Epson 486SX - Manual (Page 73)

To reset the computer, the operating system must be either on
the hard disk or on a diskette in drive A; so if you do not have a
hard disk, insert the system diskette in drive A.
There are two ways to reset the computer:
If you are using MS-DOS, hold down and and
press the key. The screen goes blank for a moment
and then the computer reloads MS-DOS. If it doesn’t, try
the next method.
Press the
RESET
button on the front panel. This method
works even when the computer does not respond to your
keyboard entries.
If resetting the computer does not correct the problem, you
probably need to turn it off and on again. Remove any
diskette(s) from the diskette drive(s). Turn off the computer
and wait five seconds. If you do not have a hard disk, insert the
system diskette in drive A. Then turn on the computer.
Using a Power-on Password
If you set a power-on password when you ran the Setup
program, you must enter it every time you turn on or reset the
computer. Follow these steps to use your password:
1. If you do not have a hard disk, insert your system diskette
in drive A.
2. Turn on or reset the computer. You see this key prompt:
3. At the key prompt, type your power-on password. The key
turns when you type a character, but the screen does not
display the characters you type. Then press
3-6 Using Your Computer