IBM Think Pad Password protection

I was given an IBM Think Pad T23, the reason it was given to me was because an employee has gone into the BIOS and set a password then quit the company. I was told the computer was useless so it was given to me. The computer loads up to the point where it ask for the password and the is it. There must be a way to reset the password. Could I do an upgrade on the BIOS and reset the password. Any Ideas would help because I don’t have a clue. Thanks