Securing Your Computer 75If you forget the primary password and do not have an administrator passwordassigned, or if you have both a primary and an administrator passwordassigned, but forget them both, contact your system administrator or contactDell (see "Contacting Dell" on page 269).Using a Hard Drive PasswordThe hard drive password helps protect the data on your hard drive fromunauthorized 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 passwordfor the primary hard drive.If a hard drive password is assigned, you must enter it each time you turn onthe computer and each time you restore the computer to normal operationfrom standby mode.If an invalid password is entered three times consecutively, the computer triesto start from another bootable device if the Boot First Device option inSystem Setup is set to allow start-up from another device. If the Boot FirstDevice 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 toits previous operating state.If the hard drive password, the external hard-drive password, and the primarypassword are the same, the computer prompts you only for the primarypassword. If the hard drive password is different from the primary password,the computer prompts you for both. Two different passwords provide greatersecurity.NOTE: The administrator password provides access to the computer, but it doesnot provide access to the hard drive when a hard drive password is assigned.
