D600 latitude password problem, no support from Dell

I have a Dell Latitude D600 laptop and recently it began to smoke (no, not twenty a day... an electrical problem!).  So I duly decided to replace the motherboard and found a suitable candidate on eBay.  Well all good things come from eBay don't they?  I was lucky enough to spot a Dell D600 laptop for spares or repair, no screen, no hard drive or memory, just a motherboard and the plastics.  Well buying things in this way can be quite risky, but at 0.99p purchase price and £15 delivery I thought I'd scored a bargain (as long as it works that is).

The simple paperclip method to remove the 595B password

Well there's the thing.  The Dell D600 laptop base I' bought worked okay, but unfortunately was protected by a Bios password.  For those who don't know, unlike desktop computers you can't reset a laptop bios by removing the CMOS battery as the password is held on an eprom.  So no quick fix.  A brief chat to Dell tech support quoting my service tag enlightened me to the fact that I'd need to prove ownership before they could help me reset the master password; name, address or even a postcode would have been sufficient.  The seller of course could not provide me with any of this information and in fact his English was so poor email communication was quite torturous.

As it happens, I discovered various tools on the Internet that may be used regenerate bios passwords in the event that they are forgotten.  Unfortunately, however, my Dell D600 has a service tag that ends in the dreaded 595B which is more or less the kiss of death as far as getting into the bios myself is concerned.  I haven't yet tried the Dell Service Tools (DST) which supposedly allow the service tag to be erased/changed (presumably to use one for which I have a password - See Google).  From various forums I have visited though, I gather that they don't always work and it's questionable as to whether or not it will help me get passed the dreaded white screen with "this computer system is protected by a password authentication system".

What options are open to me now then? I've read, again on various forums, that the Dell laptops with a 595B service tag can have the Bios passwords reset via a small procedure involving a paper clip.  It involves stripping the laptop down to the motherboard and locating the eprom then shorting out a couple of pins for a short while.  A risky procedure I hasten to add and one I will only take as a last resort.

So what's the focus of this gripe?  I guess it's Dell really and the way the whole service tag/ownership thing works.  I can understand the reasoning behind it but the system is so inflexible it truly beggars belief.  Stolen laptops are an issue, but at the same time there is a lot of buying and selling that goes on quite legitimately, and in some cases details of original ownership may not be transferred.  Not everyone is diligent enough to ensure that Dell is kept up to date with names and addresses and the person buying the laptop may not know they need to tell Dell they've bought a laptop from you and give them your name and address.  Of course when they then sell that same laptop a few years down the line and don't have your details the next person definitely not have any proof of ownership.  The whole thing kind of reminds me of vehicle logbooks and the DVLA, but it doesn't work well for laptops because people don't see them in that way.

What's the solution?  Well there isn't one at the moment, at least not for me other than the paper clip thing.  If that doesn't work then I've bought myself a nice little doorstop.  The guy offered to refund me (at least I think that's what he meant), but it would cost to send it back so probably not worthwhile.  The moral of this story is: Don't buy a Dell laptop (I could just leave it at that) on eBay without first checking that the person has proof of ownership or that the laptop is working and doesn't require a password.  Incidentally, once you've got your laptop you can apparently transfer ownership online.  However, as I mentioned before, it just takes one person in the chain to forget to do that and the connection to the service tag and Dell support is forever broken.

Now where did I put the key to the stationary cupboard....?

I can tell you from experience that the paperclip method of getting past the Dell bios password on these pesky 595B really works.  If you've no other choice then this is the route to go (at your own risk of course!).  Just click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Take out the screws on the underside of the laptop as shown.  Some of these could probably be left in, but at the end of the day it's easier to do it now than to come back to it.  Make a note of which one goes where because this will save you some time later.

Turn the laptop over, open the lid right up and remove the plastic thing with the buttons on it.  There should be a little slot that you can get a screwdriver into on the right hand side as shown.  Might be tricky if it hasn't been off yet but don't worry if it bends a bit.

Remove screws for the screen then place it to one side.  Next remove two screws holding the keyboard in.  The keyboard is attached by a connector underneath, gently prise this off.  You'll need to plug it in again later, but its easier to work with it out of the way.

There are a few more screws that need to come out before you can get into the motherboard.  Once you've removed these screws the top plastic case should come off.  Don't expect it just to lift though, you'll need to carefully unclip it and it might take some persuading!

You should see the PCMCIA slot on your left.  It's held down by two screws that need to be removed.  You can probably just about get at the top one there.  Gently manoeuvre the PCMCIA hardware out of the way and you'll see some black plastic underneath.

You should be able to pull that flappy bit of plastic back to reveal the motherboard underneath.  To get to the eprom in question you'll need to tear the sheet a bit more because the chip is to the left.  It's sticky though so putting it back in place later won't be a problem.

Just tuck that bit of plastic off to the left out the way.  There you go!  That's the cookie that we need to play with right there.  Note the little spot on the chip that indicates the position of pin 1.  If I remember correctly we need to short out pins 3 and 6 to completely reset the password.

The chip inside mine was a 24C02 and the pins we're after are second from the bottom on each side.  I've highlighted them here.  Why couldn't they have put this somewhere a bit easier to get to?  OK, now bend your paperclip into a 'U' shape with the ends about 4 or 5 mm apart.

Shorting the pins just as you're booting up seemed to do the trick.  The timing is odd and sometimes it doesn't boot.  Keep at it and eventually you'll get a screen telling you to press Fn-X.  You'll get a few 'Invalid configuration' type messages along the way but this is normal.  Alas I didn't get a photo of the screen though.

Don't forget to plug in the keyboard in and the reset button looks a bit like this without the nice plastic strip.  Once you've exited the bios your laptop should boot up as normal.  If at any point during this it refuses to power up at all, switch off at the mains and then back on.

If my guide has helped you get your laptop working and you want to say thanks... :-)