MSI GE66 Raider BIOS reset - disconnecting CMOS battery for 16 hours did NOT work

P

pclausen

Gawd
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
697
So I just picked up a nice GE66 Raider laptop from another member here. He disclosed up front that it had a BIOS password set that he did not know. I figured I wouldn't need it. However, after installing a new NVMe (WD Back SN850 1TB) and trying to load load Win 11, I got a message that "this PC does not meet the minimum requirements). I'm pretty sure that's because the TPM is disabled in the BIOS, so I need to get in there to fix is.

Like the title says, I popped the back cover and removed both the main battery and disconnected the CMOS battery for about 16 hours. Here you can see the batteries removed/disconnected:

IMG_E2124.JPG


Closed up the disconnected CMOS battery:

IMG_E2123.JPG


I also pressed and held in that SW1 you see for like 15 seconds.

So does disconnecting the CMOS battery on newer laptops no longer reset the BIOS, or was 16 hours not long enough?
 
Just got of chat with MSI support. For their laptops, the only way to reset BIOS password is to send it to them. Fortunately this laptop is less than a year old, so its still under warranty. Still sucks I now have to way 10-30 business days to get it back. But I got a good deal on the laptop I think, so I guess its worth it.
 
Laptops going back decades have almost always had the BIOS password stored in non volatile storage, it's not a new thing. This is done for security, if the laptop grows legs and walks off, it makes it useless to the common thief.

Besides sending it back to MSI like you're doing, you'd have to figure out where the password was stored. If it was in the BIOS chip itself, that could be dumped, changed and reprogrammed. But that's a lot of effort and requires special equipment. If it was stored somewhere else, like inside some ASIC on the board, then it'd be virtually impossible.
 
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