IBM 6889 - IntelliStation M - Pro, User Manual

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Enhanced Security
By default, your administrator password is stored in CMOS memory. CMOS
memory is battery-powered memory that stores your configuration, setup, and
security settings. The information stored in CMOS remains there for the life of the
battery, as long as the battery is not removed.
Your computer has a new, enhanced security feature that provides extra protection
for your administrator password, as well as your startup (boot) sequence settings.
With enhanced security, your administrator password and boot sequence are stored
in a highly-protected, nonvolatile, security EEPROM module that is separate from
CMOS memory and the EEPROM module that stores system programs. When your
administrator password and boot sequence are locked in the security EEPROM, they
remain intact even if the battery in your computer expires or is removed by
someone.
Enhanced security can be enabled or disabled only when you update system
programs. The procedure for enabling enhanced security is explained under
“Enabling and Disabling Enhanced Security” on page 59.
If enhanced security is enabled and you have not set an administrator password,
your computer will operate as if enhanced security were disabled. If enhanced
security is enabled and you have set an administrator password, your computer will
operate as follows:
Ÿ
The contents of the security EEPROM (your administrator password and boot
sequence) will be protected from failure of the battery and CMOS memory.
Ÿ
The security EEPROM will be protected from unauthorized access because it
locks after your computer is turned on and the system programs have
completed their startup routine. Once it is locked, the security EEPROM cannot
be read from or written to by any software application or system software until
the computer is turned off and back on again. In a networking environment,
this might prevent certain functions from being performed remotely on your
computer.
There is an extra measure of protection for the system programs in your
computer. Normally, the entire contents of the system programs EEPROM is
write protected with a soft lock. A soft lock allows the POST/BIOS update
utility to function in a network environment. Enhanced security adds a hard
lock. With a hard lock, when your computer is turned on and the system
programs startup routine is completed, the POST/BIOS update utility is locked
and cannot be unlocked until the computer is turned off and back on again and
the administrator password is entered. Note that, in a networking environment,
this prevents the system programs in your computer from being updated
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IntelliStation M Pro User Guide