Please help before I panic. Startup problem.

Alright. I own a gateway, probably my real problem... but
anyway...
The computer starts up, then suddenly a black screen
appears. A dark blue rectangle appears in the center
about an inch in height and the width is somewhere around
3 1/2 inches. It asks "Enter Password" with a black text
box and a flashing white square. I have no idea what my
password is as I had never installed one onto the
computer before. I have tried to use the restoration
disks to clear my entire drive and start over but no
luck... same screen appears. HELP.

SaltPeter
Wed Sep 24 02:13:50 CDT 2003

Someone set a bios password on the system, bios passwords can be configured
to either prevent access to CMOS setup or to secure a system's startup. To
remove it without knowing the password or one of the manufacturer's
overrides, reset the clear CMOS jumper on the motherboard.

Consult your motherboard's documentation for location (you might be able to
locate clear CMOS jumper by scanning the mobo, the jumper will be labelled
CLP, CLTC or something like that). Then again, you might also remove the
battery for 20 minutes or so.

"Christa Timbers" <gtimbers@seidata.com> wrote in message
news:0ca301c38248$bbf22290$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> Alright. I own a gateway, probably my real problem... but
> anyway...
> The computer starts up, then suddenly a black screen
> appears. A dark blue rectangle appears in the center
> about an inch in height and the width is somewhere around
> 3 1/2 inches. It asks "Enter Password" with a black text
> box and a flashing white square. I have no idea what my
> password is as I had never installed one onto the
> computer before. I have tried to use the restoration
> disks to clear my entire drive and start over but no
> luck... same screen appears. HELP.

Mow
Wed Sep 24 10:19:32 CDT 2003

Christa,

Have you scanned your system for viral activity lately ? Does your
antivirus program still function ? Try booting up with the Rescue Disks
that most AV programs use to remove virus's.

MowGreen
*-343-*
Never Forgotten

Christa Timbers wrote:

> Alright. I own a gateway, probably my real problem... but
> anyway...
> The computer starts up, then suddenly a black screen
> appears. A dark blue rectangle appears in the center
> about an inch in height and the width is somewhere around
> 3 1/2 inches. It asks "Enter Password" with a black text
> box and a flashing white square. I have no idea what my
> password is as I had never installed one onto the
> computer before. I have tried to use the restoration
> disks to clear my entire drive and start over but no
> luck... same screen appears. HELP.

SaltPeter
Sat Sep 27 02:03:33 CDT 2003

I explained that already, get the documentation for the system or try
locating the "clear cmos" jumper on mobo through a visual inspection.
Motherboard models come by the thousands and no 2 are identical, hence, the
need for documentation.

"Christa Timbers" <gtimbers@seidata.com> wrote in message
news:e87601c382bd$498a3510$a601280a@phx.gbl...
> how do you reset it?
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Someone set a bios password on the system, bios passwords
> can be configured
> >to either prevent access to CMOS setup or to secure a
> system's startup. To
> >remove it without knowing the password or one of the
> manufacturer's
> >overrides, reset the clear CMOS jumper on the motherboard.
> >
> >Consult your motherboard's documentation for location
> (you might be able to
> >locate clear CMOS jumper by scanning the mobo, the jumper
> will be labelled
> >CLP, CLTC or something like that). Then again, you might
> also remove the
> >battery for 20 minutes or so.
> >
> >"Christa Timbers" <gtimbers@seidata.com> wrote in message
> >news:0ca301c38248$bbf22290$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> >> Alright. I own a gateway, probably my real problem...
> but
> >> anyway...
> >> The computer starts up, then suddenly a black screen
> >> appears. A dark blue rectangle appears in the center
> >> about an inch in height and the width is somewhere
> around
> >> 3 1/2 inches. It asks "Enter Password" with a black
> text
> >> box and a flashing white square. I have no idea what my
> >> password is as I had never installed one onto the
> >> computer before. I have tried to use the restoration
> >> disks to clear my entire drive and start over but no
> >> luck... same screen appears. HELP.
> >
> >
> >.
> >