Passwords 
As  many  as  three  passwords  may  be  needed  for  any 
ThinkPad  computer:  the  power-on  password  (POP),  the 
hard  disk  password  (HDP),  and  the  supervisor  password 
(SVP). 
If  any  of  these  passwords  has  been  set,  a  prompt  for  it 
appears  on  the  screen  whenever  the  computer  is  turned 
on.  The  computer  does  not  start  until  the  password  is 
entered. 
Exception:  If  only  an  SVP  is  installed,  the  password 
prompt  does  not  appear  when  the  operating 
system  is  booted. 
Power-on  password 
A  power-on  password  (POP)  protects  the  system  from 
being  powered  on  by  an  unauthorized  person.  The 
password  must  be  entered  before  an  operating  system  can 
be  booted. 
Hard  disk  password 
There  are  two  hard  disk  passwords  (HDPs): 
v  User  HDP—for  the  user 
v  Master  HDP—for  the  system  administrator,  who  can  use 
it  to  get  access  to  the  hard  disk  even  if  the  user  has 
changed  the  user  HDP
Note:
  There  are  two  modes  for  the  HDP:  User  only  and 
Master  +  User.  The  Master  +  User  mode  requires 
two  HDPs;  the  system  administrator  enters  both  in 
the  same  operation.  The  system  administrator  then 
provides  the  user  HDP  to  the  system  user.
 Attention:  If  the  user  HDP  has  been  forgotten,  check 
whether  a  master  HDP  has  been  set.  If  it  has,  it  can  be 
used  for  access  to  the  hard  disk  drive.  If  no  master  HDP  is 
available,  IBM  does  not  provide  any  services  to  reset 
either  the  user  or  the  master  HDP,  or  to  recover  data  from 
the  hard  disk  drive.  The  hard  disk  drive  can  be  replaced 
for  a  scheduled  fee. 
Supervisor  password 
A  supervisor  password  (SVP)  protects  the  system 
information  stored  in  the  IBM  BIOS  Setup  Utility.  The  SVP 
must  be  entered  in  order  to  get  access  to  the  IBM  BIOS 
Setup  Utility  and  make  changes  to  system  configuration 
settings. 
Related  service  information 
General  descriptions  37