Table of Contents
Advertisement
3.10 BIOS Security Features
The BIOS includes security features that restrict access to the BIOS Setup program
and who can boot the computer. A supervisor password and a user password can be
set for the BIOS Setup program and for booting the computer, with the following
restrictions:
•
The supervisor password gives unrestricted access to view and change all the
Setup options in the BIOS Setup program. This is the supervisor mode.
•
The user password gives restricted access to view and change Setup options in the
BIOS Setup program. This is the user mode.
•
If only the supervisor password is set, pressing the <Enter> key at the password
prompt of the BIOS Setup program allows the user restricted access to Setup.
•
If both the supervisor and user passwords are set, users can enter either the
supervisor password or the user password to access Setup. Users have access to
Setup respective to which password is entered.
•
Setting the user password restricts who can boot the computer. The password
prompt will be displayed before the computer is booted. If only the supervisor
password is set, the computer boots without asking for a password. If both
passwords are set, the user can enter either password to boot the computer.
•
For enhanced security, use different passwords for the supervisor and user
passwords.
•
Valid password characters are A-Z, a-z, and 0-9. Passwords may be up to
16 characters in length.
Table 34 shows the effects of setting the supervisor password and user password.
This table is for reference only and is not displayed on the screen.
Table 34. Supervisor and User Password Functions
Password
Supervisor
Set
Mode
Neither
Can change all
options
Supervisor
Can change all
only
options
User only
N/A
Supervisor
Can change all
and user set
options
Note:
If no password is set, any user can change all Setup options.
User Mode
Setup Options
Can change all
None
(Note)
(Note)
options
Can change a
Supervisor Password
limited number
of options
Can change all
Enter Password
options
Clear User Password
Can change a
Supervisor Password
limited number
Enter Password
of options
Overview of BIOS Features
Password
Password
to Enter
During
Setup
Boot
None
None
Supervisor
None
User
User
Supervisor or
Supervisor or
user
user
69
Advertisement
Table of Contents
