Dell Optiplex 750, 8 gig ram, 1 Tb hard drive.
My problem: After a cold boot the computer booted up to a dos screen asking for a Microsoft password. I have one and typed it in. And in. The password was refused every time. I know the password is correct because I’ve used it before in this situation.
How can I by-pass this screen and get into my computer?
That sounds rather like a damaged hard drive.
Be careful what you do if there are valuable files on it.
Is there a jumper on the motherboard that you can remove to clear the BIOS password?
That’s what I was thinking. If the data on the drive is important, I would have the drive physically removed and put it in an external drive enclosure or in a drive slot in a tower and do a backup of the drive.
But first I would call Dell support.
^^This. It sounds like this is a password set in the BIOS. If so there is usually a jumper in the computer that will clear it. You will have to refer to the PC’s manual to know which one will do it.
The OP also might consider trying a different keyboard. It could be the one being used is flaking out. Easy thing to try.
Why do you say it is a Microsoft password? What exactly does the screen say?
If it’s a DOS-looking screen and doesn’t actually mention Windows or Microsoft, then most likely a BIOS password has been set. That is a system-wide password that works at a lower level than the operating system. This article has information about a jumper that will reset/bypass the BIOS password.
could also be as simple as op forgetting to click the “numlock” key on keyboard (if pw contains numeric). or, back in the 90’s … if one left a floppy (diskette) in the drive while booting … same would happen. so … would a usb, or other peripheral, show similar symptoms?