Lap top

[jack]

Andy has told me that someone out there might be able to help me. I have just bourght a second hand Toshiba Satellite 1800 Lap top. When I turn it on it asks me for a password which I have (this comes up before i can get into windows xp). I would like to take this off, can anyone help?
Thanks
Mrs Jack

[Newsreader]

I think ... (always a bit tentative answering computer questions

When XP is loading and you have a screen which is mostly black, at the top it lists some F keys that you can press, F1 and F8 I think. If you hit one of them it will take you into the menus where you can turn off the password setting. I think :D

[jjsaul]

yes go into system setup when booting. at some point soon after switching on it will say press F8 or Delete or something 'to enter setup'

do that and its in there somewhere.

[red]

think you change this in > control panel then in user accounts ?


you can have differant accounts for other people when you or they log in


or am i waffling at this early hour :D

[Murphree]

Dear Mrs. Jack. I use a Toshiba Lap Top that has the same power on password facility - it is not related to the Windows XP password facility. There are three types of password 1. Toshiba supervisor password 2. Toshiba user password 3. Windows XP password.

If you go into control panel and you see an icon called Toshiba HW setup then you can change the Toshiba user password here. If you do not see this then you probably have a supervisor password activated - to change this you really need your user manual. This manual is available at www.toshiba.co.uk (http://www.toshiba.co.uk) once at this site select "computer systems" then select "support and downloads" then select "download user manuals". The manual is in an Adobe Acrobat PDF file that you can store on your lap top for future reference.

Personally I like the power on password has it provides a much higher level of security than the Win XP password and will deny a thief initial access to the machine.

[Slime101]

As has been said above this is NOTHING to do with windows.

When you boot up press the appropriate key to enter dsetup, usually DEL on desktops, and F2 on laptops.

Once there disable "password on startup" option and it will dissapear.


However, if you take your laptop out and about then its a good idea to leave this enabled, if your laptop is stolen and its only got windows passwords then the thief can use and access the data, or re-format and sell it on. With a BIOS password enabled it prevents ANY action until the password is entered leaving it far more secure.

[Newsreader]

One downside about the BIOS password is if you forget it you are really stumped.

I used one on my first PC. When the hard drive threw a wobbly I phoned the Gateway helpline, they got me to reboot, but then because I was in a tizz I couldn't for the life of me remember the BIOS password. They said they advise never to set a password for that reason. Half an hour later I calmed down and remembered the passowrd :p

[NeilB]

Bios passwords are not a problem. Remove the backup battery and the PC will forget them. WinXP passwords are also not a problem, there is a Linux utility to reset them when you forget what it used to be. The best password are hard disk passwords. These cannot be reset and if you forget what the password is you need a new disk.

As has been said, the power on password can be turned on/off in the bios. Press del or f1 or follow screen prompt when booting.

Neil

23 years with IBM........

[Newsreader]

23 years with IBM........
Does that stand for 'I Blow My ..... (own trumpet)'? :D ;)

[Murphree]

I do not claim to have a great deal of computer expertise BUT I do have a Toshiba Lap Top and I know that the password request that comes up when my machine is turned on cannot be changed by using any F key or "hot"key combination. This password request is instant - the bios has not even squeeked yet. The only way to change the password is by using the Toshiba Hardware Setup facility and to get to this the machine has to be up and running. The manual warns of dire consequences if you loose or forget your password.

Murphree

Many many years of computer frustration........and two years of bugle blowing:D

[jack]

I would like to thank you to you all. I have been away for the weekend and have just got back to all the reply's. I did not think that I would get as many as I did. I am going to spend the next week going through them and trying what you have all suggested. We have tried so of the ideas and are now going to try the others.
Thank you all again
Mrs Jack :rolleyes:

[Saratoga]

Andy has told me that someone out there might be able to help me. I have just bourght a second hand Toshiba Satellite 1800 Lap top. When I turn it on it asks me for a password which I have (this comes up before i can get into windows xp). I would like to take this off, can anyone help?
Thanks
Mrs Jack

Youve got a password protected laptop. You need to disable that in the Bios. However, to get into the Bios you'd probably need a password as well.

When you are powering up if you hold down the ESC key it should bring up a message saying keyboard error, and press F1 to get into setup. If you do that and get into setup and it still asks for apassword then you'd need to find either the original user to get the password of find a way to reset it (Toshiba Support?!)

I've a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4080 XCDT which had a password on the bios, it's gone now but I can't remember how I did it, it was a long time ago :(

[Saratoga]

I do not claim to have a great deal of computer expertise BUT I do have a Toshiba Lap Top and I know that the password request that comes up when my machine is turned on cannot be changed by using any F key or "hot"key combination. This password request is instant - the bios has not even squeeked yet. The only way to change the password is by using the Toshiba Hardware Setup facility and to get to this the machine has to be up and running. The manual warns of dire consequences if you loose or forget your password.



I think there might be an option if you remove all the power sources, including the backup battery, if there is one... But that means opening the case.

I don't know how old this is but if you start digging too deep into Toshiba Support and find out its previously stolen, what do you do?! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Saratoga]

I've opened my Toshiba and I couldn't find the backup battery. It is there apparently somewhere....

What have Toshiba UK Support to say about this???

[Storm]

... all of a sudden i'm feeling really old:rolleyes:

[Astbury]

Hi,

My company used Toshiba's some time ago and I remember having this very same problem. If the password you are talking about pops up as soon as you turn the machine on then you have a problem!
Toshiba allow you to protect their laptops with a pre bios loading password, this will not be removed by removing the backup battery. The only way to remove this password is to use a hardware dongle that plugs into the parallel port on the back of the machine. you boot up with the dongle attached and it will allow you to reset the password.

I only know of one company in the UK that has one (I am sure that many more do but this is the only company I delt with)

Company is MCW in Wrexham

http://www.mcwgroup.co.uk/

give them a call and I am sure they will confirm my input on this one.

C

[Bryan]

Depending on its age, there is a backdoor that will bypass the password.

http://www.tycho7.com/Techzone/Laptops/toshiba.htm

There is also information on how to construct the dongle yourself there.

[Saratoga]

Another link for the bookmarks :) Thanks :D