Password Help desperately needed

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oderaro · #1 Post by **oderaro** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 1:06 pm

The situation,; I put in a boot up password into my A20m Type 2628 4TG.
Problem is I think I may have had the caps lock on or off!
It's certainly not responding to the password i think I put in.
I have tried several permutations but no luck. I have also tried removing the little (yellow) battery next to the network/modem card and powering up from ac; still no luck.
How can I get into my laptop? It's got all my highly important work files and I am definitely locked out.
Any help appreciated.
Please!!!!
Regards

Oderaro
A20M

#2 Post by **rkawakami** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 1:23 pm

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

First of all, there needs to be a clarification on exactly which type of password system you have enabled. When you say "boot" password, this can mean one of several things to me:

- Power on password
- BIOS (supervisor) password
- Windows login password

Board rules allow discussion of the first one, definitely not the second one, and limited help on the third. For your reference, download a copy of the Hardware Maintenance Manual for your A20m system from here:

A2*m A2*p HMM

Read the Password section. If you have set the power-on password there should be instructions on how to remove it. The setting of the caps lock key IS NOT important for the power-on or BIOS password. If you have set a Windows password, then the caps lock key IS important.

oderaro · #3 Post by **oderaro** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:44 am

Thanks.
Its the boot up password.
Will try the steps in the hmm and post the results..

Regards
oderaro

oderaro · #4 Post by **oderaro** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:58 am

have tried the instructions in the hmm; no joy.
Any ideas well appreciated.
Thanks

oderaro

alfio · #5 Post by **alfio** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:45 pm

can you live with only getting your data back and doing a fresh install? i recently helped a friend to this and, although she had to reinstall everything, she managed not to lose any of her data.

alfio

#6 Post by **Kyocera** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:48 pm

Password discussions are limited, check the FAQ's.

egibbs · #7 Post by **egibbs** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:58 pm

If the HMM instructions didn't work then you have a Supervisor Password set, and we can't help other than encouraging you to keep trying permutations of what you think you set. You can contact Lenovo but they will replace the system board at your expense.

If you need to get the data off try pulling the drive and putting it in another machine (as a secondary drive). If you can read it copy the files. If you can't read it then you also managed to set the HDD password which is stored in the drive's electronics. If the files are irreplaceable you need professional help - Google data recovery to find companies who can get the data off (for a considerable fee).

Ed Gibbs

oderaro · #8 Post by **oderaro** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:42 am

Well seems thats the end of my A20

Thanks to everyone for your input.
Put the drive in the wife's T21 and it seems fine for the mo.

Regards
Oderaro

Password Help desperately needed

Password Help desperately needed

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