Question Intel DQ67SW – No CMOS Reset Jumper Present, Need Help Resetting BIOS

[Blake1001]

Hi all,

I'm working with an older Intel DQ67SW motherboard (custom-built PC), and I'm trying to reset the BIOS to default settings. The board is currently locked into a restricted boot configuration, and I cannot change any settings because of what looks like a supervisor password or hidden admin config.

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What I've Tried:​

• Removed the CMOS battery
• Disconnected the power and held the power button to discharge capacitors
• Waited ~15 mins before reinserting battery and powering on

→ This did not reset the BIOS — the same locked settings persist.

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The Issue:​

According to the Intel documentation, this board normally has a "BIOS configuration jumper" (labelled J1E3) to enter configuration or recovery mode.
However, my board appears to lack the actual jumper pins — there are no headers where the jumper should be, just solder pads in the J6 area.

The only visible pin header nearby is labelled "Intel MEBX Reset Header" — not sure if that’s related or helpful in this context.

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Goal:​

I just want to fully reset the BIOS so I can:

• Disable any admin/supervisor restrictions
• Change boot order and boot from a Linux installer

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System Info:​

• Motherboard: Intel DQ67SW (AAG12527-310)
• BIOS Version: SWQ6710H.86A.0055.2011.0921.1044 (Legacy)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-2400
• Custom-built system from VIGLEN

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Question:​

• Is there any reliable way to reset this BIOS without a jumper?
• Can I short the solder points manually to simulate the jumper?
• Has anyone successfully dealt with this on similar Q67 boards?

Any insight or photos from someone with the same board would be much appreciated!

This is the board - from what I've gathered the pin rail should be just above the blue SATA ports

https://imgur.com/a/efBxZag

View: https://imgur.com/a/efBxZag

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[COLGeek]

See page 58 pf the motherboard manual. Looks like you may be looking at the wrong pins. Should be the three pins near the SATA ports. You'll need to provide your own jumper.

https://community.intel.com/cipcp26785/attachments/cipcp26785/processors/61731/2/DQ67SW TPS.pdf

 

[Blake1001]

See page 58 pf the motherboard manual. Looks like you may be looking at the wrong pins. Should be the three pins near the SATA ports. You'll need to provide your own jumper.

https://community.intel.com/cipcp26785/attachments/cipcp26785/processors/61731/2/DQ67SW TPS.pdf

Hi COLGeek

Thanks for your reply

This page is referring to MBEX jumper which can be seen on my board in the image near the SATA ports. I think this is distinct from the BIOS configuration jumper which seems to be missing - as you can see there is nothing else near those SATA ports and shorting these MBEX pins won’t trigger BIOS Recovery Mode or Configuration Mode. I wonder if the builder removed the jumper in order to stop users reconfiguring the BIOS settings, which seem to be very persistent despite CMOS battery removal etc.

My question is, if the jumper has been removed, would there be any other way to clear the BIOS settings?

 

[Eximo]

All a jumper does is bridge connections. If those solder pads are there, you can just short them out.

 

[Blake1001]

All a jumper does is bridge connections. If those solder pads are there, you can just short them out.

Thanks for the reply Eximo

I do understand that but I need to know where they are on the board. In the image you can see that there are three solder pads, right below the screenprinted BIOS reset instructions (labelled J6). I have a suspicion that this may have been where the jumper pins were - maybe someone removed them. What I need to know is whether these are indeed the pads I need to short as I don't want to to short the wrong ones obvs. THat being said, there is no reference to BIOS configuration pins on p58 of that manual that COLGeek mentioned

 

[Eximo]

The screen print says that no jumper is recover mode, so that says it would always be on. Might mean that at some point the board was revised to simply connect those pads permanently into 'normal' mode. Pin one should be relatively easy to figure out. Either it will be labeled, or it will be the odd pin out. Usually a square versus round pad. Here I think I see a 1, and a square pad. So checking those pins with a multimeter for continuity would prove if they are connected or not.

And if they are connected, one solution might be a high value resistor to see if you can flip the logic. Or finding the trace and cutting it, which is a bit more drastic. A lot depends on your findings.

 

[Blake1001]

The screen print says that no jumper is recover mode, so that says it would always be on. Might mean that at some point the board was revised to simply connect those pads permanently into 'normal' mode. Pin one should be relatively easy to figure out. Either it will be labeled, or it will be the odd pin out. Usually a square versus round pad. Here I think I see a 1, and a square pad. So checking those pins with a multimeter for continuity would prove if they are connected or not.

And if they are connected, one solution might be a high value resistor to see if you can flip the logic. Or finding the trace and cutting it, which is a bit more drastic. A lot depends on your findings.

Okay I think I might be getting somewhere. I plugged that manual into ChatGpt and it has confirmed that "header J6 is the "BIOS Configuration Jumper" used to:

• Enter BIOS Setup in maintenance mode
• Clear BIOS passwords
• Reconfigure firmware settings"

I think I need to short out pins 2&3 (middle and right) and that should get the supervisor pw's cleared

Wish me luck!