Pre-Boot Authentication Will Not Activate Due to SED Block SID Authentication Enabled

Self-encrypting drive Block SID Authentication is a new BIOS feature for Dell X9 and later computers and requires additional configuration to activate pre-boot authentication.

Affected Products:

Dell Encryption Self-Encrypting Drive Manager

Affected Versions:

v10.3 and Later

Affected Platforms:

Dell X9 and Later

Block SID Authentication must be configured when troubleshooting Dell pre-boot authentication activation issues. If Block SID Authentication is not properly configured in the BIOS, then an error is indicated in DellAgent.log, located by default in C:\ProgramData\Dell\Dell Data Protection\.

Example error:

SED Block SID Authentication is enabled in BIOS, but the Admin BIOS password is not set. For example, an admin BIOS password is required for Block SID bypass using (0) application. Block SID can manually be disabled in the BIOS in case PBA activation fails.

Not applicable.

By design, a BIOS Admin Password must be set in the computer BIOS for the pre-boot authentication to activate when SED Block SID Authentication is enabled. At activation, a prompt for the BIOS admin password is requested. If the input password matches the stored password in the BIOS, pre-boot authentication activation proceeds. If the SED Block SID Authentication feature is not needed, Disable it to proceed with pre-boot authentication activation. Select the appropriate process for more information.

To contact support, reference Dell Data Security International Support Phone Numbers.
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