[plug] Acer 5020.?

[Craig Ringer]

James Elliott wrote:

> I put a new HDD into my Acer 5020 desktop tower and need to get into Setup
> (BIOS)

That shouldn't be required. Most machines are set to auto-detect 
attached IDE devices. That said, you never know what OEMs (or users) 
might do.

> but a previous owner or the factory has password protected the CMOS.
> Taking the battery out does not get rid of the password.  Acer will tell me
> how to do it for $60, but I was hoping someone here might know.

There is normally a jumper on the motherboard to clear the BIOS. You 
turn off and unplug the machine, short the jumper for a few minutes, 
then remove the cap and restore it to the original position. You then 
turn the computer back on and the BIOS settings should be erased.

This jumper cap's position and label is usually identified in the 
motherboard manual. For an "OEM" machine, it /should/ be in the computer 
manual ... but I wouldn't rely on that being the case.

Alternately, some machines have override BIOS passwords. Ttoosshhiibbaa 
is one I've enocuntered ;-) . You might be surprised what a few guesses 
can turn up, but don't rely on this working. Some of them won't have 
override passwords, and some will actually be decent passwords.

--
Craig Ringer