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I currently have a friend's computer that he got and has Windows 8 OS that we are actually trying to get rid off.

He would like to use Ubuntu as his main OS. He got the computer second hand so he does not know the BIOS password and that's an issue because the BIOS seems to be blocking USB booting.

Tried cmospwd software in cmd in windows but it seems that it does not work on a 32-bit system.

So I tried to just do it hardware and remove the CMOS battery for a few hours. I could not find jumper to clear the CMOS in the motherboard. Does anyone know how I can do this? The laptop is an ACER ES1-531

If any additional info I may provide that can help please do let me know.

EDIT

As an alternate solution as per a recommendation from below I saw that I could install the software using a different computer, but looking into the solution makes me wonder on how to do it since both on my computers are BIOS no UEFI, maybe I'm confused or just stressed about it.

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  • UEFI is more full-featured than BIOS, however for your purposes the section of BIOS that you need is the boot priority menu which is usually located under the Boot tab and is used to set which device the computer tries to boot from first,
    – karel
    Jan 27, 2020 at 2:59
  • All Acer have an unique requirement of setting trust after install in UEFI with Secure boot on. You have to know password. Acer Aspire E15 will not dual boot, many details Trust settings in step 35 askubuntu.com/questions/627416/…
    – oldfred
    Jan 27, 2020 at 3:53
  • Right, i mean not just Acer computers, I remember for all my laptops I had to access the BIOS settings in order to remove secure boot and maybe change the boot order. However, I cannot access BIOS since it has a password which I don't know. I might try the installation on the Hard Drive from a different computer just like in the link suggested, I will avoid proprietary drivers. Jan 27, 2020 at 9:31
  • GOT IT !! Turns out there is a page which has the generic BIOS unlock codes. 1° Enter BIOS and put any password 3 times, BIOS will lock 2° Select option to put password and below you will find a number 3° Enter the number in this website bios-pw.org 4° You will be prompted the number for your device, enter into the BIOS 5° Congratulations !! You may now move the settings in the BIOS (So I can finally install Ubuntu) Thank you everyone Jan 27, 2020 at 13:40

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