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Passwords
As many as three passwords might be needed for a ThinkPad notebook computer: the power-on password,
the hard disk password, and the supervisor password.
If any of these passwords has been set, a prompt for it will be displayed on the screen whenever the
computer is turned on. The computer does not start until the password is entered.
Note: If only a supervisor password is set, the password prompt will not be displayed when the operating
system is started.
Power-on password
A power-on password (POP) protects the system from being powered on by an unauthorized person. The
password must be entered before an operating system can be booted. For how to remove the POP, see
"How to remove the power-on password" on page 29.
Hard disk password
There are two hard disk passwords:
• User hard disk password - for the user
• Master hard disk password - for the system administrator, who can use it to get access to the hard disk
even if the user has changed the user hard disk password.
Note: There are two modes for the hard disk password: User only and Master + User. The Master + User
mode requires two hard disk passwords; the system administrator enters both in the same operation. The
system administrator then provides the user hard disk password to the system user.
Attention: If the user hard disk password has been forgotten, check whether a master hard disk password
has been set. If a master hard disk password has been set, it can be used to access the hard disk drive. If
no master hard disk password is available, neither Lenovo nor Lenovo authorized service technicians provide
any services to reset either the user hard disk password or the master hard disk password, or to recover data
from the hard disk drive. The hard disk drive can be replaced for a scheduled fee.
For instructions on how to remove the hard disk password, see "How to remove the hard disk password"
on page 30.
Supervisor password
A supervisor password protects the system information stored in the ThinkPad Setup program. The user
must enter the supervisor password in order to get access to the ThinkPad Setup program and change the
system coniguration.
Attention: If the supervisor password has been forgotten and cannot be made available to the service
technician, there is no service procedure to reset the password. The system board must be replaced for
a scheduled fee.
How to remove the power-on password
To remove a power-on password that you have forgotten, do the following:
If no supervisor password has been set, do the following to remove the power-on password:
1. Turn off the computer.
.
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Chapter 4
Related service information
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