gump

hey guys [and gals] i really need some help. i bought an acer travelmate 230 notebook at a sale a local store had over the weekend. i got it as a gift for a family member but its got some problems. someone put a bios password on it and i cant get around it. ive tried several common backdoor passwords but no luck. i called acer and they want $100 to reset it plus shipping and going to take four weeks. really hate to go this route because like i said its gonna be a gift. i thought about pulling the cmos battery out but i read that with acer and dell (i've got one with the same problem and tried) it will not work. any ideas?i sure would appreciate it