Hardware Maintenance Manual
Passwords
Power-on password
Hard-disk password
Administrator password
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As many as three passwords may be needed for any Lenovo computer:
the power-on password (POP), the hard disk password (HDP), and the
administrator password.
If any of these passwords has been set, a prompt for it appears on the screen
whenever the computer is turned on. The computer does not start until the
password is entered.
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.
There are two hard-disk passwords (HDPs):
+ User HDP - for the user
+ Master HDP - for the system administrator, who can use it to get access to
the hard disk drive even if the user has changed the user HDP
Attention: If the user HDP has been forgotten, check whether a master HDP
has been set. If it has, it can be used for access to the hard disk drive. If
no master HDP is available, neither Lenovo nor Lenovo authorized service
technicians provide any services to reset either the user or the master HDP, or
to recover data from the hard disk drive. The hard disk drive can be replaced
for a scheduled fee.
Administrator password controls the access of the whole setup utility. Only
after the Administrator password has been set can the User password be set. If
Administrator password was cleared, the User password was cleared too.