Dell Precision m6400 BIOS

[medicineman25]

Hey guys,

So as the old story goes I have bought a second hand lappy and need to virtualise windows (when I need it for work) while running arch. Before you answer; no I'm not gonna run windows natively and I would prefer to use this machine as it is still good and I'm not flush with cash.

Problem is: I'm locked out of the BIOS and the option to virtualise is set to off by default, which just blows my mind.

Things i've tried:

-Reseating the cmos battery (20 min interval and 24 hour interval)
-Hirens boot CD:
-!BIOS
-Bios cracker
-(Currently brute forcing, up to 2018919 hits)

My last resort is to hit it with some blasters but as you know; the outcome is fairly unpredictable.

If the brute force can't crack it I am left with a couple of options:

1. solder pads and short circuit the the BIOS
2. replace the bios chip or appropriate EEPROM

So what I need to know are a few things:

1.Where are the jumper pads? It doesn't seem to be covered in the documentation or anywhere on the web
2. Where is the memory for the BIOS stored in the Dell Precision mobile workstation range? it doesn't seem to be in the CMOS.
3. Where would one purchase (or gain knowledge towards) the appropriate BIOS replacement for said Dell Precision

N.B. It should be noted that this is not a security issue. I have wiped the hard-drive and have Arch linux up and running just fine. I do not wish to access someone's info and regardless; there is little else to gain from accessing a BIOS apart from system configuration. Please do not suggest taking it back to the seller, it was apparently bought off ebay by the last owner. Please do not suggest contacting Dell.

 

[Chayan4400]

Hey guys,

So as the old story goes I have bought a second hand lappy and need to virtualise windows (when I need it for work) while running arch. Before you answer; no I'm not gonna run windows natively and I would prefer to use this machine as it is still good and I'm not flush with cash.

Problem is: I'm locked out of the BIOS and the option to virtualise is set to off by default, which just blows my mind.

Things i've tried:

-Reseating the cmos battery (20 min interval and 24 hour interval)
-Hirens boot CD:
-!BIOS
-Bios cracker
-(Currently brute forcing, up to 2018919 hits)

My last resort is to hit it with some blasters but as you know; the outcome is fairly unpredictable.

If the brute force can't crack it I am left with a couple of options:

1. solder pads and short circuit the the BIOS
2. replace the bios chip or appropriate EEPROM

So what I need to know are a few things:

1.Where are the jumper pads? It doesn't seem to be covered in the documentation or anywhere on the web
2. Where is the memory for the BIOS stored in the Dell Precision mobile workstation range? it doesn't seem to be in the CMOS.
3. Where would one purchase (or gain knowledge towards) the appropriate BIOS replacement for said Dell Precision

N.B. It should be noted that this is not a security issue. I have wiped the hard-drive and have Arch linux up and running just fine. I do not wish to access someone's info and regardless; there is little else to gain from accessing a BIOS apart from system configuration. Please do not suggest taking it back to the seller, it was apparently bought off ebay by the last owner. Please do not suggest contacting Dell.

Better contact Dell about the issue .

Seriously though, even if there was any security setting, it should (I could be wrong, though.) have been reset to defaults when the CMOS battery was removed. Can you at least access a BIOS screen that prompts you to enter a passcode, or you can't even get that far?

 

[medicineman25]

lol. I'll totes get on the phone then. Yeh I can F2 into the bios and read the settings and all that. However in order to 'unlock' the BIOS, so as to actually change any settings, I have to enter an admin password. I have heard among the grapevine that the bios settings are stored on the actual bios, or in some sort of non-volatile memory and not in a cmos chip, but I can't confirm that as the documentation from Dell is aloof at best.

 

[Chayan4400]

lol. I'll totes get on the phone then. Yeh I can F2 into the bios and read the settings and all that. However in order to 'unlock' the BIOS, so as to actually change any settings, I have to enter an admin password. I have heard among the grapevine that the bios settings are stored on the actual bios, or in some sort of non-volatile memory and not in a cmos chip, but I can't confirm that as the documentation from Dell is aloof at best.

Ok, then this may help: http://dogber1.blogspot.com/2010/05/dell-2a7b-keygen.html

It works for Dell laptops with serial numbers ending in -2A7B, -D35B and -595B.

If not then the only option seems to be to call Dell or somehow find the BIOS chip by disassembling the laptop and replacing it with another, if it isn't soldered on and you can find a replacement. Even then, I cannot guarantee that the laptop will work without a problem.