21 Jun
2005
21 Jun
'05
6:32 p.m.
Jeff Davis wrote:
To pre-answer one question: no, I didn't get any
operator keys for the boxes.
Are they difficult / expensive to find? If so, I'll go back on thursday and
dig thru the storage bins I found the machines in and look for a key...
mknod /dev/big_screwdriver
The keys are possibly available from IBM with the machine's serial
number, IFF you can find the person who knows how to order it. In other
words, fat chance.
That's a Schlage lock, and non-trivial to pick, or even to break.
You need the three-position switch, or a replacement, anyway.
I have been successful at unscrewing the 3 thumbscrews at the back of
the machine and *gently* levering the front edge of the "lid" up enough
to clear the lock tab. Pretty easy to disassemble the barrel from
there, and if you look carefully at the lock barrel itself, that brass
strip running the length of the barrel holds the pins in.
I've also resorted to a 3/8" carbide bit a couple of times when I was
in a bad mood. That *always* works.
Re the software, IBM released 4.3.2 and 4.3.3 for the price of the
media for non-commercial use. It was damn nigh impossible to order it,
but it was available. I did finally get a copy for $50, after ~18 hours
on the phone with AIX Sales Group and the signing of a 17-page license
contract that boiled down to "I realize I don't own nothing here and I'm
not allowed to do nothing with it".
In any case, IBM's unwritten rule concerning AIX is that the more
folks there are who play with it, the more folks there will be who tell
their boss to buy it. If it's not running in a business and you don't
make a lot of noise about it, they won't send the BSA after you.
I'm not sure, but I think v5.0 and v5.1 will run on that box, in a
very leisurely fashion. v4.3.3 is your best bet.
Doc