[vox-tech] Best way to clear a BIOS password

[Rob Rogers]

On Fri, Jan 09, 2004 at 16:02:20PM -0800, Ken Herron wrote:
> --On Friday, January 09, 2004 15:31:59 -0800 Bill Kendrick 
> <nbs@sonic.net> wrote:
> 
> >I'm assuming the best way to clear a BIOS's unknown password (and
> >probably any other settings; d'oh!) is to remove the batter for a while.
> 
> Actually, the normal method is to short out a jumper on the motherboard. 
> Look for a single two-pin jumper block somewhere near the battery and/or 
> the BIOS chip. Short it out for a couple of minutes while the computer is 
> turned off. Since the computer is off, shorting out the wrong jumper 
> should be harmless.

Like Dave mentioned, this is sometimes a 3 pin, with (for example) pins
1-2 normally jumpered, and 2-3 to reset. It's also commonly labeled
"Clear CMOS". I've used it dozens of times back when I was doing
computer repair, and I never had to short it for more than about 5
seconds.