BIOS password bypass

[DaveJArm]

I have received a used Gateway Solo 2100 along with another Gateway Solo 2100. (2 received). One Gateway works perfectly, but the other one has a glitch. The previous owner had originally put in a BIOS password but she forgot the password. So, when she gave me the laptop she didn't know the BIOS password, thus the computer will not load up. A screen comes on and tells the operator to input the BIOS password. I have tried other BIOS passwords (generic and supposedly backdoor passwords) for the particular model. None have worked. There is no sensitive information on the hard drive, just Windows 98. I even tried removing the battery on the board for over an hour to see if it would reset. Uh-uh. No good. Any suggestions on how to get around BIOS password so the computer can be utilized? Don't want to send it back to Gateway and pay over $100 just to get it reset. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank-you.

[torbjorn]

Have you checked on Gateway's website if there is any downloadable user's manual, service manual or other document where resetting the password is described. In some cases, it might be a jumper that should be fitted while the unit is powered on and then removed.

If you cannot find any information, try to make a clone of the BIOS flash eprom from the working unit and put that in the nonfunctional unit.