Booting Knoppix with a passwd-protected BIOS

[FlorianR27]

Hi,

I'm wondering if there is a way to boot from CD or floppy if there is a passwd. protected bios and booting is done from hd. I'm asking this because I would like to try Knoppix. I'm currently using Windows XP and I have only user priviliges on this.

Thanks!

[Giles]

Is there a good reason why you haven't got the neccessary priveliges on that computer?

If, for example, it's a work computer and the IT dept don't want operating systems that they don't know and can't control running on the company's comps then helping you to get round this might well turn out to be helping you to lose your job

Giles

[FlorianR27]

It's a contest between me and the IT dep. I have the ok from them if I can work this out. I tried some things but nothing worked. I hoped that someone here can help me.

Greetings!

Florian

[Giles]

LOL

A lot of BIOSs have default passwords which are set before they're shipped, and often not removed even if other passwords are set - if you google your BIOS revision you might well find references to it. However, if the IT dept challenged you on this they've probably already closed off that option.

The other thing I'd suggest is this: if the challenge was to try linux, rather than neccessarily booting from a linux CD, DamnSmallLinux will run inside windows*, so that may be an easier approach.

HTH
Giles

*At least, the website says it can, and they've never deceived me yet (I metion that because I haven't tried to do this myself)

[budman7]

Can you get to the inside of the computer?
If so, take out the CMOS chip, boot up without it.
Turn off the pc, put the CMOS chip back in, boot, and the password will be cleared.
The CMOS chip looks just like a coin.

[antidrugue]

Can you get to the inside of the computer?
If so, take out the CMOS chip, boot up without it.
Turn off the pc, put the CMOS chip back in, boot, and the password will be cleared.
The CMOS chip looks just like a coin.

Mouhaha. Good idea.

You can just take out the CMOS battery for about 10 secs. Put it back in, and boot. As "budman7" said the BIOS will reset to default values.

I'm not sure if "they" will like it...

[FlorianR27]

Thanks guys for replies! But this is the challenge: I have to try do this without a hardware BIOS reset. A backdoor passwrd. for BIOS won't work coz I have the AWARD BIOS 6.0 PG version which, as far as I know, doesn't have a backdoor passwd. I thought that maybe there is a tool which could change the boot device or something like this...

I used to have power user rights (almost all of admin. privileges) but I had a fight with the IT people coz: Windows sucks... Linux rulz!!! Right? So... this is the chalenge... Help me show them that Windows really sucks...

Greetings!!!

Florian

[budman7]

There is topoligilinux, which runs on top of Windows.
I have read somewhere that DSL can also run within Windows.

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

[craigevil]

Go here ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/distribu...nsmall/current
and download the embedded version of DSL, it boots in windows using qemu.

Just unzip it and run it and your running Linux.


Anyway a quick google for ...

BIOS +password +clear +reset

Would return useful results like
I didn't show you this , i don't know how it got on my post.
How to Bypass BIOS Passwords
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/reference/biosp.htm