How to break the CMOS password?

Setting a CMOS password is considered one of the most effective measures to secure your computer. CMOS password breaking is a very difficult thing but not impossible. However, to achieve success also requires you to have a certain 'skill'.

There are several ways to break the CMOS password such as: changing BIOS chip, disconnecting BIOS chip, using jumpers, removing the battery on the mainboard, breaking the CMOS password with some commands, entering the default password of the manufacturer . but for The 'popular learning' computer world like us is fortunate that the following two methods are temporarily applicable.

1. Enter the standard BIOS passwords provided by the manufacturer.

- For Award BIOS type, you can enter the following default passwords to try to unlock the previously set password: AWARD SW, AWARD_SW, Award SW, AWARD PW, _award, awkward, J64, j256, j262, j332, J322, 01322222, 589589, 589721, 595595, 598598, HLT, SER, SKY_FOX, aLLy, aLLY, Condo, CONCAT, TTPTHA, aPAf, HLT, KDD, ZBAAACA, ZAAADA, ZJAAADC, djonet.

- For Ami BIOS type, use: AMI, AMI, AMI SW, AMI_SW, BIOS, PASSWORD, HEWITT RAND, Oder.

- Some shared passwords for Ami, Award and some other BIOSes can be tested such as: LKWPETER, lkwpeter, BIOSTAR, biostar, BIOSSTAR, biosstar, ALFAROME, Syxz, Wodj.

But actually this method is not very effective because in addition to the brands Award, Ami . there are dozens of other brands of BIOS that we can hardly know what the default password is.

2. Break CMOS password with specialized software or DOS command:

If you are allowed to use a computer with a CMOS password set, you can use some DEBUG commands that run in a DOS environment to destroy the password. These are commands that can invalidate BIOS memory, making it return to its original state, before the password has been set. But in fact this is also very difficult because it is not always possible to access the DEBUG environment.

A more efficient way is to go to http://www.cgsecurity.org/cmospwd-4.8.zip to download the tool called 'Cmos Password Recovery Tools 4.8' -> Unzip this file -> Find it Windows -> Activate the file cmospwd_win.exe to automatically delete the current BIOS memory. If you are lucky, the next boot time will no longer password the BIOS. To 'be sure', you should go to the 'DOS' folder and activate the cmospwd.exe file to try again.

3. Remove the battery mainboard completely to erase the BIOS memory completely.

This is the impact on the hardware to completely erase the BIOS memory that is considered to be the most effective, if a little 'liver' anyone can do.

At first you have to remove the case -> Observe carefully on the computer board to find a battery of the same size as a VND 200 coin that is attached in a circular box that fits snugly into the battery. Finding this battery is not really difficult -> Observe and remove the battery by clicking on the 'jumper' as shown -> Remove the battery and wait about 30 minutes for 'sure', ie Make sure that all data stored in the BIOS will "evaporate" completely -> then attach it as shown. When restarting the computer, the BIOS will automatically return everything exactly as the original default and of course the password will also disappear.

Make sure that most of the battery removal is successful, and if the battery is inserted and the password is still in place, you must remove it and wait for the time to "evaporate" much longer, possibly all day.

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