query for info x2: price for tp750c, bypass of rom passwd

["Kevin W. Rudd" <kevin@umunhum.Stanford.EDU>]

someone at the campus computer centr at the bookstore is selling a
tp750c for $250 with the catch being that he can't unlock it.  since
it is being sold under the auspices of the bookstore as an as-is sale
my guess is that it is safe from a legal standpoint---the question in
my mind is whether the price is fair and whether it is feasable to
remove or bypass the password.  i would expect that this is not
heavily advertised if possible (and i didn't see it in the faq's) but
if it is unreasonable to remove the password then $250 for a useless
brick isn't a good deal.

any suggestions on price/password removal?  this sounds like a good
price for the machine in general, slow though it may be.

thanks for any pointers or information!
 ---K