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Alienware A-11 Bios security problem
Back in 2010, Dell sent us an Alienware Aurora desktop as a replacement for an in-warranty XPS desktop that had a fatal Motherboard error. It worked well, with the BIOS passwords, since we had both supervisor and an operator passwords set.
Now we want to connect it to a closed network, and one requirement is a supervisor password in the BIOS. When a supervisor PW is set, the boot sequence is halted until an operator password is entered, even if the operator password is cleared in the BIOS, and shows deactivated. There is a pause and an ENTER PASSWORD: prompt after every reboot, and although all it takes is hitting ENTER, this puts a real cramp on our after-hours scheduled maintenance. Every time the system reboots, someone must hit enter for it to start the OS.
I downloaded the latest BIOS, A-11 from Dell/Alienware and the only noticeable change is that I now have a full color alien head as a hardware splash screen instead of the old grey alien head. The bios security has not changed. If we temporarily remove the supervisor password, it boots uninterrupted into Windows, but if we configure it to the network security standards, then we have a machine that requires manual intervention every time it reboots. Using it on the network without a BIOS password is not an option. Is there any fix for this or do we need to purchase a PC with a BIOS that has full functionality?
shesagordie
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November 19th, 2012 12:00
kckunz
Moving this thread to the Alienware Owners Club Forum.
Bev.
DELL-Chris M
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November 26th, 2012 10:00
kckunz,
My apologies but there is not a fix for this. If the supervisor password is enabled, there must be a keyboard interaction.