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HDD password

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by carroyo

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Last week I reinstalled xp on my machine, even so for the last couple of weeks, It;s telling me that the system cannot charge my battery.
Today I turned it on and asked me to press any key to continue, when I hit the press the space bar, it is asking me for a HDD Password, (never made one), or double click f2 to boot or press f12 to enter setup.

Please advice

13 replies

by thumbsup2

You are encountering these problems because your CMOS battery is dead and not recharging. If this is a laptop, chances are it's the type that only recharges the CMOS battery when the main battery is charged. You'll need to fix the main battery charging situation, so figure out if it's a bad battery or bad charger. If it's a desktop, you should be able to change the battery on the motherboard.

In either case, you need to rectify the battery situation before the other problems will disappear. First thing to do after fixing the battery is to enter the BIOS/CMOS and make sure everything is auto-detected properly and saved. Once that's done, it should boot.

(edited: typos)

by carroyo

Thumbs,
I just changed the physical battery but it keep asking me for the password. What happens if I press F9 (Setup defaults).

Or should I wait untill the battery is fully loaded

by Former member

Do a full shutdown, then reboot go into bios and see if the clock is on the right time setting.

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

by thumbsup2

Is this a laptop or a desktop? Also, you said you changed the physical battery. If it's a laptop, which one did you change? And, at what point during the boot up is it asking for the password now?

by rob miners

happens when you press F12. Can you go into setup and fix it.

Make and Model wouldn't go astray.

by carroyo

Thumbs,

It is a dell inspiron 1501 laptop. I changed the rechargable Li on battery. As soon as I turn it on it ask me for the HDD password.
Does Dell have e master password

by thumbsup2

If you just changed the rechargable Li on battery, you'll need to wait for the thing to completely charge, maybe 12 hours or more, and this "should" recharge the CMOS battery. Once everything is charged, you will need to get into the BIOS when you first turn it on and let the system discover what hardware is connected and probably reset the system time. You will probably need to press F2 to get into the BIOS. Just accept the fail safe defaults and set the system clock. One way or another, you need to actually enter the BIOS and save the changes. Once that's done, the prompts to press F1 or F2 or F12 should disappear and the system will continue to boot into Windows. IF a HDD password has been set, it is at this point that it will ask you to provide it.

by carroyo

Thumbs,
I will let the battery charge for 12 hours, but if we never put any password, would it still ask me for a HDD Password

by thumbsup2

.... deal with one problem at a time. The first thing you need to do is get the BIOS reset to how things were before the CMOS battery died.

by thumbsup2

Hi Carroyo,

Thank you for the email telling me you've reached your message level and can't reply. Sorry, but I don't handle forum problems through private email. That won't help others who may have the same problem.

To reply to a portion of a thread that has reached it's max level, just reply to the post above it, as I have. If there are many people involved in a conversation, put the name of the person you're replying to in the title.

by carroyo

He Thumbs thanks for the tip, I did everything but still the same answer, I will add a new HD and reconfigure it

by Former member

I have read the manual to your laptop, and it says: Passwords
Passwords prevent unauthorized access to your computer. When you first start your computer, you must
assign a primary password at the prompt. If you do not enter a password within 2 minutes, the computer
returns to its previous operating state.
When using passwords, observe the following guidelines:
? Choose a password that you can remember, but not one that is easy to guess. For example, do not use
the names of family members or pets for passwords.
? It is recommended that you do not write down your password. If you do write it down, however, ensure
that the password is stored in a secure place.
Are you sure you have not put in a password?

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

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