Assigning A System Setup Password; Deleting Or Changing An Existing System Or Admin Password; Clearing Cmos Settings - Dell Inspiron 5301 Service Manual

You can create a system password and a setup password to secure your computer.
CAUTION: The password features provide a basic level of security for the data on your computer.
CAUTION: Anyone can access the data stored on your computer if it is not locked and left unattended.
NOTE: System and setup password feature is disabled.

Assigning a system setup password

Prerequisites
You can assign a new System or Admin Password only when the field Enter the old password is grayed out.
About this task
To enter the system setup, press F2 immediately after a power-on or reboot.
Steps
1. In the System BIOS or System Setup screen, click Passwords on the left pane.
The Passwords screen is displayed.
2. Create a password in Enter the new password field, and press Enter.
Use the following guidelines to assign the system password:
● A password can have up to 32 characters.
● The password can contain the numbers 0 through 9.
● Only lower case letters are valid, upper case letters are not allowed.
● Only the following special characters are allowed: space, ("), (+), (,), (-), (.), (/), (;), ([), (\), (]), (`).
3. Reenter the new password and press Enter to confirm.
4. Click APPLY CHANGES and a message prompts you to save the changes.
5. Click EXIT to restart the computer.

Deleting or changing an existing system or admin password

About this task
To enter the System Setup, press F2 immediately after a power-on or reboot.
Steps
1. In the System BIOS or System Setup screen, click Passwords in the left pane.
The Passwords screen is displayed.
2. In the Passwords screen, alter, or delete the existing system/admin password.
NOTE: If you change the System and/or Admin password, reenter the new password when prompted. If you delete the
System and Admin password, confirm the deletion when prompted.
3. Click APPLY CHANGES and a message prompts you to save the changes.
4. Click EXIT to save the changes and exit from System Setup.
The computer restarts.

Clearing CMOS settings

About this task
CAUTION: Clearing CMOS settings will reset the BIOS settings on your computer.
System setup 63