Dell Inspiron 24 5430 All-in-One Owner's Manual page 102

Table 36. System setup options—Passwords menu (continued)
Passwords
System Password
M.2 PCIe SSD-0
Password Configuration
102 BIOS Setup
● The administrator password can be used in place of the computer and/or
internal hard drive passwords.
● When set, the administrator password must be provided during a firmware
update.
● Clearing the administrator password also clears the computer password (if
set).
Dell Technologies recommends using an administrator password to prevent
unauthorized changes to BIOS setup options.
The System Password prevents the computer from booting to an operating
system without entering the correct password.
The following rules and dependencies apply when the System Password is used -
● The computer shuts down when idle for approximately 10 minutes at the
computer password prompt.
● The computer shuts down after three incorrect attempts to enter the
computer password.
● The computer shuts down when the Esc key is pressed at the System
Password prompt.
● The computer password is not prompted when the computer resumes from
standby mode.
Dell Technologies recommends using the computer password in situations where
it is likely that a computer may be lost or stolen.
The M.2 SSD Password can be set to prevent unauthorized access of the data
stored on the M.2 SSD. The computer prompts for the hard drive password
during boot in order to unlock the drive. A password-secured M.2 SSD stays
locked even when removed from the computer or placed into another computer.
It prevents an attacker from accessing data on the drive without authorization.
The following rules and dependencies apply when the M.2 SSD Password is used -
● The M.2 SSD password option cannot be accessed when a hard drive is
disabled in the BIOS setup.
● The computer shuts down when idle for approximately 10 minutes at the M.2
SSD password prompt.
● The computer shuts down after three incorrect attempts to enter the M.2
SSD password and treats the M.2 SSD as not available.
● The M.2 SSD does not accept password unlock attempts after five incorrect
attempts to enter the hard drive password from the BIOS Setup. The M.2
SSD password must be reset for the new password unlock attempts.
● The computer treats the M.2 SSD as not available when the Esc key is
pressed at the hard drive password prompt.
● The M.2 SSD password is not prompted when the computer resumes from
standby mode. When the M.2 SSD is unlocked by the user before the
computer goes into standby mode, it remains unlocked after the computer
resumes from standby mode.
● If the computer and hard drive passwords are set to the same value, the hard
drive unlocks after the correct computer password is entered.
Dell Technologies recommends using a M.2 SSD password to protect
unauthorized data access.
The Password configuration page includes several options for changing the
requirements of BIOS passwords. You can modify the minimum and maximum
length of the passwords and require passwords to contain certain character
classes (upper case, lower case, digit, special character).
Dell Technologies recommends setting the minimum password length to at least
eight characters.