TOSHIBA A45-S120 - unable to change boot order to restore from DVD recovery medium
in [Laptops]
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From: Jeff on 24 Nov 2009 18:37 <snip> > On some older Toshiba models with a parallel port, there was a > "dongle" that you plugged into the parallel port that would kill the > password. I just checked a "secret" service manual that I have for this > model and it says to use the parallel port dongle to remove lost > passwords on this model. Thanks Barry. I have now bought and received a parallel port dongle. Does anyone know if there's anything special that needs to be done? Just plug it in and start the machine? Am I looking for any kind of message or amount of time before I reboot without the dongle unattached? Thanks in advance for any help.
From: Jeff on 25 Nov 2009 00:37 <snip> > I have not used it in a while, but I think you just plug it in (with the > machine off), then turn on the machine, let it complete POST, turn it > off and remove the dongle. Well, since your "secret" service manual says to use the parallel port dongle to remove lost passwords on this model, I think I'll try that first and hope for the best. The machine is worthless as is, so there's not much to lose...
From: BillW50 on 25 Nov 2009 14:35 In news:heif6n$1r9$1(a)news.eternal-september.org, Barry Watzman typed on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:26:31 -0500: > .... Of course, no unit has had a floppy since about 2003 (I have > no idea if that diskette will work with a USB drive on any later > models). I have researched this and I can't find any problems with USB floppies. As long as the BIOS supports booting from an USB floppy drive that is. Even BIOS flashing works. If anybody learns differently I would sure love to hear about it. -- Bill Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) - Windows XP SP2
From: ~misfit~ on 27 Nov 2009 20:07 Somewhere on teh intarwebs Barry Watzman wrote: > The ability of some Toshiba laptops to bypass the BIOS password using > a special floppy disk was so unique, that I don't think you can draw > any conclusions about whether this is supported on non-floppy laptops > models from .... anything. I removed the BIOS password on a Tosh Sat A100 (no parallel port) recently by lifting the keyboard (but leaving it attached), unseating the WAN card underneath the keyboard thus exposing the two naked lands that are under there on the mobo. The trick is to short the lands ('jumper' them) while turning the machine on. I used a screwdriver. As soon as you see the Toshiba splash screen you can remove the short and power down. Next time you boot the password has been removed. I hope that this info doesn't get used by theives.... -- Shaun. "Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchet, 'Jingo'.
From: ~misfit~ on 28 Nov 2009 22:05
Somewhere on teh intarwebs Barry Watzman wrote: > All laptops, as far as I know, have a set of pads that can be shorted > to remove the password. However, the locations vary by model and are > supposed to be "secret", but some of them leak. > > The Toshiba A100/A105 series is an interesting situation, because that > "series" consisted of hundreds of models that really bore almost > nothing in common. They don't even all use the same power supply > voltage. Yeah, I know. I did specify 'Sat' and 'A100' which was short for Satellite A100. FYI the one I just did was a model PSAA9A. Some other models in the series have the pads under the stuck-down black plastic mobo protecting film under the right-hand side RAM slot.... I could keep going but, as you say it's supposed to be secret and those two locations cover a lot of the laptops in the series... "All laptops" have the pads? Now that I didn't know. -- Shaun. "Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchet, 'Jingo'. > ~misfit~ wrote: >> Somewhere on teh intarwebs Barry Watzman wrote: >>> The ability of some Toshiba laptops to bypass the BIOS password >>> using a special floppy disk was so unique, that I don't think you >>> can draw any conclusions about whether this is supported on >>> non-floppy laptops models from .... anything. >> >> I removed the BIOS password on a Tosh Sat A100 (no parallel port) >> recently by lifting the keyboard (but leaving it attached), >> unseating the WAN card underneath the keyboard thus exposing the two >> naked lands that are under there on the mobo. >> >> The trick is to short the lands ('jumper' them) while turning the >> machine on. I used a screwdriver. As soon as you see the Toshiba >> splash screen you can remove the short and power down. Next time you >> boot the password has been removed. >> >> I hope that this info doesn't get used by theives.... |