I bought a cheap netbook from PC World back in May. I realise that it was a foolish thing to do but I was in a hurry.

It stooped booting up and would hand at the POST screen. Personally I suspected a hard drive failure as I could hear no drive activity.

Took it back and they sent it off for repair, the store are now saying they need a BIOS password. I have never set a BIOS password and when I suggested that they simply reset the BIOS, they said “it doesn’t work like that”. WTF! I thought you just took a battery out or changed a jumper setting to reset a BIOS and the password?

It has gone back again but they seem to be suggesting that it’s my problem for creating a BIOS password and this will stop them repairing the machine. Getting ready for a long slog with this one!

Get it back, sort the BIOS password out in the shop (backdoor password generator on a smartphone.)

Then hand it back and tell them to fix it.

backdoor password generator on a smartphone.

How does that work?

How is it your problem if you didn’t set the password? Its either set at the default, which they should know as the supplier, or they set one.
They owe you a new motherboard then. I’m sure they can afford that.

How is it your problem if you didn’t set the password?

This is what I said, they seem to be suggesting that I have locked them out of the BIOS so they can’t repair it and they have to give me a new machine. They haven’t come out and said that yet but that seems to be what is coming next.

This isn’t the first time they have been a pain and I will never use PC World or Currys again!

How does that work?

http://bios-pw.org

nealglover – many thanks but from his web page it doesn’t look like it works with Acer. IF I have to go back to the store I will give it a go if I have to. Hopefully their so called techs will sort it.

Handy to know though.

If you get nowhere, you could always use : http://acer-bios-password.biosremoval.com

Not free but reliable.

Look for your laptop model on youtube. There’ll probably be a strip-down video of it and as you say there will be a CMOS battery inside it somewhere, or a bios reset jumper.

Locate the battery & pull it out for 20 + secs or find the jumper.