220-802 · Question #869
A technician turns on a PC and before the computer boots up, the technician is prompted for a password. The technician does not know the password. Which of the following can the technician do to…
The correct answer is A. Set the clear password jumper on the motherboard. E. Remove the CMOS battery for 15 minutes. A pre-boot password prompt indicates a BIOS/CMOS password is set. Because the technician cannot enter the BIOS, the password must be cleared through hardware methods - either the clear-password jumper or removing the CMOS battery.
Question
A technician turns on a PC and before the computer boots up, the technician is prompted for a password. The technician does not know the password. Which of the following can the technician do to allow access to the PC? (Select TWO).
Options
- ASet the clear password jumper on the motherboard.
- BEnter the BIOS setup and select the clear password setting.
- CRemove the power cord from the power supply and then plug it back in.
- DPower cycle the PC.
- ERemove the CMOS battery for 15 minutes.
How the community answered
(49 responses)- A76% (37)
- B6% (3)
- C14% (7)
- D4% (2)
Why each option
A pre-boot password prompt indicates a BIOS/CMOS password is set. Because the technician cannot enter the BIOS, the password must be cleared through hardware methods - either the clear-password jumper or removing the CMOS battery.
Most motherboards include a dedicated clear-password or clear-CMOS jumper that, when bridged with the system powered off, resets the BIOS password and settings to factory defaults, granting access without knowing the current password.
BIOS setup requires authenticating with the existing password first, which the technician does not know, making this option inaccessible.
Removing and re-inserting the power cord only interrupts AC power to the system; it does not affect the CMOS battery-backed memory where the BIOS password is stored.
A power cycle (restart) does not clear CMOS memory; the CMOS battery maintains the stored password through power cycles.
The CMOS battery powers the small memory chip that stores BIOS settings including the password; removing it for approximately 15 minutes drains the chip and resets all BIOS settings, including the password, to defaults.
Concept tested: Resetting BIOS/CMOS password via hardware methods
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