Dell OptiPlex GX300 - Manual (Page 71)

5. Confirm that Not Enabled is displayed for the System Password option of System Setup.
If Not Enabled appears in the System Password option, 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 option, press <Alt><B> 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 ."
Using the Setup Password Feature
Your Dell system is shipped to you without the setup password feature enabled. Since your system is also shipped with the DMI agent enabled and
active (allowing system settings to be changed remotely), Dell strongly recommends that you enable and use the setup password feature to
prevent unauthorized changes to system settings.
You can assign a setup password, as described in " Assigning a Setup Password ," whenever you use System Setup. After you assign a setup
password, only those who know the password have full use of System Setup. See " Operating Your System With A Setup Password Enabled " for
more information.
To changing an existing setup password , you must know the setup password. 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 "). Note that you
erase the system password at the same time.
Assigning a Setup Password
You can assign a setup password only if Setup Password is set to Not Enabled. To assign a setup password, highlight Setup Password and
press the left- or right-arrow key. The system prompts you to enter and verify the password. If a character is illegal for password use, the system
emits a beep.
After you verify the password, the Setup Password setting changes to Enabled. The next time you enter System Setup , the system prompts you
for the setup password.
A change to Setup Password becomes effective immediately (rebooting the system is not required).
Operating Your System With a Setup Password Enabled
If Setup Password is set to Enabled, you must enter the correct setup password before you can modify any System Setup options.
When you start System Setup, the System Setup screen appears with Setup Password highlighted, prompting you to type the password.
If you do not enter the correct password, the system lets you view, but not modify, the System Setup screen.
Deleting or Changing an Existing Setup Password
To delete or change an existing setup password, perform the following steps:
1. Enter System Setup .
2. Highlight Setup Password and press the left- or right-arrow key to delete the existing setup password.
The setting changes to Not Enabled.
3. If you want to assign a new setup password, perform the steps in " Assigning a Setup Password ."
Disabling a Forgotten Password
If you forget your system or setup password, you cannot operate your system or change settings in System Setup until you remove the computer
cover, change the password jumper setting to disable the passwords, and erase the existing passwords.
To disable a forgotten password, perform the following steps.
1. Remove the computer cover according to the instructions in " Removing and Replacing the Computer Cover ."
NOTES: The setup password can be the same as the system password. If the two passwords are different, the setup password can be
used as an alternate system password. However, the system password cannot be used in place of the setup password.
NOTE: You can use Password Status in conjunction with Setup Password to protect the system password from unauthorized
changes.
CAUTION: Before you remove the computer cover, see " Safety First —For You and Your Computer ."