BIOS reset from within Windos XP?

[alan.surry]

I have inherited a HP Pavillion Zx5000 laptop that has a BIOS passwordthat I don't know and a power on password that I do know, but want to remove.  There is a problem with the DVD drive in that it's not reading discs (though it recognises there's a disc inserted, as it doesn't say "Insert Disc") so I can't run a boot CD or get into DOS to run anything like KillCMOS.  The system boots OK into Windows XP once I've entered the power on password, but there is no option to remove the password, so I assume I need to get into the BIOS to do this.  Unfortunately, this is where my problem lies as the BIOS is PW protected.

What I'm looking for is a Windows based BIOS / CMOS hacking tool, if such a thing exists.  I'm also thinking that if I copied a bootable DOS floppy to a spare hard drive and tried booting the laptop that way, I might be able to run DOS based CMOS programs?  

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.  

Best regards,

Alan

[guestolo]

You may be able to reset if you have access to RTC battery
Remove it for 30 minutes and that will reset bios to defaults
Or, jumper a couple pins on the motherboard
I don't even know if Bios crack would work in your situation
Other times, best to contact a legit HP technician, explain your situation, have them reset it
It will cost you some dollars however

[newbiz02]

[quote name=\'alan.surry\' post=\'464711\' date=\'Aug 13 2009, 05:57 AM\']I have inherited a HP Pavillion Zx5000 laptop

Alan[/quote]

You mean you have jacked a HP Pavillion Zx5000 laptop.  
lol, its all good mate, you can admit it http://images.thetechguide.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'\' />
*wink*  we're all "cool" here.  This is a "cool" forum. http://images.thetechguide.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'\' />

Now on to the problem at hand... yeah, i got nothing.  bios is password protected?  why... i ask?
Thats kinda nuts i think.  oh well, try what questolo said... with the jumpers.

[alan.surry]

Hi.  Thanks for the reply.  I run a small I.T. business and I took this as a swap for labour from a customer who had upgraded.  He knew the power on PW, but when I asked about the BIOS PW all I got was a blank look!  I may as well have "jacked" it for all the trouble it's causing me!!  

I was hoping to do this without taking the laptop apart, but now that I need to, I can't find any reference to a CMOS / RTC / BIOS battery in the service manual & I'd rather not start on it till I know how long it's going to take (I have a couple of partly assembled laptops on my shelves that started as projects with no planning or timescale involved & I don't need another)
 
If anyone can point me in the direction of the CMOS battery, I'd be very grateful.

Regards, Alan.
Thurrock PC Services
www.tpcservices.co.uk