Using the System Setup Program 2-13
If the Password Status category is set to Locked, the fol-
lowing prompt appears:
Type the password and press <Enter>.
After you type the correct system password and press
<Enter>, your system boots and you can use the keyboard
and/or mouse 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 Password Status category in co n-
junction with System Password and Setup Password to
further protect your system from unauthorized changes.
For more information, see “Password Status” found ear-
lier in this chapter.
Deleting or Changing an Existing
System Password
To delete or change an existing system password,
perform the following steps:
1. Enter the System Setup program, and verify that
the Password Status category is set to Unlocked.
Enter the System Setup program by pressing the
<Ctrl><Alt><Enter> key combination. Press the
<Alt><p> key combination to move to Page 2 of the
System Setup screens. For instructions on changing
the setting for Password Status, see “Password
Status” found earlier in this chapter.
2. Reboot your system to force it to prompt you for
a system password.
3. When prompted, type the system password.
4. Press the <Ctrl><Enter> key combina tion to
disable the existing system password, instead
of pressing <Enter> to continue with the
normal operation of your system.
5. Confirm that Not Enabled is displaye d for the
System Password category of the System Setup
program.
If Not Enabled appears in the System Password
category, the system password has been deleted. If
you want to assign a new password, continue to
step 6. If Not Enabled is not displayed for the
System Password category, press the <Alt><b> key
combination to reboot the system, and then repeat
steps 3 through 5.
6. To assign a new password, follow the procedure
in “Assigning a System Password” found earlier
in this section.
U
sing the Setup Password Feature Your Dell system is shipped to you without the setup
password feature enabled. If system security is a concern,
you should operate your system with setup password
protection.
You can assign a setup password, as described in th e next
subsection, “Assigning a Setup Password,” whenever
you use the System Setup program. After a setup
password is assigned, only those who know the password
have full use of the System Setup program.
To change an existing setup password, you must know
the setup password (see “Deleting or Changing an
Existing Setup Password” found later in this section). If
you assign and later forget a setup password, you need to
remove the computer cover to change a jumper setting
that disables the setup password feature (see “Disabling a
Forgotten Password” found later in this chapter). Note
that you erase the system password at the same time.