Passwords

The Toshiba Pentium portables have two passwords, a user and a supervisor one. When either password is set then when the machine is turned on, or is resumed after a suspend, you have to enter a valid password in order to gain access to the laptop. If both passwords are registered then it is possible to set it so that the setup programs cannot be run when logged in using the user password.

To improve security the passwords are held in the EEPROM containing the BIOS. This means that they do not disappear when the batteries run down. They can only be removed if you already know them. DO NOT bother pestering me on how to remove passwords you have forgotten, as I don't know how to remove them. If you do forget the password for your laptop, then you will have to take the laptop to an authorised Toshiba dealer, complete with full proof of ownership where they can remove the password for a fee.

I have written two programs svpw for setting the supervisor password and tpasswd for setting the user password. For a number of reasons these programs will only run from the console, and must be run as root in order to work. Currently there is no method of manipulating the hard disk and eject passwords for models that support these features.

In the future I hope to add additional programs to enable the hard disk and eject passwords to be set as well.