The Steel Guitar Forum

Dell Inspiron 1545, mod pp41l, win7 will not let me go to setup, or boot options, goes to password page.
I have tried to reformat HD with a connection dock but will not recognize it. I have read that there is a jumper on the mainboard but don't want to go to that much hassle. Would it recognize a new/formatted HD?

I don't know if there is a hack for this or not.
On the Dell support forums the stock answer is to call Dell support, but support won't unlock it unless you can prove you are the registered with Dell owner. Proving ownership is because of all the stolen laptops.

The CR2032 CMOS battery can be removed for about 5 minutes to reset the CMOS memory (BIOS) but that does reset the password requirement. There is nothing in the on-line 1545 documentation about any jumper (Clear CMOS (BIOS) jumper is on some models).

Here is the link to Dell documentation:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us ... -1545/docs

This is a 2009 era laptop. Most this age have long ago died.

If you need data off of the hard drive, it can be removed and installed in an external USB adapter and connected to another PC to recover user data.

Thanks Jack, I tried reformatting the drive on an external USB adapter, the computer would not recognize it, I may try the battery thing, no biggie if I don't get it going, I helped a friend with some stuff on another laptop, and he gave me this one...also know there is nothing shady about this unit, he is like me in the memory dept. (us, not the computer!!) I've tried a couple online hacks that didn't work. The battery that you speak of is on the MB, which is a royal pain to get to is why I haven't done that already.

Thanks for your input

According to the service manual the battery is on the underside of the motherboard and it has to be removed to access it.

Given that the battery life is about 5 years and this is 12 years its probably shot.

As noted, the Dell ownership requirement was instituted about the same timeframe as this PC, due to the large number of stolen laptops. Unfortunately that leaves legitimate owners such as you, that did not get registered Dell ownership transferred, without a way to get it unlocked by Dell.

One last question??? Is the password stored in the HD, or the MB?

Its on the motherboard.

If it were on the hard drive, it wouldn't be secure as all you would have to do is use a different drive and the password is gone.

Thank you for your help, nothing simple any more...oh well!

Easy shot here but dell has their Bios passwords as, "Dell" try it and see what happens. If it works you can turn it off in the bios.

Didn't work...Thanks anyway.

Maybe have a read here, https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-u ... s-password. I've never had this issue as I have an MSI board vs a stock Dell board.

Installing Support Assist, if it would even install on an old legacy system, is not an option. He can't get to Windows because of this password screen.

There is no password reset pins listed in the Dell manual. Just how to access the CMOS memory battery. If that doesn't reset it, the only option left (and listed in the Dell document) is what I originally noted as a Dell support option.

Dell Manual

This may help. https://bios-pw.org/ Try typing this password exactly in the password block on your computer. c117au2s. This is supposed to be a default Dell password. If it works go straight into bios and change password or delete the old one and leave it blank. I just went through this and I found that this works Winston May

Finally got it to recognize the repair disc, says no HD found, put drive in a dock to reformat, doesn't show..May try again later, got a bad case of brain scramble now.

Thanks for the help.

Sounds like the hard drive may have went shot...

reviving old post,

Got it to take generic password, got past dell PW to windows PW, windows starting and working as normal, reinstalled Win7, upgraded to Win10, operating as normal.

How do I change/eliminate Dell password page?

Thanks, Bill

Info here:
https://www.top-password.com/blog/5-way ... See%20More.

Thanks Jack, you're a lifesaver, you and Winston helped me to get a useable laptop.

How to delete this page/sign in? I have the bypass code but don't like using it.

That link I posted is what is referenced on the Dell site.

If its not working, best to post on the Dell support forum. Maybe someone has some other way.

Dell laptop support forum:
https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops/ct-p/Laptops

From all research, there is no way to eliminate/bypass this page, taking the battery out does not eliminate it, or delete the password. Windows starts without a password so I'll just leave it as is......Thanks for all the help, it's working, and useable, I've installed win 10 (to my surprise) working as it should.

Thanks again Bill