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CMOS jumpers for MX6421?

post #1 of 16
1/17/08 at 9:39am
Thread Starter 
I need to locate the "Reset CMOS" and/or "Boot Block" jumpers for an MX6421 notebook. Can't find any motherboard diagrams anywhere on the Web.

The BIOS itself appears to be corrupted - several rows of "junk" ASCII characters at several places on the screen when I attempt to go ino the BIOS setup.

Any help will be much appareciated.

best,
JohnB
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post #2 of 16
1/17/08 at 12:04pm
reset CMOS? i normally would just remove the battery and leave it out for about 1 minute and that was

cheers ...
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post #3 of 16
1/17/08 at 5:41pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the response, qhn. Unfortunately, I think the BIOS itself is corrupted, not just the BIOS settings/data.

Removing the battery only resets the BIOS data. I actually need to re-load the BIOS code, usually achieved by using a jumper called "Boot Block". This procedure is often used to recover from a bad BIOS flash, but in this instance I think the user had a virus that actually re-wrote some of the BIOS code.

I suppose I can just open up the computer and take a look to see if there are any jumpers - hopefully they'll be labeled.

best,
JohnB
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post #4 of 16
1/17/08 at 7:37pm
cool, if u could just take some pics and share with us afterward. Sorry, i could not find any related schematic info on this for ya

cheers ...
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post #5 of 16
1/17/08 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
No problem - will do.

It'll probably be fairly obvious which jumpers are BIOS-related. Most modern mobo's, especially laptops, don't have too many jumpers, and the Clear BIOS & Boot Block jumpers are usually located near the CMOS chip & CMOS battery.

If all else fails, I can always contact Gateway tech support (not).

best,
JohnB
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post #6 of 16
1/17/08 at 7:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyzero View Post
No problem - will do.
totally cool

Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyzero View Post
..If all else fails, I can always contact Gateway tech support (not). ...
u r braver than i thought (actually they r quite capable)

best of lucks

cheers ...
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post #7 of 16
1/17/08 at 10:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyzero View Post
No problem - will do.

It'll probably be fairly obvious which jumpers are BIOS-related. Most modern mobo's, especially laptops, don't have too many jumpers, and the Clear BIOS & Boot Block jumpers are usually located near the CMOS chip & CMOS battery.

If all else fails, I can always contact Gateway tech support (not).

best,
JohnB
Have you tried just re-flashing the BIOS again, it may FIX the problem, or it may not, and contacting Gateway won't help, they'll just try and sell you a whole new motherboard (if you sent it to them) but, if it's still under warranty, Gateway will just replace the motherboad for FREE, so, why don't you just "LET THEM FIX IT" if you somehow BREAK the jumpers on that mobo, you will have to pay for a new mobo..........just something to consider?
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post #8 of 16
1/17/08 at 10:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
totally cool


u r braver than i thought (actually they r quite capable)

best of lucks

cheers ...
qhn: you're right - I was being somewhat facetious. Gateway support is actually pretty good, assuming you get a tech support rep where language/cultural barriers aren't an issue. Same thing w/ Dell support - those guys actually get a bad rap.

JohnB
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post #9 of 16
1/17/08 at 11:11pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by denb45 View Post
Have you tried just re-flashing the BIOS again, it may FIX the problem, or it may not, and contacting Gateway won't help, they'll just try and sell you a whole new motherboard (if you sent it to them) but, if it's still under warranty, Gateway will just replace the motherboad for FREE, so, why don't you just "LET THEM FIX IT" if you somehow BREAK the jumpers on that mobo, you will have to pay for a new mobo..........just something to consider?
thanks for the input, denb.

unfortunately, I can't re-flash the BIOS because the computer won't even boot to the point where it would recognize any kind of floppy or CD drive to flash from. It tries to immediately go to the BIOS setup, which then displays a buncha garbage ASCII characters on the screen. That's how I know the BIOS itself is corrupt.

Moving the Boot Block jumper (if I can find it) is basically the same thing as re-flashing the BIOS. It re-programs the CMOS with the original BIOS version that the computer shipped with.

In the old days before the Boot Block feature existed, if you trashed your BIOS (usually the result of a flash attempt gone awry), your only recourse was to buy a new BIOS chip.

You're right: it would probably be easier to just have Gateway fix it - but that would make too much sense ;-). Seriously, my client needs this computer back ASAP, so I'm gonna try the Boot Block thing first.


best,
JohnB
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post #10 of 16
1/17/08 at 11:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyzero View Post
thanks for the input, denb.

unfortunately, I can't re-flash the BIOS because the computer won't even boot to the point where it would recognize any kind of floppy or CD drive to flash from. It tries to immediately go to the BIOS setup, which then displays a buncha garbage ASCII characters on the screen. That's how I know the BIOS itself is corrupt.

Moving the Boot Block jumper (if I can find it) is basically the same thing as re-flashing the BIOS. It re-programs the CMOS with the original BIOS version that the computer shipped with.

In the old days before the Boot Block feature existed, if you trashed your BIOS (usually the result of a flash attempt gone awry), your only recourse was to buy a new BIOS chip.

You're right: it would probably be easier to just have Gateway fix it - but that would make too much sense ;-). Seriously, my client needs this computer back ASAP, so I'm gonna try the Boot Block thing first.


best,
JohnB
You do understand, that if you open-up that notebook (if it has a warranty) it will be Void, but, if you think the boot block will fix this GOOD LUCK
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post #11 of 16
1/18/08 at 12:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by denb45 View Post
You do understand, that if you open-up that notebook (if it has a warranty) it will be Void, but, if you think the boot block will fix this GOOD LUCK
Thanks again for the input, denb. I'm pretty sure I can accomplish the jumper thing w/o breaking them or whatever. I've done similar things many times. Of course, it's MUCH more likely that I'll break some stupid li'l plastic piece when trying to disassemble the case - can you say Swiss watch?

best,
JohnB
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post #12 of 16
1/18/08 at 12:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnyzero View Post
can you say Swiss watch?

best,
JohnB
LOL.....more like Fisher Price
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post #13 of 16
1/20/08 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Got it! It turned out to be a bad RAM chip - something I haven't encountered too often. This explains why the BIOS Setup was writing junk ASCII characters to the screen.

One additional complication was that the user had created a (BIOS-based) System Password, which I couldn't get past because the Enter Password screen was scrambled on the screen!

I first removed the CMOS battery to clear the password. Once that was done, I booted from my trusty UltimateBootCD. From there, I ran several of the included RAM tests - all of which failed miserably.

I popped in a pair of new RAM chips, and everything is fine now.

All's well that ends well. Thanks to all who posted their advice here. Hopefully my experience will help someone with a similar problem. To quote the school motto from Animal House: "Knowledge Is Good".

best,
JohnB
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post #14 of 16
1/30/08 at 10:50pm
JohnB,

I recently change my bios password to blank and now it won't let me in. Can you tell me where I can find the bios reset on the MX6421 Gateway laptop?
Thanks!

Barryfree@yahoo.com
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post #15 of 16
2/1/08 at 9:46am
Thread Starter 
Barry,

I never was able to locate the Clear CMOS jumper on that MX6421, but I was able to clear the Bios by just removing the CMOS backup battery for a couple minutes (as mentioned by qhn in his earlier post).

To get to the battery, you'll need to remove the keyboard, as shown on pp7-8 of this document:
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Q106/Blade/8511418.pdf

Note: for the MX6421, you only need to remove the one bottom screw labeled "K". It doesn't have the 2 additional concealed screws mentioned in the doc.
Once the keyboard is outta the way, you'll be able to see the battery. It's located on the right-hand circuit board underneath the sheet metal shielding, as shown here:

http://www.frontiernet.net/~johnnyzero/MX600_CMOS_batt.jpg

I hope this helps.

best,
JohnB
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post #16 of 16
10/27/12 at 5:21pm

JohnB,

 

I just wanted to say thanks for posting this.

I had a hard drive replacement and the BIOS had a password that even defeated the System restore.

I followed your links and that was the trick.

Once again thanks!

 

Dave Shibli

Cayman Islands

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