How Password Security Works; Assigning Or Changing A Supervisor Password - Dell PowerEdge 4200 Series User Manual

you assign a supervisor and/or user password, only those
who know the password(s) have full use of the system.
NOTE: You can also use the System Setup program to
assign, change, or delete a user or supervisor password.
See the appropriate sections in Chapter 4, "Using the
System Setup Program," for more information.

How Password Security Works

When a supervisor password is assigned and the Pass-
word on Boot category is set to Enabled, the system
prompts you for the supervisor password every time you
start or reboot your computer. After a supervisor pass-
word is assigned, the EISA Configuration Utility prompts
you for the supervisor password if you select Configure
Computer from the Main Menu. You must enter a super-
visor password to be able to change any of the system
configuration parameters. Entering a user password
allows you to view, but not change, any of the system
configuration parameters.
To delete or change an existing supervisor or user pass-
word, you must know the supervisor password. See
"Deleting an Existing User Password" or "Deleting an
Existing Supervisor Password" found later in this section
for more information.
NOTE: A user password can only be assigned after a
supervisor password has been assigned.
If you assign and then forget a password, a trained service
technician must remove the covers of the computer
(which may require unlocking the computer's keylocks)
and change a jumper setting to temporarily disable the
password features (see Appendix C, "Jumpers and
Switches," in the Installation and Troubleshooting
Guide).
CAUTION: If you leave your system running and
unattended, anyone can access the data stored in
your system even with a password assigned. To
protect your system while it is running, you must
use additional forms of protection, such as screen-
saver software protected by a password.
CAUTION: With the password features disabled,
your system operates as if it did not contain pass-
word features. If you leave your system running
and unattended without having a supervisor and/or
user password assigned or with the password fea-
tures disabled, anyone can assign a supervisor and/
or user password that will be unknown to you.
Assigning or Changing a Supervisor
Password
Your system is shipped to you with the Supervisor Pass-
word category set to Not Enabled. Use the following
procedure to assign or change a supervisor password.
NOTE: To quit the following procedure without assigning
or changing a password, press the <Esc> key at any time.
1. Start the EISA Configuration Utility as described
in "Starting the EISA Configuration Utility"
found earlier in this chapter.
2. At the Main Menu, select Configure Computer.
The system prompts you for a supervisor password if
one has been assigned. If prompted, type the pass-
word and press <Enter>.
3. At the Steps in Configuring Your Computer
menu, select Step 3: View or Edit Details.
The current status of the system board options
appears on the screen.
NOTE: If the Supervisor Password category indicates
Disabled by Jumper, a technician must install the pass-
word jumper before you can assign a supervisor
password. See "Disabling a Forgotten Password" in
Appendix C of the Installation and Troubleshooting
Guide for instructions.
4. Select the Supervisor Password category.
A dialog box with an Enter supervisor
password prompt and an empty seven-character
field appears on the screen.
5. Type your new supervisor password.
NOTE: The supervisor password can be the same as
the user password.
You can use up to seven characters; character keys or
blank spaces are acceptable.
Using the EISA Configuration Utility 5-13