Maintenance and Service Guide

Table Of Contents
Password security and resetting CMOS8
This computer supports two security password features that you can establish through the Computer Setup
Utilities menu: administrator password and power-on password.
When you establish only an administrator password, any user can access all the information on the computer
except Computer Setup. When you establish only a power-on password, the power-on password is required to
access Computer Setup and any other information on the computer. When you establish both passwords, only
the administrator password will give you access to Computer Setup.
When both passwords are set, you can use the administrator password in place of the power-on password as
an override to log in to the computer. This feature is useful for a network administrator.
IMPORTANT: Back up the BIOS settings or save them as custom defaults in case you need them later. You
can back up in Computer Setup or with the BiosCongUtility tool available from www.hp.com. See Computer
Setup (F10) Utility on page 71 for information about backing up the BIOS settings.
Changing a setup or power-on password
Use this procedure to change a password.
To change the power-on or setup password, complete the following steps:
1. Turn on or restart the computer.
To change the setup password, go to step 2.
To change the power-on password, go to step 3.
2. To change the setup password, as soon as the computer turns on:
- Press e
sc while the “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” message is displayed.
- Press f10 to enter Computer Setup.
3. When the key icon appears, type your current password, a slash (/) or alternate delimiter character,
your new password, another slash (/) or alternate delimiter character, and your new password again as
shown:
current password/new password/new password
NOTE: Type the new password carefully because the characters do not appear on the screen.
4. Press ent
er.
The new password will take eect the next time the computer is restarted.
Deleting a setup or power-on password
Use this procedure to delete a password.
To delete the power-on or setup password, complete the following steps:
Password security and resetting CMOS 91