DO YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO GET BACK INTO YOUR ACER NOTEBOOK AFTER LOSING YOUR BIOS PASSWORD??
I DO – AND IT’S NOT THANKS TO ANYTHING ACER WAS WILLING TO DO.
I purchased an Acer Aspire 5100 notebook in February. I needed a new one, one that was faster and more up to date.
After some searching I settled on the one I’m using to make this post.
It came bundled with the new Windows Vista O/S, figured I’d get a jump on most of my friends who invariably come to me with their questions.
It’s got nearly a gig of ram and for the $740.00 or so I paid for it I figured it an ok deal.
Since the purchase and because of the Windows Defender software coupled with the bundled Norton anti-virus software I’ve had to reformat the hard drive 5 times.
To be fair 2 of the reformats had to do with an optional Windows Update of a Silicon Image SATA Controller piece of software that, if downloaded, is GUARANTEED to lock up the machine requiring finally the easiest response – a reformat of C:\ drive.
I learned to make an image of “My Documents” and anything else I really wanted to keep on the partitioned D:\ drive where Acer keeps their “backup” files.
What this post is really about (sorry about all the background stuff but it is salient) is the insulting fashion that Acer’s “Customer-No-Service” treated me when my child innocently provided me with a BIOS password. A password that she did not bother to either write down or remember.
I have been assembling and programming desktop computers since the early 1990’s. EVERY desktop computer that I’ve ever assembled or fixed for someone, and that’s quite a few, have a simple method of resetting the BIOS.
I’ve steered away from owning a laptop for most of the years since I began using a computer precisely because of the completely proprietary nature of Notebooks. This situation though I found not just difficult but actually insulting. I spoke to no less than 4 separate Acer “customer-no-service” representatives. Each of them spoke to me as though I were insignificant and when I mentioned the utterly elementary nature of clearing a BIOS chip on a desktop was snottily informed that Acer would “gladly” reset my BIOS for $100.00 all I needed to do was send it to them with a letter stating my need and proof of ownership.
I cannot begin to describe how agitated these interactions made me feel. None of the worthless representatives would even provide me with a schematic of the motherboard so that I could attempt to determine where the BIOS battery resided.
There was NO WAY I was going to send this notebook to ANYONE especially for $100.00 to simply clear the BIOS.
I eventually spent 3 hours carefully dismantling the unit finding that the battery is hardwired to the motherboard. A little judicious use of my coldheat soldering gun and half an hour without a battery in the unit and BY GOLLY! I now have a perfectly good (as good as it was previously) notebook.
Now I’ve nothing against a company maintaining control over it’s REALLY important “secrets” but clearing a BIOS is something that is so elementary that it should be included on the first page of any computer manual.
Between the way I was handled by Acer and the manner in which they behaved as though this was some GREAT CELESTIAL SECRET has me composing this post. I have GOOD images of how I arrived at my solution. Should you need to know how to overcome a similar situation – drop me a line and I’ll gladly provide you the solution.
Better yet don’t buy ANYTHING made by Acer. Shop for a company that knows that it is the CUSTOMER who provides them with an income. It is corporations like Acer who make owning these pieces of technology a real pain for someone who truly doesn’t know anything about a computer. I feel really sorry for the person who is just beginning down the road of “technological advancement”.
