News Laptop BIOS password reset technique uses contorted paperclips stuffed into a parallel port

[Admin]

Retro tech enthusiast Bob Pony recently shared an image of an old Toshiba Satellite laptop’s parallel port sprouting a tangle of contorted paperclips - showcasing an unofficial BIOS reset method.

Laptop BIOS password reset technique uses contorted paperclips stuffed into a parallel port : Read more

 

[ezst036]

The most interesting thing in my view is all of that exposed metal and not one is accidentally touching.

And why doesn't simply disconnecting the BIOS battery clear it out?

 

[USAFRet]

And why doesn't simply disconnecting the BIOS battery clear it out?

That has not been a thing for years.

 

[PEnns]

And we have a puzzle: How many paper clips can you see?

I counted 9.

 

[Kenneth Hans]

That has not been a thing for years.

Right? Where can you find a laptop with a parallel port these days?

 

[Leptir]

Right? Where can you find a laptop with a parallel port these days?

You can't. This laptop was from the early 2000s.

 

[Leptir]

I can understand tech nostalgia. The late 70s and the entire 80s were exciting times, personal computers were new, every new product was unique, had something special. Even the early 90s had some exciting tech, like the early IBM ThinkPad laptops, including my personal favorite – the butterfly keyboard 701C from 1995.

But by the time we get to the 2000s and this Toshiba Satellite, laptops were commodity products, bland and boring. I really don’t see the appeal of this Toshiba, but to each their own.

 

[drtweak]

Wow haven't seen a laptop with a parallel port in decades. lol

 

[bit_user]

Wow haven't seen a laptop with a parallel port in decades. lol

I have a Pentium M laptop with a parallel port. Its usefulness is quickly becoming limited, as 32-bit support in popular Linux distros decays. So, your options boil down to either running a 6-10 year old Linux distro on it or an obsolete 32-bit copy of MS Windows. Did Windows 10 even have a 32-bit version?

BTW, if you have a parallel port cable you can plug into a bread board, that would be a much easier/safer way to implement this hack. It doesn't need to be pretty, since clearing the password should be just a one-time thing and then you can disconnect it.

 

[USAFRet]

Did Windows 10 even have a 32-bit version?

There was.
Not anymore.

 

[USAFRet]

I have a Pentium M laptop with a parallel port. Its usefulness is quickly becoming limited, as 32-bit support in popular Linux distros decays. So, your options boil down to either running a 6-10 year old Linux distro on it or an obsolete 32-bit copy of MS Windows. Did Windows 10 even have a 32-bit version?

BTW, if you have a parallel port cable you can plug into a bread board, that would be a much easier/safer way to implement this hack. It doesn't need to be pretty, since clearing the password should be just a one-time thing and then you can disconnect it.

I kept an old Dell laptop (PII/III?) around for much longer than it was good.
Only because it was the only portable device I had with a serial port, and than is what the OBDII cable I had needed.

Supplanted by USB, and now bluetooth to tablet or phone.

 

[bit_user]

I kept an old Dell laptop (PII/III?) around for much longer than it was good.
Only because it was the only portable device I had with a serial port, and than is what the OBDII cable I had needed.

Heh, that's what I used it for. Volkswagen has their own CAN-bus based interface and the VAG-com adapter I bought wouldn't work with just any USB -> parallel adapter. There was something weird about the protocol, where I think it needed to change the port's datarate multiple times during a single command!

 

[Dr3ams]

There was.
Not anymore.

Using the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft, you can still download Windows 10 32-bit. The tool gives you the option of downloading 32 and 64-bit, or both in one ISO.

 

[USAFRet]

Using the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft, you can still download Windows 10 32-bit. The tool gives you the option of downloading 32 and 64-bit, or both in one ISO.

Well, yes.

But it is no longer sold, either standalone or OEM.

 

[JeffreyP55]

Wow haven't seen a laptop with a parallel port in decades. lol

Or a serial port.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

I would be surprised if all OEMs didn't have some sort of custom reset tool , replicated here with paperclips, intended for IT departments to quickly reset the BIOS password prior to Windows 7. Bitlocker wasn't released until 2007, late in XP's life cycle, and for most organizations disk encryption wasn't used until Windows 7.

 

[TechColab]

Retro tech enthusiast Bob Pony recently shared an image of an old Toshiba Satellite laptop’s parallel port sprouting a tangle of contorted paperclips - showcasing an unofficial BIOS reset method.

Laptop BIOS password reset technique uses contorted paperclips stuffed into a parallel port : Read more

Paper clips also useful for recessed reset buttons.