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E4200 BIOS HDD password bypass option not working properly
I’m testing some E4200s (with SED SSDs and regular SSDs) and have run into a possible bug with the HDD password “bypass” option in the BIOS. The “bypass” option in BIOS allows you to specify if the HDD password needs to be entered during warm boots (restarts), standby, etc. I’ve set it to “disable”, which means that the HDD password must always be entered (even for restarts). However, the E4200 does *not* prompt for the HDD password during warm boots (restarts). It correctly prompts for the HDD password during cold boots and standby/hibernate only. I’ve tried upgrading the BIOS to the latest version (A13 to A20), but that didn’t help.
At this point I think it's a bug in the BIOS. I've tried this with different e4200 laptops and different drives (regular SSDs, and self-encrypting SSDs). Does anyone have any suggestions, or is anyone else having the same problem? Is there someone on Dell technical support side that can look into this BIOS bug? Thank you.
dinoc
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April 18th, 2013 18:00
i need the primerry password for a dell laditude d600
DELL-Terry B
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June 16th, 2011 15:00
Kaushal1
It sounds like that the password bypass setting may be enabled.
This option lets you bypass the system and internal HDD password prompts during a system restart or when resuming from a standby state. Settings are Disabled, Reboot Bypass, Resume Bypass, and Reboot & Resume Bypass.
The system will always prompt for the set system and internal HDD password when powered on from an off state (cold boot).
You can find the password bypass setting under the security tab, check it and make sure it is set to disabled. Then the system should ask for the password on each reboot.
TB
kaushal1
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June 17th, 2011 07:00
>>You can find the password bypass setting under the security tab, check it and make sure it is set to disabled. Then the system should ask for the password on each reboot.
That's the problem. It does NOT ask for the HDD password on restarts (warm boots) even though the bypass setting is set to *disabled*.
DELL-Terry B
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June 17th, 2011 16:00
Did these systems ship originally with SSDs, and if not have you noticed the problem before changing out any drives?
TB
kaushal1
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June 20th, 2011 09:00
Yes, the e4200s were shipped with regular Dell mobility SSDs. The problem occurs in the e4200 with a regular SSD. It also occurs in another e4200 where I swapped out the regular SSD with a SED.
DELL-Terry B
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June 20th, 2011 15:00
Kaushal1
Thanks for bringing this problem to the forums. Have you noticed this happening on the system master password or only the HDD passwords? For the HDD passwords, these are saved on the hard drive themselves. So you could assign a password on a system, and take the harddrives out and put it on another system and the hard drive should require the password on the new system. Have you verified that the hard drives are keeping the passwords?
TB
DELL-Terry B
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June 21st, 2011 13:00
Kausahal1
Thanks again for the info on this. I will pass this on to engineering and see if they have any answers. If anyone else on the forums have seen this on the e4200s please post here.
TB
kaushal1
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June 21st, 2011 13:00
I understand that HDD password is stored on the drive. The HDD is keeping the password just fine. The laptop is just not prompting for the password on restart (like it does for cold boots, standby and hibernate). I suspect it's a bug in the BIOS.
It works correctly for the system master password (gets prompted on restarts).
jake898
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July 23rd, 2011 09:00
Can someone tell me who makes the BIOS where this is occurring? It should say on the top of the BIOS screen. I'm guessing it's a Dell BIOS, but maybe Phoenix.
Why am I asking? Because I'm wondering why my XPS L702X (Phoenix BIOS) doesn't even have a boot password bypass option at all. This is an important feature I utilized when it was included on an older laptop of mine (Inspiron E1705, with Dell BIOS). Now, I have to be present for each reboot so I can manually enter the pw. Frustrating.
-jake898