You ever purchased a used ThinkPad? If the BIOS has a password, you can't do SHIT. Can't reset, can't boot off CD/DVD/USB, can't do anything. The only way to get around it is to physically unsolder the BIOS chip from the motherboard, and solder a new, unpassword-protected BIOS chip on. They take their anti-theft measures very seriously.
My recommendation is to grab an old Dell or HP off ebay. Or a refurb unit from Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230808There are all kinds of laptops/nettops for <$200 that would fit your bill.
I was given an R500 because the person corrupted the Windows install and couldn't get it to work. I unlocked the bios with a pair of tweezers, installed a new OS, and it is running as we speak.