Supervisor password

[akhavan]

Hi,

I have a T41P. I have set Power On and Hard Drive password. Actually they are the same and it works pretty well.

I have not put any Supervisor password on my machine since I'm the only user.

Is it important to have a Supervisor password or not?

Somebody in one of the posts said that anybody can change the Power On password by simply changing the cmos battery. Is it true?

Thanks

Sepehr

[egibbs]

Yes, you can remove the Power On Password by removing all power (AC, Battery and CMOS) from the machine for a few minutes - the instructions are actually in the Hardware Maintenance Manual. That is by design - the POP is not meant to be a pick proof lock, it is meant to be removable by the end user if they forget it.

The HDD password is a different story. Bypassing a HDD password requires a lot of special knowledge, skills, and equipment and will cost a pretty penny if you ever forget it. It is meant to protect your data (probably worth more than the laptop) in the event the machine is stolen.

The Supervisor password is really meant to to enable access to the machine and HDD if a user forgets their passwords or is unavailable (i.e. in a corporate environment if they have left the company). It is ok to not set the Supervisor password, but I usually set it to the same as my POP and HDD passwords on the machines I own. I do that just in case a stray cosmic ray might happen to change a bit in the stored POP or HDD passwords, and also so if someone swipes the machine they will have a much harder time making it usable. If it is set and the POP is cleared, then the Supervisor password will need to be entered before the machine will boot.

The Supervisor password is like the HDD password in that it is very difficult to remove if it is unknown, so make sure you use something memorable.

Ed Gibbs

[akhavan]

Thanks egibbs

So, I can have the same password for all 3 of them? i.e. Supervisor password , POP and HDD without a problem