[Thinkpad] Does anyone know how to reset the BIOS password on aT21?

[Haudy Kazemi]

I have not looked or needed display inverters. I've only looked at the 
Digikey CCFL tubes. So far I have installed neither, although my T23 could 
probably use a new 14.1" backlight sometime in the next year or so as it 
now has a red/orange for a few seconds when first coming on.

There is a parts cross-reference at these pages:
http://www.lcdpart.com/doc/ccflcross.html
http://www.lcdparts.net/howto/techsupport.aspx
http://laptops.home.att.net/lcdcross.htm

For the lighting imbalance/fading/artifacts...where those caused when you 
swapped an inverter or the CCFL bulbs? If it happened when you changed the 
bulbs, did some reflector metal pieces get bent?

-hk

On Aug 3 2007, Pretty Good Computer Services wrote:

>Have you actually installed and used this inverter from Digikey?
>
>We have found them to be much less than satisfactory, lasting only months,
>and introducing sad screen effects of their own... imbalance from left to
>right and top to bottom, fading, and other artifacts.
>
>So please tell us more, by model number.
>
>RayBay
>
>
>
>On 03 Aug 2007 19:38:33 -0500, Haudy Kazemi <kaze0010 at umn.edu> wrote:
>>
>> On Aug 3 2007, Bruce Markowitz wrote:
>>
>> > It's old news. Just return that board and buy a good one. They should 
>> > be available for under $50. The LCD is the problem on the T2X series, 
>> > they look like crap after a while.
>>
>> What? the pink screen effect? That can be fixed by replacing the
>> fluorescent backlighting tube (CCFL), available for less than $30 from
>> Digikey.
>>
>> Related articles on replacing CCFLs:
>> http://www.inventgeek.com/Projects/shorts/lcdfix.aspx
>> http://laptops.home.att.net/lcd-repair.htm
>> http://laptops.home.att.net/images/red-tint-lcd.jpg
>> http://www.lcd-backlight-ccfl.com/
>> http://laptops.home.att.net/lcd-lable.htm
>> http://laptops.home.att.net/lcdcross.htm
>> http://www.lcdrepair.net/backlightpurchase.html
>>
>> >----- Original Message -----
>> >From: "John Toliver" <john.toliver at gmail.com>
>> >To: <thinkpad at stderr.org>
>> >Sent: Friday, August 03, 2007 2:36 PM
>> >Subject: Re: [Thinkpad] Does anyone know how to reset the BIOS password
>> on
>> >aT21?
>> >
>> >
>> >> You won't believe this.  He finds this link......
>> >>
>> >> http://sodoityourself.com/hacking-ibm-thinkpad-bios-password
>>
>> http://www.allservice.ro/
>> http://home.ripway.com/2005-7/365678/index.htm
>> Download programming tools. CRC error recovery assistance.
>> http://www.allservice.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?t=61
>>
>> I think the Allservice.ro site has info on fixing a locked BIOS and/or
>> hard
>> drive. IIRC, some of the techniques required either building some special
>> I/O adapter or soldering wire leads to the BIOS chip or I think
>> interfacing
>> through the serial port.
>>
>> There is also http://www.ja.axxs.net/unlock/
>> http://www.ja.axxs.net/unlock/key_for_t20.htm I believe it used to have
>> all
>> the recovery info freely available and later they put it behind a pay
>> first
>> wall.
>>
>> You might be able to find more info on the thinkpads.com forums, as I 
>> think I recall discussions there or on Allservice.ro that IBM's stance 
>> was a certain forgotten password would require a motherboard 
>> replacement, but in truth, one of these password reset techniques could 
>> be used to salvage otherwise fine hardware.
>>
>> >There is a shorting technique for passwords programmed into an eeprom,
>> that
>> >might work, but it also wipes out the ability to use the Thinkpad
>> recovery
>> >discs.
>>
>> Probably because it corrupts the EEPROM enough to bypass the password, 
>> but also makes the recovery CD not recognize the machine correctly.
>>
>>
>> >RayBay
>> >
>> >On 8/3/07, John Toliver <john.toliver at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Friend of mine just handed me a T21 he replaced the M-board on. He
>> >> bought board off eBay and no mention BIOS password. He reassembles it
>> >> and now he is locked out. Does a method exist to reset the password or
>> >> disable it? _______________________________________________ Thinkpad
>> >> mailing list Thinkpad at stderr.org
>> >> http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Thinkpad mailing list
>> Thinkpad at stderr.org
>> http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad
>>
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