VOGONS


First post, by HomeLate

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I'm trying to reset the system password on an Olivetti M380/XP9 with a BA832 motherboard (BIOS Rev 1.07).

Here's what I've tried so far:

- Removed the CMOS battery and left it out for an extended period — no effect. The password prompt persists.
- Tried common default passwords (OLIVETTI, blank, etc.) — none worked.
- Located and removed the PAL chip at U104 (identified as PWPRO — password protection — in the Olivetti service documentation) — the system would not boot without it, so this isn't viable.
- I have the original Olivetti Setup Utility diskette, but the password prompt appears before the system will boot from floppy, so I can't use it.

From the Olivetti service manual I can see the BA832 uses an 82C206 integrated peripherals controller, and the Extended Setup references both CMOS RAM (64 bytes) and a separate NV RAM area. The password appears to live in NV RAM.

What I'm looking for:
- Any information on the specific NV RAM chip used on the BA832 board and how to clear or replace it
- Whether anyone has experience with the 82C206 and knows of a hardware method to reset its NV RAM
- Whether it's possible to reset the password

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Reply 1 of 2, by weedeewee

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Interesting...
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/olivet … p9-ba832,-ba839
no photo or bios available.

Any chance you could provide those ?
Clear photos can be used to find any possible nvram chip that might contain a password
Bios files might be altered to bypass any password prompt.

Right to repair is fundamental. You own it, you're allowed to fix it.
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Do not ask Why !
https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Serial_port

Reply 2 of 2, by HomeLate

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I'll submit some photos soon on the Retroweb. I'll also upload an image of both 27256 chips.

Here's a picture of the mainboard. I'll make a better picture soon for the Retroweb:

The attachment image-1773419600765.jpg is no longer available

This is the password prompt I'm seeing, halting the system to continue booting:

[attachment=-1]PXL_20260312_180202918.jpg[/attachment]