Hello,

I am having a major problem with a one-year old Acer laptop. The exact model number is 3204xmi. Lately it's been getting very slow and buggy, and I think reinstalling windows might help. The problem is to reinstall it with the CD I need to change the BIOS setting. About a month ago I set a password for it, but now I forgot it.
I did call Acer technical support, but since the computer is out of warranty (I thought it was a year but it was only for 90 days) to send it back and have them reset the BIOS password would be $400!

Is there any possible way to reset this myself? I have no experience repairing or disassembling laptops, so if there is some kind of software that can do this it would be very helpful. This whole problem is very frustrating.
Thanks in advance,
John

If your laptop came with a service manual, or has one online, there *might* be a password jumper for the BIOS. You'd simply reseat this, and the password would be cleared. Alternatively, you would pull out your CMOS battery and reseat this as well, and the password might be cleared (some systems this works, others it doesn't).

To be perfectly honest John, I am personally very reluctant to assist with laptop password resets, since so many of them are stolen. Apologies if your case is genuine, but when a user asks for a password reset procedure on his very first post, alarm bells are raised. I also find it very difficult to believe someone would set a bios level password and then forget it only a month later.

Again, sorry if your case is kosher.

"Apologies if your case is genuine, but when a user asks for a password reset procedure on his very first post, alarm bells are raised. I also find it very difficult to believe someone would set a bios level password and then forget it only a month later."

Well, the reason I posted it on this forum was because there have been posts like this in the past here (found through google), apparently you decided to help out then. To be perfectly honest I do not think there's any way I can prove to you over the internet that this is my laptop, although I could state Acer's technical support number. You can't find this through their web site, I was emailed it after I personally contacted them and I wouldn't have contacted them if it wasn't mine. I also have the serial number and probably could find a purchase order number from Newegg or something. Also, this isn't a password you type in every time you use the computer, I set it once just to protect the BIOS, and if you don't type in or think about a password for a month it's easy to forget. I did write it down, but the paper was thrown out. It was my mistake to not put the paper in very safe place. Again, I really need help with this problem, if you do know what to do, I'm willing to prove as much as possible that it's mine. Other than that, I'm just not sure what to tell you.

Thanks for the reply regarding the password jumper. Unfortunately I don't think that will work. The service manual isn't online. Also, this is a newer computer with a Phoenix Bios. I only got it from New Egg last July. Because of this, I believe it uses a newer, and more secure, flash-based ROM. I was hoping there's some software-based way of doing this. I would really appreciate any help, as this is really frustrating. Thanks for your time.

Good news, I solved the problem! And yes, it is MY laptop that my parents gave me as high school graduation present last year!

How did you solve the problem ?
feel free to email me

A. By Using the Motherboard Jumper:

In most motherboards CMOS battery is soldered, which makes it difficult to remove the battery. In this case we use another method.

Almost all motherboards contain a jumper that can clear all CMOS settings along with the BIOS password. The location of this jumper varies depending upon the motherboard brand. You should read your motherboard manual to check its location. If you don't have the manual then look for the jumpers near the CMOS battery. Most of the manufacturer label the jumper as CLR, CLEAR, CLEAR CMOS, etc.

When you find the jumper, look carefully. There will be 3 pins and the jumper will be joining the center pin to either left or right pin. What you need to do, is remove the jumper and join the center pin to the opposite pin. e.g. if the jumper joins center pin to left pin, then remove it and join center pin to right pin. Now wait for a few seconds and then again remove the jumper and join the center pin to left pin.

Make sure to turn the PC off before opening the cabinet and resetting the jumper.