Thinkpads Forum

Does anyone know the different levels of password protection for ThinkPads???

I.e. bios, hard drive, supervisor, what there functions are and the symbol that is displayed during boot??? Are there only three???

I know I have seen this somewhere before but can’t find it know.

Thanks again.

The following is based upon my experience with 600X and T2x systems (and is presented in the Hardware Maintenance Manual)...

There are three possible passwords that can be enabled:

- power on (POP); presents itself as a lock icon with a small "square" next to (signifying a computer monitor); always appears at power up if enabled

- supervisor (aka BIOS or SVP); looks identical to the POP (lock and monitor icons); only appears if an attempt is made to access the BIOS settings OR the backup (CMOS) battery has been disconnected or gone dead

- hard drive (HDP); shows a lock icon alongside a drum or cylinder (the universal picture which suggests a hard drive); appears at power up if enabled

You will definitely know if there's a POP or HDP password enabled; the system will prompt you for those passwords if they are enabled each time you turn the system on. The SVP is trickier. It can be enabled without showing any outward signs of being there. However, if you attempt to access the BIOS (pressing F1 at power up), you will be prompted. If the backup battery power has been interrupted, the SVP will ALWAYS appear at power on because the date and time settings were lost and you have to access the BIOS to reset them.

Best suggestion when obtaining a "new" system: Try to get into the BIOS right away to see if there's a SVP. If you can, then no worries. If you can't, ask the seller what the password is and if they can't comply, return the system and get your money back. The system will be fully usable until the backup battery runs out.

I am sure Ray has covered everything, nevertheless you should also check out this document, it explains all the passwords with symbols.

Ah, thank you Ry, I didn't know about that page. It seems to cover everything except for two things:

- the supervisor icon must have been changed for the newer systems (after T23 anyway) as mine still shows the "square monitor" icon when requesting the SVP
- removing the POP will automatically trigger the SVP if it is enabled; this is somewhat obscured by the wording, "If the Power-on password is forgotten and the Supervisor password is known..."