Using Your System Password To Secure Your System - Dell OptiPlex GXi Reference And Installation Manual

3. Type in your new system password.
You can use up to seven characters in your password.
As you press each character key (or the <
for a blank space), a placeholder appears in the field.
The password assignment operation recognizes keys
by their location on the keyboard, without distin-
guishing between lowercase and uppercase
characters. For example, if you have an M in your
password, the system recognizes either M or m as correct.
Certain key combinations are not valid. If you enter
one of these combinations, the speaker emits a beep.
To erase a character when entering your password,
press the <
BACKSPACE
NOTE: To escape from the field without assigning a
system password, press the <
< >< > key combination to highlight another
SHIFT TAB
field, or press the <
ESC
pleting step 5.
4. Press < >.
ENTER
If the new system password is less than seven char-
acters, the whole field fills with placeholders. Then
the category heading changes to
followed by another empty seven-character field in
square brackets.
5. To confirm your password, type it in a second
time and press <
ENTER
The password setting changes to
system password is now set; you can exit the System
Setup program and begin using your system. Note,
however, that password protection does not take
effect until you reboot the system by pressing the
reset button or by turning the system off and then on
again.
Using Your System Password to Secure
Your System
Whenever you turn your system on, press the reset
button, or reboot the system by pressing the
< >< >< > key combination, the following
CTRL ALT DEL
prompt appears on the screen:
Type in the password and...
— press <ENTER> to leave password
security enabled.
SPACEBAR
> key or the left-arrow key.
> key or the
TAB
> key at any time prior to com-
VERIFY PASSWORD
>.
Your
ENABLED.
— press <CTRL><ENTER> to disable password
security.
Enter password:
>
After you type the correct system password and press
< >, your system boots and you can use the key-
ENTER
board to operate your system as usual.
NOTE: If you have assigned a setup password (see
"Using the Setup Password Feature" found later in this
chapter), the system accepts your setup password as an
alternate system password.
If a wrong or incomplete system password is entered, the
following message appears on the screen:
** Incorrect password. **
Enter password:
If an incorrect or incomplete system password is entered
again, the same message appears on the screen.
The third and subsequent times an incorrect or in-
complete system password is entered, the system displays
the following message:
** Incorrect password. **
Number of unsuccessful password
,
attempts: 3
System halted! Must power down.
The number of unsuccessful attempts made to enter the
correct system password can alert you to an unauthorized
person attempting to use your system.
Even after your system is turned off and on, the previous
message is displayed each time an incorrect or incomplete
system password is entered.
NOTE: You can use the
conjunction with
to further protect your system from unauthorized
WORD
changes. For more information, see "Password Status"
found earlier in this chapter.
Using the System Setup Program
PASSWORD STATUS
and
SYSTEM PASSWORD
category in
SETUP PASS-
2-11