Can't disable Fingerprint on boot

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cnico88

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So my Samsung laptop came with the fingeprint reader and I was messing around and wanted to try it just to see how it is. The software is called OmniPass and on boot it installed this AuthenTec Pre-boot Auhtentication - ROM Version 3.2.0.2 and I cannot get rid of it for the life of me. In the settings of the program once you enable it there is no option to disable. I tried

-to look in the BIOS - nothing
-to format the OS - nothing because it's before the OS
-Install / Uninstall the software

I came to the conclusion that this thing is built into the BIOS now since nothing I do in Windows helps

I tried to flash the BIOS to latest but it won't let me since I already have the latest. Please help me here!

I just tried a fixmbr and that didn't help. I am pretty sure this is now tied to the BIOS or something nasty like that. Please help me, I am freaking out here. Is there any way I can go back to old BIOS or maybe update the BIOS manually?
 
Most effective way would be to reset the Cmos however on a laptop this can be very difficult to find it is like a watch battery placed on the motherboard. This would reset the motherboard to the default settings.

The site that you got the latest bios from should have instructions on how to revert back to the older one and then you can reinstall the latest.
 
Most effective way would be to reset the Cmos however on a laptop this can be very difficult to find it is like a watch battery placed on the motherboard. This would reset the motherboard to the default settings.

The site that you got the latest bios from should have instructions on how to revert back to the older one and then you can reinstall the latest.

I will keep trying and I will have to resort to the battery removal as my last resort. Only the latest BIOS is posted on the site and the new one won't install as it's not a new one. The whole thing is an EXE file so I can't manually install the ROM either. Please let me know if there is any other solutions.
 
...I came to the conclusion that this thing is built into the BIOS now since nothing I do in Windows helps

I tried to flash the BIOS to latest but it won't let me since I already have the latest. Please help me here!

I just tried a fixmbr and that didn't help. I am pretty sure this is now tied to the BIOS or something nasty like that. Please help me, I am freaking out here. Is there any way I can go back to old BIOS or maybe update the BIOS manually?

Hello,

Firstly, what Samsung laptop do you have? Have you checked the Samsung support website for any information on how to disable pre-boot authentication?

Secondly, I know you've tried FIXMBR, but did you try FIXBOOT? FIXMBR repairs the master boot record, whereas FIXBOOT writes a new boot sector on the hard drive. This type of pre-boot authentication is usually implemented on the hard drive in the boot sector, not the BIOS. Therefore, in this instance, you should be able to disable pre-boot authentication by writing a new boot sector on the hard drive.

Before trying FIXBOOT, if you want to see if this pre-boot authentication is implemented on your hard drive, try the following. Remove the hard drive from the laptop and turn it on. Report back what you see on screen.

While PBA is loaded from the hard drive's boot sector, this doesn't mean however that a malicious user could gain access to the hard drive by bypassing PBA through choosing to boot into a different boot volume (such as a recovery or system rescue disc) when powering on the system, because PBA is an extension of the BIOS - the BIOS is programmed to work with PBA.

Failing all of this, you may want to contact Samsung for support.
 
Hello,

Specifically, what Samsung laptop do you have?

I know you've tried FIXMBR, but did you FIXBOOT? FIXMBR repairs the master boot record, whereas FIXBOOT writes a new boot sector on the hard drive. Pre-boot authentication is usually implemented on the hard drive, in the boot sector. Therefore, in this instance, you should be able to disable pre-boot authentication by writing a new boot sector on the hard drive.

However, while PBA is loaded from the hard drive's boot sector, this doesn't mean that a malicious user could bypass PBA by choosing to boot into a different boot volume (such as a recovery or system rescue disc) when powering on the system, because PBA is an extension of the BIOS - the BIOS is programmed to work with PBA.

Thanks for getting back so quick. I tried Bootrec.exe /fixboot which is from the Vista CD. I got instructions from this MS site: How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows Vista
Why would this be on the HDD? When I press F2 to enter the BIOS, before I get to the BIOS I have to bypass the authentication which means it has nothing to do with the HDD? Would resetting the CMOS help? How about doing it with some kind of software? For the record, I am working on a Samsung X360 the one with HDD not SSD.
 
...Why would this be on the HDD? When I press F2 to enter the BIOS, before I get to the BIOS I have to bypass the authentication which means it has nothing to do with the HDD?

You mean you have to authenticate using the fingerprint reader to access your BIOS settings?

If so, my apologies, I didn't know that. I can only infer from the information that you provide. PBA can be implemented in a number of different ways on a computer, the one previously mentioned being one implementation.

You could try resetting the BIOS CMOS to see if it works.
 
You mean you have to authenticate using the fingerprint reader to access your BIOS settings?

If so, my apologies, I didn't know that. I can only infer from the information that you provide. PBA can be implemented in a number of different ways on a computer, the one previously mentioned being one implementation.

You could try resetting the BIOS CMOS to see if it works.

So is there any easy way of doing it with software or form the command line? Can it be done in Windows or do I have to boot from the Vista disk. I hope I don't have to take the motherboard apart to look for the battery/jumper.
 
Hello,

Unfortunately, to reset the BIOS CMOS, you need to locate and remove the coin cell battery. I don't think this will work, however but it's worth a try.

I am reading the user manual for your laptop. Are you sure you can't disable it in Windows? It says go to Start -> All Programs -> OmniPass -> OmniPass Control Center then select Change System Settings and then to select Disable Pre-boot Authentication or Do Not Use Authentication before boot.

Another question, did you enable TPM as well?
 
TPM is disabled and the PBA was there when I enabled it but after you enable it it dissappears. Here is the screenshot. Also I installed and uninstalled the OmniPass software a few times which didn't help.

PBA.jpg
 
Hello,

I see. When running the OmniPass Control Center, try right clicking it and choosing 'Run as administrator' and see if the disable option is there.

You could also try logging into the administrator account in Safe Mode and running the OmniPass Control Center there to see if you can disable it.
 
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