Last Updated on December 16, 2023 by Dave Farquhar
I was restoring an old Micron Clientpro 766Xi when I ran into a corrupt BIOS password, so I couldn’t do much with the system. Micron used a slightly modified Intel AL440LX motherboard in these systems. So here’s how to clear a CMOS password on an Intel AL440LX. Other P2-era Intel boards will be similar.
The Intel AL440LX has a jumper at the front of the board. Unlike some other systems, you have to change the position of the jumper and turn the power on.
Near the front of the board, in front of the combined PCI/ISA expansion slot, there’s a 3-pin jumper labeled J8B2. It’s at position W on the diagram to the right. Slide the jumper over to pins 2-3 instead of the usual 1-2 to clear the BIOS, then power the system on. The system boots into the CMOS setup in a reduced-functionality mode. One of the options it gives you is to clear the passwords. Select this option, then power down the system. Then slide the jumper back over to pins 1-2 to restore the system to normal functionality.
Replacing the CMOS battery
If the password is corrupt due to a dead battery, which is likely given the age of the system, replace the CR2032 battery as well. The battery is behind the AGP slot at the back of the board. Intel rated the life expectancy at three years. I’ve seen them last a lot longer than that, but now that these systems are well over 20 years old, it’s prudent to replace the battery if you haven’t replaced it recently. Just be glad Intel didn’t use a rechargeable Varta NiCD battery, so you probably won’t be cleaning up any battery juice. Lithium batteries rarely leak.
You can buy CR2032 batteries literally anywhere, but they are an extremely high-margin item, even at Dollar Tree prices. You can buy quality CR2032 batteries in quantity on Ebay for less than the cost of two batteries at the store down the street. Look for a major brand like Duracell, Energizer, Maxell, Panasonic, or Sony. The best deals start at around the $2 price point. CR2032s are used in a lot of other things, like car keyfobs, so it’s not out of line to buy a quantity of 5-10.
The system will function with a dead battery, but when you unplug the system from the wall outlet, you’ll have to clear the password and reconfigure the BIOS again.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.