How to remove the Supervisor BIOS password for an IBM ThinkPad

Question

I lost my BIOS password for the IBM ThinkPad. This doesn't belong to the CMOS battery – I need to remove it from EEPROM.

How can I remove it?

Answer 1

You need to use a programmable interface and attach it to the chip, then you can read out the EEPROM once you boot your laptop. Then it's only a matter of knowing where the password can be found...

An example can be found here.

Answer 2

If you only want to clear the Supervisor password to gain full access to BIOS, you can do it using simple disabling of a Chip on the motherboard at boot time.

My video with detailed instructions to do it is on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW-RLkzjAS8

You can also search for my video "How to unlock BIOS Supervisor Password from Lenovo Thinkpad Laptop (no damage to laptop)".

Details :

This technique clears the BIOS supervisor password. I have a rather simple solution that clears all passwords and settings of the BIOS without any motherboard replacement or EEPROM replacements.

We know that BIOS settings are stored in the EEPROM. If we shot the EEPROM chip just before system enters the bios, EEPROM will not be able to provide BIOS with encryption data. So,default BIOS settings with no-password will be loaded. But the moment we release the “shot” pin from the EEPROM, it will send data to the BIOS and things will immediately get locked.

We shot the eeprom, and keep it shot will the time we entered blank password in the Supervisor Password field. We release the shot just before confirming the second password so that BIOS has no chance to recover the settings from EEPROM. And as we confirm the blank password we need to quickly save and exit BIOS. This saves the settings in the BIOS and all supervisor passwords are cleared.

You can check out the following you-tube video to see the complete process in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW-RLkzjAS8

In this video I have cleared the supervisor password of Lenovo thinkpad W520. I have tested this method to work for some T series laptops and W510.

Answer 3

I wanted to help out anyone who is searching where is the EEPROM on the IBM ThinkPad T60 in order to remove the Supervisor Password.

Both Arpan Dubey's answer here and his Youtube video are good. He just uses a W520 and the EEPROM is in a different location on a T60.

But like he said, there is no need for a programmable interface, if you only want to clear the Supervisor password to gain full access to BIOS.

The famous website http://www.ja.axxs.net/t60_t60p.htm shows the EEPROM pin locations on a T60, but doesn't use Arpan Dubey's method (which is simpler, requires less gear and seems to be a better idea to me).

So... in order to remove the Supervisor Password on a ThinkPad T60:

1. Find the EEPROM pins on your T60. Use this for help: (1) EEPROM location on the left side, below the keyboard; (2) EEPROM location and pins zoomed (source)
2. Watch Arpan's Youtube video and read his short guide here.
3. Instead of shorting the SDA and SCL pins, short the SDA and the 3rd one to the left (counting from SDA itself). I.e. these ones: correct pins marked with red arrows

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How do I know this?

I just successfully cleared the SPV Password 15 minutes ago, after messing around with it for a few hours.

The (suggested) SDA and SCL pins didn't work. So I experimented with SDA and the very next one to it (positions 1 and 2, if you will). Didn't work. Tried different combinations, until positions 1 and 3 worked.

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I found a suggestion to use needles in an eraser and that's what I did too. Pushed two needles into an eraser, so that they'd make contact in the eraser and the other ends into the board.

Timing wise: I started the computer, pressed F1, then inserted the needles before the [CMOS error message/SPV Password request] would show up. It had a delay of about 4 seconds, I probably got the needles in around 2 seconds or so. But I don't think timing is that critical.

Good luck!