Z61M finger print reader has never worked

Question

I was just wondering does the reader lite up? From new I have not been abel to get this to work. I have uninstalled reinstalled and updated the drivers, I have even gone in to the bios looking. I read the trouble guides about running PC doctor but I can not find any thing in there to test the finger reader. I have even checked the flat ribbon cable to make sure it was clean and seated good. Mine does not lite up at all. This would be a very nice feature for my son who is blind. Any suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Biometrics isn't for everyone, and I'm uniquely qualified to say the Authentec readers included with Thinkpads are the best fingerprint scanners available to the general public. It is an electrostatic reader that doesn't rely on optics or lighting (I get the impression you'd like to see either a skin light for ornamentation and a backlight such as the cheap scanners I'm going to describe in the next paragraph....and you'll never find either on an Thinkpad. The Authentec scanner is the most tolerant of dirt and resins every finger picks while still delivering an accurate reading and maintaining real security. Those light up scanners you're describing are the easiset to thwart and can be spoofed with a mini mag light and amber filter especially if you can tailgate the last person  within 90 seconds of their successful logn.
Early fingerprint readers used backlighting just like a mini photocopier to read fingerprints and they're horrible, the lamps dim, their reader platens scratch with usage but that cool red light sells a sense of security. Even modern biometric door sensors have red lights but many don't even require it since they use the same brand of scanners from Authentec found inside Thinkpads and the red light is just for ornament, night lites and those obsessed with Cylon Model 6 that it shapes every part of their life, red car and red undies.
You should ensure it is enabled in the BIOS and set your BIOS to default /F10
shutdown, let it power off for  some secs
return and look for the B&W fingerprint menu or a error and simple beep warning the sensor isn't found.
Forget the PCDoctor diags since they'll just advise if it is connected and readable or missing and malfucnmoitnign.
Borking around the bios settings can throw the sensor into a conflict when in some instances our users have tried to enable the nonexistant paralletl  port and activated Infrared while activating and dinking up the COM port which the 60's use to assign to the biometric sensor and just f10 to the bios is enough to eliminate those little conflicts.
Since the system allows 3 failed swipes b4 reboot, a blind person's heightened tactile senses won't have any problems and likely hit it  the first time every time.
Useful fingerprint reader tips when enrolling and logging on:
1. During enrollment, you can mix and match your angles since the user and fingers are stored as an average, so a right thumb doens't have to be enrolled as five perfectly straight swipes, and if you are accustomed to logging on while standing and sitting,  than enroll two prints while standing and three while sitting or versa, it makes a big difference.
2. Your finger is a roller skate,  not a rocking chair....to many users become frustrated with repated failed logons because corporate users are typically enrolled witht he assistance of an IT pro but fail to adequately swipe the platen used to capture prints.  At close obsersance, most people barely succeed to logon since they baRELY SKIM THE FIRST HALF OF THE PLATEN WHEN YOU SHOULD BE MOVING YOUR FINGERPRINT THROUGH THE SENSOR THE WAY A ROLLER SKATER KICKS THEIR FEET ACROSS THE FLOOR.
Too many users get by or get angry when they're just rubbing upwards across the top half of the sensor, this phenomenom occurs more frequently to women and espeically younger and elderly women since younger womens fingers are still reaching maximum size but smaller fingers are harder to capture at the same speed as a mans fat thumb. Ladies have better and more frequently lognosn on the first try if they scrape their finger across the sensor at a slower pace but not so slow it stands still since a steady finger wil ruin the logon.
3. Keep a backup fingter, the old joke is "cut off their finger and steal an ID, that is stupid on more levels than can be described but a good idea is setup a trusted person as a backup / emergency logon account and reserving your ring finger for this purpose is an easy way to create the ID.
Example, when creating your profile and clicking the idiograms of ten fingers, skip your ring finger and ask your husband to use whatever finger he'd like and it just assumes the profile of your ring finger.  since that is the finger of matrimony it is aprophao and easy to remember as the backup account that still logson securelty to your box.
Don't just sit there, take a second and use the Kudo's button to compliment the people who help you.