Don't forget Thinkpad supervisor pass

[nihil]

If you get a Lenovo Thinkpad make sure that you store the supervisor password in a safe place.

Users of Lenovo ThinkPad laptops may be in for a nasty surprise if they forget their main (supervisor) hard drive password.
The Chinese hardware manufacturer refuses to reset hard drive (BIOS) security passwords for laptops even if they are covered by warranty. Lenovo, which bought IBM's ThinkPad laptop business in 2005, cites security concerns for this established but little-publicised policy.

You will need a new MoBo

Article is here:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03...set_hard_luck/

[westin]

Having worked for IBM/Lenovo in the past, I can verify this. Some of the angriest customers you will ever talk to...

[Alfonso20]

thanks for the reminder.

[JPnyc]

I never knew mine in the first place.

[westin]

It is something that you or your company would have to turn on/set. It is essentially a BIOS password, that prevents any changes to the system settings -- if I remember correctly.

[nihil]

Yes, the supervisor password is to protect system settings. It is stored on a (EEprom?) chip on the motherboard.

In the old days you could circumvent this by shorting out some of the pins on the eeprom chip and clearing the password.

That won't work now, as you would also wipe data essential to booting the machine. Hence the requirement to replace the MoBo.

AFAIK, the HDD actually has two passwords: the master and user. If you lose both of those you need a new HDD or pay to have it reset.

I suppose that if you were a skilled electronics engineer with the right equipment you could get round it, but it would probably take some time, which is all security buys you in the end.

[westin]

AFAIK, the HDD actually has two passwords: the master and user. If you lose both of those you need a new HDD or pay to have it reset.

Always two, there are. A master, and a user.