This is not a question about learning about security...............it is about how to crack a manufacturers' security mechanism on a device that may well have been stolen.

If you read the front page of this site very carefully, you will appreciate that there are some things that are acceptable and some that are not.............posting hacks and cracks is not..........

Particularly as Jupiter Media (our hosts) and Dell are both corporations operating under American law?..............Dell might not like it? and I certainly have more respect for AO and their hosts than to compromise them in such a fashion.

I see that my "broad hints" were fully understood by a fellow technician :D

I shall pursue the matter with him privately, although I feel that our chances of success are probably only slightly better than even, unless he happens to be an eeprom chip wizard, which I am not.

"Note: This is for Dell CP and CPI Latitudes, it has not been tried on other models. Another way to crack it is to create a short in the 24c02 chip (the markings on the top of the chip) between pins 3 and 6 when you power on!
Before you try that though, remove the hard-drive and see if you get the same error.
If NOT, then it is a Hard-drive password and not a system password. This fix is for a system BIOS password only. A new Hard-drive should fix it if it boots w/o the hard-drive or is cleared of a system BIOS password.
The chip is below the processor so you have to solder two very small wires and bring them outside the laptop then reinstall the processor. Short the two wires and power on! Pin 1 is the one with the dot in the corner. Next pin on the same side is 2 then 3,4, and 5,6,7,8 going around the corner with pin 8 being across from pin1. The power on password will be disabled and you will be able to access the system settings via the F2 during bootup as if it was never there. This works for me, works great.
Only catch is…if there is also a hard-drive password, it will not disable that one and you will get the same message. But at least you will be able to put in a new hard-drive and use the laptop. I haven’t figured out a fix for the hard-drive one yet, except I may try to adapt a cable to connect the laptop drive to a desktop pc and then I should be able to Fdisk it etc. (the laptop looks for the password protection, I doubt the desktop will especially another brand.) You could try to install the hard-drive in another brand laptop. Perhaps then you can Fdisk it etc. to reclaim it.
For those of you who are not accustomed to soldering PC boards. Make sure the wire does not touch other pins or the case. Do NOT OVERHEAT the chip! Work in short sets of applying heat and let it rest a few minutes between attempts if you can not get it to attach right away. No more than 8 seconds at a time at low temp setting.
I used some old “wire-wrap” wire. It is very-very small, single solid strand, and insulated. Be sure to ground the solder iron to the case just before you solder and REMOVE THE BATTERY FIRST!"

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/21041/


-Maestr0

Yes, that is the general principle.

Obviously you have to re-assemble to a point where you can boot the machine, so it depends on where the eeprom chip is located, as to whether you need to solder wires to it.

With some models it is quite readily accessible so it is safer to use a bent paper clip.

GONEin62nd

Try altering the case of the pass, also try holding down the control key before you hit enter.

:)

Quote:

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Originally posted here by Maestr0
Note: This is for Dell CP and CPI Latitudes, it has not been tried on other models. Another way to crack it is to create a short in the 24c02 chip (the markings on the top of the chip) between pins 3 and 6 when you power on!
Before you try that though, remove the hard-drive and see if you get the same error.
If NOT, then it is a Hard-drive password and not a system password. This fix is for a system BIOS password only. A new Hard-drive should fix it if it boots w/o the hard-drive or is cleared of a system BIOS password.
The chip is below the processor so you have to solder two very small wires and bring them outside the laptop then reinstall the processor.

---

Maestr0, Hello! It was a good explanation you had point out above. :) The Laptop that I am currently checking is Dell Latitude D505, does it fall in the CP or CPI category? And I had checked all around the board, even under the CPU but the chip seems to be not there. The owner had agreed with my suggestion to bring it to a Technical Shop near my place and have them examine it. The owner actually tried some shop but haven't solved the problem. We will try with the expert if they can really solve it in their side. (for sure they will not tell how they fixed it after they did it).

And BTW, I also tried removing the Hard-drive but it is the same story, so it is really a system password (forgotten by the wife).

Quote:

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Originally posted here by nihil

GONEin62nd

Try altering the case of the pass, also try holding down the control key before you hit enter.

:)

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I will still try your recommendations one last time with the MASTER PW (Latitude.exe).



I'll update you all with any of the above if what ever results will come.

Thank you!

-GONE

Hi GONE~

Bad news I am afraid, if your service code ends with -595B it seems that the generators cannot find a pass for you.

Also, as the wife changed the thing, this will have overidden the default. I know that Dell Engineers have "God" passwords, but unfortunately I only "don't have them" for earlier models :(

I guess we have reached soldering iron/paperclip time. What you have to find out is where that eeprom chip is............it will have 8 legs (4x4) and should be printed up as a 24C02 or 24C04..... I think that the 04 is the most likely.

Good luck mate :)

nihil,

Thanks again! Actually, the technical guy from the shop also recommends to directly coordinate with Dell about the matter. Not much to do right now. I also suggested further to the owner to directly contact Dell here in the region as well.

And to the OP, DIXLEX, sorry for coming too wide about my own scenario of the problem in this thread, just update us of what happened with your issue.

Thanks again! :)

-GONE
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