Are Passwords Required With Thinkpads?

I've been reading a lot about thinkpads since I'm strongly considering buying one - the Z61t. I've heard that you can set a power-up password and also a password for the hard drive.

I don't want to use passwords for either power-on or for the hard drive. Is there a way when I first get my computer to disable any kind of logon password or hard drive password?

 

There won't be "any kind of logon password or hard drive password" unless you set them yourself..

 

Yes, he's right. There are no password unless you make one. Before I gave my Z60t to my dad, I made a fingerprint password on it to make it more secure and quicker. I think the fingerprint password is the most efficient way to use it.

 

So if initially it asks for a password, do I just leave it blank, then hit OK? Or will it not even ask for it when I boot up for the first time?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

Cath,

Part of the fun of owning a ThinkPad is that you are not in control of the security settings. When you first boot up, it will ask you for a password that someone else set, or perhaps for the fingerprint of someone you do not know. Then you will have to spend weeks or perhaps years figuring out these riddles. It's like a treasure hunt!

This is, naturally, why businesses love ThinkPads -- because they completely sap productivity, waste time, and remove user control.

I haven't figured out how to log on to my ThinkPad yet, but I can't wait until I do! I hear they're great!



Chris

 

Hmmm - very funny.

 

Hey now, be nice!

Actually it was kind of funny
Sorry Cath, but he wasn't being malicious.

 

My question was pretty elementary so it's cool but the source of my question was from all the stuff I read online about people who can't get into their Thinkpads because they of the passwords to the hard drive and the computer (that is the longest sentence I've ever written in my life!) Not being able to get into my computer because of a stupid password kind of freaks me out. So I was panicking just a bit with this question. I'm glad to know that the password isn't required.

 

No worries, we all have things we have to ask elementary questions about.

If you do have an issue of being locked out without setting a password, then it's a malfunction. Lenovo just offers the option as that sort of thing is very appealing to their corporate customers, which is their lifeblood.

Just never read any Lucy Maud Montgomery, I swear she writes sentences that go on for three or four pages

By the way, EagleDevil, are you sure that isn't a Microsoft feature?

 

A brand new computer, at least most of them, won't have any passwords set for you to figure out before you can use it. Not even BIOS, or harddrive, or Windows password.
Out of the box, the first thing the Thinkpad, as it is set up by Lenovo, will let you set up the user for the notebook. After accepting License Agreements and setting the computer name, it will ask you to set up a user and won't even ask for the password. Yes, out of the box, it's pretty unsecure. After logging on, you can set the password for the user you made by going to Control Panel->UserAccounts. Then if you want a little extra security, you can enroll the fingerprint of that user, using of course Fingerprint Software. The if you want some more security, you can set up Client Security Solution. Then if you want some more extra security, you can set a password for the BIOS, the harddrive, the Rescue & Recovery Partition.
Then if you want some real security, insert an Ubuntu CD and restart your computer... just kidding

 

Glentium, are you sure you don't mean OpenBSD?

What's making you consider the Thinkpads, Cath? I thought you were pretty much set on a UX, and if not another Fujitsu.

 

Yes I was thinking about the UX. In fact, I was almost set. And Ivan at P1 is the best!! I'm terrified to venture out, but I'm doing it anyway right now. I haven't bought yet though. The keyboard on the Thinkpad is appealing to me. I loved my little Fujitsu. The only thing is that the screen has been getting smaller and smaller to me. I am wanting to go a bit larger, maybe even larger than the UX. I almost went with a Dell M1210 and I'm glad I didn't - I got the chance to type on one, hated the keyboard immensely and hated the glossy screen even more. That's what got me to thinking that I need a really cool keyboard. After typing on the keyboard of the Thinkpad, I totally fell in love with how great the feel of it was. I wrote at least 5 books and typeset another on the Fujitsu and I really want to get something that is going to be like a luxury when I am writing. So I was thinking the Thinkpad would be it. What do you think? (that's a lot of thinking isn't it - maybe I'm thinking too much!)

 

Well, you convinced me

I think you might prefer the X60s, though. It's the same resolution as your Fujitsu, though, so the bigger screen size may not have the impact you're looking for. In that case the T60 or Z61 might be more fitting. I have to say I'm surprised, though.

I'm actually considering grabbing a P7120 or Q2010 for class and general wandering, and keeping the new T60 at home as a desktop replacement. I'm really hooked on the idea of being able to program and browse out on the patio, and the T60 will be perfect for that. But even after committing on the T60 I'm still attracted to the idea of having a svelte little 10 or 12 incher for carrying around. This leads me to one conclusion. I need to get a better job

By the way, I saw you were confused with the Lenovo configuration utility. Just make sure you check the line item on the third page before you add to your cart. Sometimes the Lenovo utility goes a little crazy and starts dropping things you chose.

 

Thanks for your help on the config advice. I still haven't made a decision. And I'm going to tell you - I have totally loved my little Fujitsu. It's ultraportable and goes everywhere with me. I use it at least 12 hours a day. Your idea of having the little P7120 to carry around is a good one and I guarantee you will love it. I will still use my little laptop on travels but want to have one a little larger for when I write and do design and typesetting things.

I looked at the X series and would have gone for it in a heartbeat except for one thing - no touchpad - I LOVE the use of the touchpad. A lot of people don't like it but I do and have to have it. I looked at the T series but no s-video or SD card slot - got to at least have the SD slot because I post a lot of pics on my blog for my ministry from everywhere when I'm traveling. So that pretty much left me with the Z series. I'm still looking at the screen on it and wondering if its resolution will be okay for me. It's at least equal to what I've been using for the last three years.

I'm still researching. Sometimes, you know, you just have to step outside the box and go in a new direction. That's kind of where I'm at - so I'm looking at all options for a new laptop for my writing. Oh, and I am in total agreement with you - I think we all need at least two laptops so I guess that means we need jobs that will pay for all these things. That's why I haven't bought yet. But I'm going to eventually.

 

This will take care of SD cards, and it may sit flush enough that you can just leave it inserted.

Here's a vga to svideo/rca adapter

 

Oh that is VERY COOL - thank you so much. I guess you pretty much have what you need with an 11-1 card reader. I especially like that vga to s-video - never saw that before. Hmm-now I've got to figure out what to do. I'm in that grey twilight of indecision vacillating between different models. I am so used to the widescreen. What to do. I know one thing - I'm ordering that adapter no matter what. How can you go wrong - it's only 13.00. A drop in the bucket compared to the price of a thinkpad.

 

Yep those adapters are why i said the SD card ports (and other ports) are not major considerations...

If the screen is the most important thing, consider a FlexView (only available in the T-series)... especially cuz you work a lot with pictures. I've used a lot of computers (i have access to every ibm model available), and the FlexView really shows pictures the best & most accurately. Search "flexview" or "ips" in these forums and see for yourself. Nobody was ever disappointed, it's the best screen on the planet. So if screen matters most, consider it. But... it's huge, especially compared to the ultraportables.

 

Keep in mind that the widescreens on your Fujitsu or the Z61t still have fewer horizontal pixels per row than on an SXGA+ screen, fewer vertical pixels per column too. In fact, it only has 40 horizontal pixels less than the Z61m's WSXGA+ screen, yet has 150 more vertical pixels. Without the extra resolution, the bigger screen will just make things bigger. Maybe that's what you want.

Besides watching movies and working in Photoshop (or working on two documents simultaneously on a higher resolution WUXGA screen), the only time a widescreen would really be useful is when you're limited by the height of your workspace. The only time I can think of this happening is when using your notebook on a tray table of an airplane. The 15.4" Z61m would nullify that advantage with it's larger overall size, and my opinion is that the extra pixels of the 14" SXGA+ T60 outweighs the advantage the Z61t holds in this area.

But I'm not trying to convince you, I'm just making sure you understand the advantages and disadvantages. Of course I'm a hardcore standard aspect ratio advocate (my god, I'm a geek), so someone will probably come and point out a couple more advantages of widescreens.

 

I do like a widescreen. I've gotten accustomed to it with my little Fujitsu. I also like ultraportable. The widescreen on the Z series makes me feel as though it's smaller, closer to the size of my P5010. I know it weighs the same. The T60 feels larger to me in some ways but I'm certain I could get used to it also if I opted for it.

Here's a question - if the bigger screen on the Z61t makes things bigger but doesn't have as high of resolution, will things on the screen still be clear and bright? Will it at least be as clear and bright as what I have on my little Fujitsu that has the same resolution? My greatest fear is that I would look at the screen on the Z and it will be very dull and dark compared to my little Fujitsu. But then I think - how can that be if they both have the same resolution?

I am leaning towards the widescreen because I do a lot of travel. However, I don't always use my computer on the plane because I have my Ipod and watch shows on it. But I will carry the computer everywhere with me. I appreciate all this help - it's a big decision and one I'll have to live with for at least three years and hopefully at least six more books.

 

Resolution determines how much you can fit on your screen at once, and how big it appears. A higher resolution allows you to fit more, but things will appear smaller.

Brightness is a factor of the brightness in nits, and to a degree, the contrast ratio. Neither of these specifications are always available with laptops, unfortunately. You're best off reading reviews for this sort of info.

The actual physical size of the screen means absolutely nothing, except combines with resolution to determine how large things appear.

Sorry, my last post was probably a little confusing.

 

Yeah, all in fun. This board is more helpful and newbie-friendly than some others I've found, so I wouldn't want to bust that up. Especially since I'm basically a noob myself.

Chris

 

Me too - totally all in fun! I love these boards and learn A LOT.

Now, about the screen resolution. Actually this has been VERY helpful. I've been reading that on the WXGA there are 185 nits (that's the Z61t with 1280 x 800) and the WXGA+ there are 200 nits (that's the Z61t with 1440 x 900). It seems like you are saying resolution has to do with how much fits on a screen and a high resolution would consequently result in a bit smaller of type - is that correct?

In the review and pictures of the WXGA+ (Z61t) the person reviewing said the screen was bright enough. Another review said that it was brighter than the person expected. Would your best guess be that there wouldn't be much difference between 185 and 200 nits? What do you think?

I'm still thinking about the T60 but I do like the widescreen a lot. I've been living with 1280 x 800 on a 10.4 inch screen - to have that on 14.1 inch screen might be amazing to me.

 

Now, about the screen resolution. Actually this has been VERY helpful. I've been reading that on the WXGA there are 185 nits (that's the Z61t with 1280 x 800) and the WXGA+ there are 200 nits (that's the Z61t with 1440 x 900). It seems like you are saying resolution has to do with how much fits on a screen and a high resolution would consequently result in a bit smaller of type - is that correct?

Yes, and you can fight the effects of higher resolution on the size of objects by, say, raising font dpi and increasing icon size. You can change the font size for most interface elements in Windows.

In the review and pictures of the WXGA+ (Z61t) the person reviewing said the screen was bright enough. Another review said that it was brighter than the person expected. Would your best guess be that there wouldn't be much difference between 185 and 200 nits? What do you think?

Not all nits measurements are created equal, it's best to go on qualitative judgements. On TN type panels (all Lenovo non-Flexviews) I've noticed that with higher brightness colors wash out much more easily. That is, if you look at, say, the silver taskbar on Windows XP, as you turn up the brightness more of the lighter colors in the gradient turn pure bright. With the S-PVA and IPS (Flexview) panels I've seen, you can turn to max brightness and not have any loss in color differentiation. This is why artists use these panel types, and why Eizo and NEC use these kinds of panels in their $5000 graphics monitors.

But TN seems to be more usable with less brightness in general.

I'm still thinking about the T60 but I do like the widescreen a lot. I've been living with 1280 x 800 on a 10.4 inch screen - to have that on 14.1 inch screen might be amazing to me.

Things will be bigger, the workspace size will remain the same. If you're going to a larger monitor to prevent eye strain, then by all means, buy the wxga. If you're craving a larger workspace, then wxga+ (if not higher, like the sxga+ T60) is the way to go.

 

It's all about eyestrain for me now because I spend 12 hours a day, sometimes 16 hours writing for weeks at a time and this little 10.4 inch lcd is beginning to get to me. I love my little laptop, but I'm hopeful a larger screen will make it easier on my eyes. Thanks for all the help. You have really helped me understand this whole thing about resolution a whole lot more.

 

glad to

 

Is it possible to use the bio fingerprint for every password? For example, if I don't want to type my password for MSN messenger, would I be able to set it up with fingerprint?

 

I know you can use it for browser passwords, but I don't know how far it extends. Someone else will be able to answer more fully.