[Steve Peterson]

My son bought a mini10 (1010) and all it will show is a password box tried blind reset of bios but it still has same screen, how do i get past??

[holmes4]

You can try calling Dell support and ask for the reset code for your "service tag". If that doesn't work there are people offering services on eBay to give it to you.

[cct1]

I think you can remove the memory battery, drain the power from the CMOS by holding the power button and then re-power the battery and it will reset the bios to defaults.

[holmes4]

I would be astonished if that worked. The BIOS settings are held in non-volatile memory.

[rrfranczak3]

you will most likely need to go to ebay and purchase the password from the many that sell it there or you can call Dell and they will do it but either way as Steve said earilier removing the CMOS battery hasnt worked for anyone else and I dont think it will work for you either, the people on ebay have been used by many others on this board with the same issue as yours and it has always worked for them and I suggest the same for you..Good Luck

[cct1]

Originally Posted by holmes4

I would be astonished if that worked. The BIOS settings are held in non-volatile memory.

The default settings are held in non volatile memory, but I think changes are held by the battery. And I'm not sure what Dell can do with a service tag as they are not the ones who set that password, the previous owner did.

I didn't notice that this thread is 3 months old or so...probably resolved by now...my mistake.