Tutorial : How to use fingerprint security from BIOS

Friends,

I saw many people asking how to enable the fingerprint security from BIOS, so before windows loads, it asks to swipe the finger. With a little R&D, I managed to find the exact way to do it

I am using a VAIO SZ430N/B and I have formatted and did a clean install of vista ultimate.

Now I am presuming that you all have installed the Protector Suite QL and enrolled your finger prints in it. So here is the process to get it enabled on the chip

Step 1

Right click on Protector Suite QL on taskbar and select "Start Control Center"



Step 2

Click on enroll or edit....... and select "Delete"

 

Step 3

Click on Setings & Select Power-on security



Step 4

Make sure that Enable power-on.......is ticked

 

Step 5

Restart the laptop & select F2 to go in BIOS
Then go to Security option, and set a machine password
Make sure that Password when power on is Enabled
Then select clear Fingerprint data



Step 6

It will give a warning to clear the data, select continue, after that the machine will restart automatically.

 

Step 7

Press F2 again and go to BIOS & this time go to TPM state & make sure that it is enabled.



Step 8

Exit BIOS and save the settings.

 

Step 9

Go to Protector Suite SL again & select enroll or edit fingerprints.



Step 10

It will ask you to enable power-on........select YES
After that enroll your fingerprints in the software. I did for both the index fingers.

 

Step 11

Go to power on security under settings & make sure that all your fingerprints are registered





Step 12

Restart your computer

 

Step 13

Go to Protector suite again after restart, and then go to edit or enroll fingerprints.

You will get this pop-up now



Step 14

In the next screen you will find that above the fingerprints your saved earlier, you will see a blank box which can be enabled.

 

Step 15

Click on the blank box above the recorded fingerprint, and your will get this option to add the fingerprint to power-on



Step 16

It will again reconfirm if your want to enable it for power on, to which you select yes

 

Step 17

Now you will see the words "Boot" written above the enrolled fingerprints. Which means that next time you start the machine, it will ask you to swipe the fingerprint & then only the machine will boot the OS.

Also it wont ask you again to swipe while loading windows

 

Important:

don't forget to enable the admin privileges for user everytime you use the Protector Suite QL control center. The option is at the bottom of the window.

 

I hope this tutorial is useful to all Sony users

I have tested it on my SZ430N/B, but I hope that it should work for all vaios.

Regards,
Kaushal

 

Great tutorial. What version of Protector Suite QL are you using and if you downloaded it somewhere, do you have the link?

 

thanks bogart

I am using version 5.6.0
Build number 3278

I download from the sony support page for my model number. I suggest you also download for your specific model form the sony site.

 

Kaushal,

Great tutorial -- I have an SZ680 and have v5.6 Build 3326 (so slightly newer I guess) -- I could not find the software on the sony page, and used my recovery disk to install it.

Some notes and questions (since the install process for me was slightly different):
1. What "Security Mode" are you using (found in Settings->System Settings)?
2. Are you storing your fingerprints to the sensor?
3. Do you have the Infineon TPM Software installed?
4. Is the TPM tab available to you under Settings->System Settings?
For me the following steps were different:
Step 10 did not ask me to enable power on and steps 13-17 did not happen, but when I turn on the computer I get a prompt to swipe my finger, and I do not have to swipe again for Windows logon
I do not have to elevate to admin status (though my windows user account is in the administrator group)
I do not have the "boot" symbol above my fingerprints

Things i did differently:
TPM was enabled prior to starting this guide
After Step 10, I restarted, pressed F2, and re-enabled TPM (I forgot to check in the earlier steps, and wanted to make sure it was turned on); after re-enabling (requires two restarts at bios level), I was presented with a swipe screen instead of having to enter my boot password -- then the rest of the steps were not necessary/did not happen.

 

thanks

1) i am using convenient mode
2) my fingerprints are first stored in hdd, then i think the software automatically stores it in bios
3) i didnt install Infineon TPM
4) no

so i suppose that the process is a bit different for diff machines

 

TPM doesn't have to be enabled to use the fingerprint reader at boot up.
It works for me without, too.

But awesome tutorial!

Repped!

 

thanks tinyrk

i didnt try without disabling it......so maybe it can work without enabling it bios

 

Hi, I'm using an SZ-260P, and there is no Power-On security option to choose.
Is there any way to enable it, or is it a hardware limitation? I have Vista Ultimate and the same version of Protector Suite.

Thanks!

--------

EDIT: Good news, I got it to work! You need to enable the power-on password in the BIOS for the option to show. Thanks again!

 

I am using the SZ250P, so it is not a hardware limitation.

 

did u update BIOS??

try that

 

Good tutorial, I'm using the TZ and like others mentioned haven't enabled TPM and can still use the fingerprints and power-on security fine.

It's also worth mentioning the "Allow Power-On Security Single Sign-On option" under system settings in the Control Center that allows the finger print used at power on to then be used for the Windows logon screen without having to swipe a second time.

 

Great tutorial! A couple of questions before I do it:
1. Do you still have the option to type a password in case the fingerprint won't work?
2. Does it work ok with Vista's hybernation/sleep/hybrid sleep (not sure what it's called in the English Vista)?

 

1/ Not at Power-On as far as I am aware. You have 3 attempts on mine before you are locked out and would have to power off before re-trying.

2/ Works fine when resuming from Hibernate, not necessary when resuming from sleep.

 

1. Yes, you have three tries to swipe your finger, then it changes to a field, where you have to type inthe password. It also beeps after a while, to remind you to swipe your finger.
2. After waking up from hibernation, you have to swipe your finger again.

 

1) u get 3 tries....if fingerprint fails, then u are asked the password
2) it works with hybernation also........!!

 

any other members found this useful?

 

instead of swiping your finger incorrectly three times, you can hit "esc" and it will bypass the biometric and allow you to enter a password.

thanks to the OP for this tutorial. i set it up and it works great!

 

Anyone tried combining power on fingerprints with Bitlocker in Vista?

 

Thank so much for the tutorial! In my case, the FingerPrint does not work on Battery! What about yours? Any solution to that so I can work on both AC and battery?
Thank a lot.

 

Mine works on battery.

 

I could not see the Pop-up as showned in the Step 13. Still power-on fingerPrint on my SZ is working. Does it mean all the fingerprints have aready stored in the memory???

 

mine also works fine on battery. also forgot to mention, if you use type in your password at power-on, you will also have to login again when windows starts up.

 

Hey guys, I dont need to go on with the steps 13 forward. I could not see the Pop-up as showned in the Step 13. After completed the Step 12, it is working fine. Mine OS is XP.

 

thanks for that info

and i am glad u found this thread useful

 

i havent tried......but it should be an interesting option to explore

 

have u tried updating your BIOS?

 

even mine does.......i think maybe a bios update will solve his problem

 

did u follow all the steps from 1 to 12?

if yes, then i suppose for diff sz models and diff OS........the installation procedure may vary a little

 

yeah...........even i observed that

but then why would anyone use password, when he can use biometric

unless u ask someone else to use your lappy

 

so the procedure is a little different in xp

but its good to know that it works for u

 

any more people found this one useful?

 

Yea I will do this as soon as I get my hand on the comp.

 

Works great for me

did't know that before..

Thanks for the info

 

Ok got the comp a few hours ago (sz61xn/c) anf after getting frustrated on the bloatware removing I decided to try this out. The process was a bit shorter but otherwise it worked perfectly. Thanks alot!!

 

I am glad that it was useful to u

 

Hi Kaushal ... great article ... just curious though .. what is the benefit to activate the fingerprint from BIOS ? I am currently using the fingerprint as is installed from default. and i can do windows logon using fingerprint method.
Does it mean BIOS access will based on fingerprint instead of password ?

 

thanks

yeah fingerprint in bios will have 2 benefits:

1) when u boot up ur machine, it will replace the need to enter bios password. If u get 3 tries wrong for fingerprint, then only it will ask for bios password.

2) u dont need to swipe finger again for logging to windows.

 

Thanks ... currently using fingerprint on windows logon i can have multiuser enrolled on the fingerprint apps. But since the fingerprint brought upfront upon accessing laptop on BIOS phase, does it support multiuser kind of laptop ?
Also, if the windows crash in anyway .. will it impact the fingerprint stored and fingerprint bootup method the laptop from BIOS ?

 

i dont think u can have multi user for bios

but then it stores 10 fingers.......so u can have other user fingerprint in the balance after u stored urs

reinstalling windows dont affect the bios data.....!!

 

a small bump