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[Solved] Advice for securing data
- Hallvor
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[Solved] Advice for securing data
I have got a Packard Bell TE69KB. It is ugly, it is slow, but it is good enough to keep in the cabin. However, I am concerned someone might steal it and recover my passwords and data.
Normally, I would just do an encrypted install, but there are a couple of problems:
1. I can not enter the BIOS to change the boot order. The password is long forgotten. (What a great idea that was...)
2. It will not boot from CD-Rom.
3. I therefore do not know how to make a reinstall. (I was able to install Debian Stretch from CD-Rom a few months ago when there was no OS on the HDD, however, but am a little reluctant to do it again, if that should fail.)
Is there an easy and safe way to encrypt the home partition, or should I wipe the current install and hope it is possible to reinstall...? Any advice?
Normally, I would just do an encrypted install, but there are a couple of problems:
1. I can not enter the BIOS to change the boot order. The password is long forgotten. (What a great idea that was...)
2. It will not boot from CD-Rom.
3. I therefore do not know how to make a reinstall. (I was able to install Debian Stretch from CD-Rom a few months ago when there was no OS on the HDD, however, but am a little reluctant to do it again, if that should fail.)
Is there an easy and safe way to encrypt the home partition, or should I wipe the current install and hope it is possible to reinstall...? Any advice?
Last edited by Hallvor on 2018-09-04 17:21, edited 1 time in total.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
- Hallvor
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Re: Advice for securing data
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
- Hallvor
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Re: Advice for securing data
F2 will just ask for a BIOS password, which I do not have. F12 does nothing at all.CwF wrote:? That's past the post screen, yes? When it boots press F2 or F12 before the screen you see there...
When it boots, I only get two options.
1: The HDD (with Debian). It gives me an error. See screenshot above.
2. The external CD-ROM with Debian Stretch Netinstall. It gives the same error as above.
Last edited by Hallvor on 2018-09-03 16:17, edited 2 times in total.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
- Hallvor
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Re: Advice for securing data
Thanks for the tip.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
- Head_on_a_Stick
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Re: Advice for securing data
Disable Secure Boot.
If it still wants a password then maybe you need to trip the reset with a jumper (if the machine has one).
deadbang
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Re: Advice for securing data
Then the battery trick did nothing. Search around a bit, I see that there is talk of a different bios for this issue and unlock instructions. I searched "TE69KB clear bios" and seems plenty. I'm low bandwidth so you do the clicking!Hallvor wrote:r a BIOS password, which I do not have. F12 does nothing at all.
Check for a cmos jumper and also the default password in case that's all it it.
- Hallvor
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Re: Advice for securing data
It is impossible to disable Secure Boot without a password. I'll try resetting it with a jumper and let you know how it goes.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Re: Advice for securing data
the trick with the cmos battery: i keep reading you should keep it removed for quite a long while, like 30min or so. you can also short circuit the battery contacts, a little easier than searching for jumpers.
i also read that it doesn't always help. certainly hasn't helped last time i tried it.
i also read that it doesn't always help. certainly hasn't helped last time i tried it.
- Hallvor
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Re: Advice for securing data
Yes, maybe I didn't remove it long enough. It was only out for 30 seconds or so.debiman wrote:the trick with the cmos battery: i keep reading you should keep it removed for quite a long while, like 30min or so. you can also short circuit the battery contacts, a little easier than searching for jumpers.
i also read that it doesn't always help. certainly hasn't helped last time i tried it.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
- Hallvor
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Re: Advice for securing data
Well, I took out the main battery, left the CMOS battery out for halv and hour and held the power button for 30 seconds to deplete any power. It did not help. I think I may be out of luck on this computer.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
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Re: Advice for securing data
I saw this web page that might have some useful information for you including some default BIOS passwords and a few methods to clear the settings. You might have already seen it but as have seen no mentions of pages that might help I thought I would post this one.
- Hallvor
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Re: Advice for securing data
Yes, yes, yes! I got into the BIOS! After a few failed password attempts, there was a numeral code. I visited https://bios-pw.org/ , entered the code and was presented with two passwords I could try to unlock it. The very first one worked! Thanks!Dai_trying wrote:I saw this web page that might have some useful information for you including some default BIOS passwords and a few methods to clear the settings. You might have already seen it but as have seen no mentions of pages that might help I thought I would post this one.
Marking thread as solved.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Re: [Solved] Advice for securing data
^ i should try that on our fujitsu-siemens laptop!
it's hard to believe that there's a master key for this - even if it's reverse-engineered.
where's the security in that?
of course you, hallvor, will secure your data properly, unlike those harebrained bios manufacturers.
it's hard to believe that there's a master key for this - even if it's reverse-engineered.
where's the security in that?
of course you, hallvor, will secure your data properly, unlike those harebrained bios manufacturers.
- Hallvor
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Re: [Solved] Advice for securing data
Just this once I am happy about poor security.
At least now I can get a proper LUKS-install.
At least now I can get a proper LUKS-install.
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
- Hallvor
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Re: [Solved] Advice for securing data
Thank you!golinux wrote:@Hallvor . . . That is most excellent news! I'm very happy for you!!
[HowTo] Install and configure Debian bookworm
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD
Debian 12 | KDE Plasma | ThinkPad T440s | 4 × Intel® Core™ i7-4600U CPU @ 2.10GHz | 12 GiB RAM | Mesa Intel® HD Graphics 4400 | 1 TB SSD