When
you set an administrator
password,
the Configure
Setup
option
becomes available
in the system
setup program. The
Configure
Setup
option
a
l
lows
you
to r
e
s
t
rict
access
to
system setup
in the
same
way
that
a primary password restricts
access
to the computer.
The
administrator
password can be used instead
of the
primary password. Whenever you are
prompted
to
enter
the
primary password, you can enter
the
administrator
password.
NOTICE:
If
you disable the administrator password, the primary password is also
disabled.
NOTE:
The administrator password provides access to the computer, but
it
does not provide access to the
hard
drive
when
a
hard drive password is
assigned.
If
you forget
the
primary password and
do not
have an
administrator
password assigned,
or if
you
have
both
a primary and an administrator
password assigned
but
forget
them both,
contact your
system
administrator
or
contact
Dell
(see
"Contacting
Dell" on
page
143).
Using a Hard Drive
Password
The
hard drive password helps protect
the
data
on
your hard drive
from
unauthorized
access. You
can
also assign a password
for
an external hard drive
(if
one is being used)
that
can be
the
same as
or different
from the
password
for the
primary hard
drive.
After
assigning a hard drive password, you
must
enter
it
each
time
you
turn on the
computer and
each
time
you restore
the
computer
to
normal operation
from
standby
mode.
If the
hard drive password is enabled, you
must
enter
it
each
time
you
turn on the
computer:
A
message
appears asking
for the
hard drive
password.
To
continue, enter your password
(with no
more
than eight
characters) and press
<Enter>.
If
you
do not
enter a password
within 2
minutes,
the
computer returns
to its
previous operating
state.
If
you enter
the
wrong password, a message tells you
that the
password is
invalid.
Press
<Enter>
to try
again.
If
you
do not
enter
the
correct password
in
three attempts,
the
computer tries
to
start
from another
bootable device
if the Boot F
i
rst
Device
option in the
system setup program is set
to
allow start-up
from
another device.
If the Boot F
i
rst
Device
option
is
not
set
to
allow
the
computer
to
start
from another
device,
the
computer returns
to the
operating state
it
was
in
when you
turned it on.
If the
hard drive password,
the
external hard-drive password, and
the
primary password are
the
same,
the
computer prompts you only
for the
primary password.
If the
hard drive password is
differ
e
nt
from the
primary password,
the
computer prompts you
for both. Two different
passwords provide greater
security.
NOTE:
The administrator password provides access to the computer, but
it
does not provide access to the
hard
drive
when
a
hard drive password is
assigned.
If the
administrative
password is installed when
the
user creates
the
primary hard disk password,
then the
administrative
password can be used
in
place
of the
primary hard disk password.
This
feature allows
an
administrator
to
unlock password-protected hard disks
as long as
an administrative
password is
installed
before deploying
the computers.
66
Securing Your
C
o
mputer
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