HP Dx5150 - Compaq Business Desktop Reference Manual page 36

Desktop Management
The following table and sections refer to managing security features of your computer locally
through the Computer Setup Utilities (F10).
Security Features Overview
Option
Supervisor
Password
User
Password
Device
Security
Network
Service Boot
System IDs
Master Boot
Record
Security
✎
For more information about Computer Setup, see the Computer Setup (F10) Utility Guide on the
Documentation CD.
Support for security features may vary depending on the specific computer configuration.
3–10
Allows you to set and enable Supervisor (administrator) password.
✎
If the Supervisor password is set, it is required to change Computer Setup
options, flash the ROM, and make changes to certain plug and play settings
under Windows.
See the Troubleshooting Guide on the Documentation CD for more information.
Allows you to set and enable a User password.
✎
If the User password is set, it is required to access the computer when power is
turned on.
See the Troubleshooting Guide on the Documentation CD for more information.
Enables/disables serial ports, parallel port, front USB ports, system audio, and
network controllers (some models).
Enables/disables the computer's ability to boot from an operating system
installed on a network server. (Feature available on NIC models only; the
network controller must reside on the PCI bus or be embedded on the system
board.)
Allows you to set:
• Asset tag (18-byte identifier) and ownership Tag (80-byte identifier
displayed during POST).
• Chassis serial number or Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) number. The
UUID can only be updated if the current chassis serial number is invalid.
(These ID numbers are normally set in the factory and are used to uniquely
identify the system.)
Keyboard locale setting (for example, English or German) for System ID entry.
Allows you to enable or disable Master Boot Record (MBR) Security.
When enabled, the BIOS rejects all requests to write to the MBR on the current
bootable disk. Each time the computer is powered on or rebooted, the BIOS
compares the MBR of the current bootable disk to the previously-saved MBR. If
changes are detected, you are given the option of saving the MBR on the
current bootable disk, restoring the previously-saved MBR, or disabling MBR
Security. You must know the setup password, if one is set.
✎
Disable MBR Security before intentionally changing the formatting or
partitioning of the current bootable disk. Several disk utilities (such as FDISK
and FORMAT) attempt to update the MBR.
If MBR Security is enabled and disk accesses are being serviced by the BIOS,
write requests to the MBR are rejected, causing the utilities to report errors.
If MBR Security is enabled and disk accesses are being serviced by the operating
system, any MBR change will be detected by the BIOS during the next reboot, and an
MBR Security warning message will be displayed.
361685-001
Description
Service Reference Guide, dx5150