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I want to rescue this 7 year old laptop that has been crippled by a glitch in its BIOS:
'A "Password =" prompt may be displayed when the computer is turned on, even though no power-on password has been set. If this happens, there is no password that will satisfy the password request. The computer will be unusable until this problem is resolved. [..] The occurrence of this problem on any particular computer is unpredictable -- it may never happen, but it could happen any time that the computer is turned on. [..] Toshiba will cover the cost of this repair under warranty until Dec 31, 2010.' -Toshiba
As they stated, this machine is "unusable." The escape key does not bypass the prompt (nor does any other key), thus no operating system can be booted and no firmware updates can be installed. After doing some research, I found solutions that have been suggested for various Toshiba Satellite models afflicted by this glitch:
"Make arrangements with a Toshiba Authorized Service Provider to have this problem resolved." -Toshiba. Even prior to the expiration of Toshiba's support (see above), there have been reports that this solution is prohibitively expensive, labor charges accruing even when the laptop is still under warranty, and other reports that are generally discouraging:
"They were unable to fix it and the guy who worked on it said he couldn’t find the jumpers on the motherboard to clear the BIOS. I paid $39 for my troubles and still have the password problem." - Steve.
Since the costs of the repairs can now exceed the value of the hardware, it would seem this is a DIY solution, or a non-solution (i.e. the hardware is computer graveyard material).
Build a Toshiba parallel loopback by stripping and soldering the wires on a DB25 plug to connect connect these pins: 1-5-10, 2-11, 3-17, 4-12, 6-16, 7-13, 8-14, 9-15, 18-25. -CGSecurity. According to a list of supported models on pwcrack, this will likely not work for my Satellite A55-1065, as well as many other models of similar age. -pwcrack
Disconnect the laptop battery for an extended period of time. This laptop already sat in a closet for several months without the battery connected. The poor thing!
Clear the CMOS by short circuiting a specific pair of solder pads. Examples given for other Satellite models:
Toshiba Satellite 1800:
"Underneath the RAM there is black sticker, peel off the black sticker and you will reveal two little solder marks which are actually 'jumpers'. Very carefully hold a flat-head screwdriver touching both points and power on the unit briefly, effectively 'shorting' this circuit." -shadowfax2020
Toshiba Satellite A105:
"You will have to jump the two solder squares at label C88." -kerneltrap
Toshiba Satellite L300:
"Short the B500 solder pads on the system board." -Lester Escobar
Wiping the CMOS might clear the password prompt issue, but I cannot locate a jumper or a battery on this board. Nothing that looks remotely like a battery can be removed (everything is soldered). See for yourself:
Update: Matt located a pair of solder pads marked "reset." I shorted the circuit several times, but the password prompt still remains.
Possibly related questions:
isuldor
Posted 2011-02-09T05:22:13.410
Reputation: 1 726
1The pads to reset may be under some of that plastic covering. I can't actually read really any of the silkscreening on the chips so it's hard to tell where your RTC is. If you can find the actual BIOS chip you can look it up online and usually figure out what to short to reset it. – Tyler – 2011-02-09T06:31:13.467
Thanks Tyler. I will work on getting better photos, the ones you see are from my phone (best I could do at the moment). – isuldor – 2011-02-09T06:40:14.327
I don't see much hope if in the odd situation of removing the battery and not getting anywhere, but try removing the battery then putting a coin over the contacts of where the battery is, then putting it back. But I doubt it'd work if people have gone to the trouble of building a DB25 dongle of some sort that similar laptops use. Have you unplugged the power cord too? And try pushing the power button when it's unplugged. maybe there's somewhere you can measure where electricity is and remove it! – barlop – 2011-02-09T07:47:38.080
Your battery(CMOS BATTERY) might be on the right hand edge of the motherboard in the bottom pic. 2 other things that look like batteries are near the CPU. I wouldn't expect more than one battery though.. so maybe none of them are batteries! BTW.. removing the battery should work. I'm thinking maybe the reason some have gone to the trouble of the DB25 dongle is perhaps because they didn't want to open the thing. – barlop – 2011-02-09T07:53:11.863
Sometimes the contacts need to be shorted on boot to reset the BIOS. – BloodPhilia – 2011-08-28T20:48:26.413