Dell Precision T3400 (Late 2007) - Manual (Page 75)

Securing Your Computer
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If you forget the primary password and do not have an administrator password
assigned, or if you have both a primary and an administrator password
assigned, but forget them both, contact your system administrator or contact
Dell (see "Contacting Dell" on page 269).
Using a Hard Drive Password
The hard drive password helps protect the data on your hard drive from
unauthorized access. You can also assign a password for an external hard drive
(if one is being used) that can be the same as or different from the password
for the primary hard drive.
If a hard drive password is assigned, you must enter it each time you turn on
the computer and each time you restore the computer to normal operation
from standby mode.
If an invalid password is entered three times consecutively, the computer tries
to start from another bootable device if the Boot First Device option in
System Setup is set to allow start-up from another device. If the Boot First
Device option is not set to allow the computer to start from another device,
the computer returns to the operating state it was in when you turned it on.
If a valid password is not entered within two minutes, the computer returns to
its previous operating state.
If the hard drive password, the external hard-drive password, and the primary
password are the same, the computer prompts you only for the primary
password. If the hard drive password is different from the primary password,
the computer prompts you for both. Two different passwords provide greater
security.
NOTE:
The administrator password provides access to the computer, but it does
not provide access to the hard drive when a hard drive password is assigned.