Disable TPM without password

[richard.wyke]

Hi All,

I have been having a few issues with my X60s, the most annoying of which is the fingerprint logon. It was setup to take the fingerprint at power-on which then logs into windows, which was fine untill i realised that it doesnt work 100% of the time, and its very annoying when i can't login untill i go through the procedure 4 or 5 times first thing in the morning. So i want to disable this, however in the BIOS most of the options are grayed out - including the option to disable the security chip.

I don't know what the password is on the security chip after i installed the security software in XP and i can only get in with the fingerprint (eventually!) so how can i disable the security chip?

Thanks!

MOD EDIT: Moving to X6x forum, poster notified.

[NS]

Go to:
-->protect my data
--> manage security setting

Should be able to disable both fingerprint and security chip.

HTH

[richard.wyke]

i can't disable throught the security software though because it asks for a password for the TPM

[MGD_drinker]

Are you the one who set up the password for the security chip?

I'm no expert but I always thought that the point of the security chip is that there's way to alter it's settings without knowing the password.

[NaT]

I have been using fingerprinte reader on Thinkpads for more than two years and personally, it's very convenient and accurate (just about 5% false negative) -- only having problem when my finger(s) is wet or very damp. You probably might not used it yet.

Anyway, to disable it, at system power on, do not use fingerprint to authenticate but use the administrator-level password instead. Fingerprint uses user-level password, so when you get into BIOS, you will unable to modify values.

Please try and see if this works.

[lpmtnmvr]

Is there a generic administrator level password??

I am in a similar boat as richard, except I LOVE my fingerprint reader and have become so dependent upon it, I forgot my password(s). One needs the password to access certain maintenance functions. It is a catch 22...when I try to reset or delete the password, I am prompted for the current password.

The password I have written down is rejected by the Thinkpad system. I set it up (newbie) AND I am "the" administrator....there is no separate administrator, something I want to remedy, once I can wrap my arms around this.

I would also like to add a finger print to the reader (for when I am in the tablet mode, I want to use my other hand....) how do I do this?

I have a post in this same forum http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=48232

I will keep watching this thread for your wisdom as well.

Blessings--

[egibbs]

There are no generic, default, or otherwise knowable passwords on these machines. You have to remember the one you set.

Ed Gibbs

[lpmtnmvr]

Ed -
Is there a way for "ME" to reset the thinkpad - or "MUST" I take this to an authorized dealer?

[carbon_unit]

Please do not ask about or post links to cracking the Supervisor password or this thread will disappear.
If you set the supervisor password you should know it. I don't think an authorized dealer can help you either.

[egibbs]

An authorized repair facility (not dealer) can replace the system board, which is the only approved way to clear an unknown Supervisor Password. They will of course charge you for the system board and labor.

You should really try hard to remember the password. If you wrote it down but what you wrote doesn't work try variations on the capitalization, try truncating it at 7 letters, try deleting any special characters, etc.

There are 2 modes - Password and Passphrase, and they have different rules about what they accept - if you entered a 15 character passphrase with varying capitalization and special characters, but the computer was actually in password mode (7 characters, no special characters or capitalization recognized) then it may have stored something different than what you entered.

Ed Gibbs

[lpmtnmvr]

Egibbs --
This is VERY helpful. Thank you for both your patience and insight on this matter.

Carbon_Unit --
If I set it -- OF COURSE I should know it. Unfortunately I got so comfortable with my fingerprint reader after months of not using the password or pass phrase - anything I have tried to use does not work. I am a newbie -- genuinely seeking help.

It was embarrassing enough to have to even ASK about this in a public forum. I hoped the Thinkpads.com SUPPORT community was a safe enough learning environment that someone could point me to Lenovo with the proper question or PM me, without being made to feel like I was up to something less than scrupulous or tarnishing the forum in some way.

My apologies to the forum!

Once again heartfelt thanks to ED for his patience and giving me a few more angles on troubleshooting this for myself.

Blessings --

[carbon_unit]

I was not inferring that you are dishonest. I was just trying to avoid this thread getting locked or deleted because someone posts a link to something illegal. A locked or disappearing thread won't get you the answers you need.