Remove Bios boot password on Asus AIO

[wrathful2]

Hey guys, really stumped here, been trying to remove the administrative bios password on an ET2232I/AR5B125 AIO. Pulled the CMOS battery, looked for jumpers and been scouring the net for schematics (to no avail, even checked you guys schematics archive) to see what points i might be able to 'cross/ short' to overcome this problem. Thus far research got me a list of passwords associated with BIOS dates (for laptops) which i cant use because i cant see the new date on the machine (tried the keys they suggested to bring it up). Been trying to figure out what the reset date for my model would be so that i could try the aforementioned passwords...but no leads. Contacted ASUS and they said send it in.....I live in the marvelous twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago....

Any advice on what to do or where to check would be greatly appreciated.

[Queen Daisy]

Re: Remove Bios boot password on Asus AIO

Quick question can't you can remove the chip and fix again? But… here’s the thing. This is not supposed to be easy. This isn’t technically supposed to be possible. This is the security that is built into the laptop to make a brick out of a stolen laptop.

[wrathful2]

Re: Remove Bios boot password on Asus AIO

I am still doing research as to which chip it is...cant find any definitive answers as of yet. When i do find it, i will definitely try to replace or flash it.

[Topcat]

Re: Remove Bios boot password on Asus AIO

if the password is saved in the cmos, removing the bios chip will do nothing....and if removing the battery didn't wipe it, its obvioulsy stored in some non volatile place. Research the board, odds are there's some pads on the board that, if shorted, will wipe it.

[wrathful2]

Re: Remove Bios boot password on Asus AIO

if the password is saved in the cmos, removing the bios chip will do nothing....and if removing the battery didn't wipe it, its obvioulsy stored in some non volatile place. Research the board, odds are there's some pads on the board that, if shorted, will wipe it.

Been searching for the board, have part number etc but not finding any schematics or info about it....just replacement boards from some sites...still looking though, taking the whole thing as a learning experience

But if anyone knows a site I could check for such info I would be eternally greatful.

[wrathful2]

Re: Remove Bios boot password on Asus AIO

Hey Guys, so i identified the bios chip, its a winbond chip, found schematics for the chip, as in pin identification for reset etc. But i since its soldered onto the board I am skeptical about replacing it using some methods i researched (total noob at soldering). I found some info about attempting to flash it while it is still on the board, just looking for some feedback as to what tools i should use for this procedure (flashing chip while it's still soldered). Thanks in advance for any advice XD.

[Spork Schivago]

Re: Remove Bios boot password on Asus AIO

I don't think flashing the chip is going to reset the BIOS password, if it's in fact stored on that flash chip. If you really suspect it is stored there, you should dump the BIOS.

The way I do this (which you probably won't feel comfortable with, but might want to try) is to unsolder the chip, remove it from the board, and then use a SPI / I2C reader / writer to read the contents. You could try searching through the dump to try and find the password, if you suspect it's there.

I know this might sound like a stupid question, but when you removed the CMOS battery, you also had the laptop battery removed, made sure there was no power source going to the laptop (ie, AC power cord) and tried pushing on the power button for a couple seconds just to make sure everything was drained, right?

Another silly question, can you boot into Windows at all? Or is it the type of password that's preventing you from booting into the OS?

Finally, does anything happen when you're at the Enter BIOS password screen, if you hit Alt-R?

Thanks!