12 Nov
2004
12 Nov
'04
12:41 p.m.
On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 18:09:48 -0000, you wrote:
I got a SparcStation 10 at an IUPUI auction with a full, new install
of Solaris on it, and no root password. Thanks, Indiana University!
I suspect it was a spare that just never got 'deployed' after a clean
install. There's a trick for defeating the NVRAM password on Sparc
hardware of that vintage that consists of partially booting up the
machine, pulling the NVRAM out, getting past the password section,
then plugging it back in hot. (I have had to verify that said method
works on a few occasions)
Stripping out hardware passwords is a tricky business sometimes. My
HP Omnibook 300 had a password on it that I forgot at one point, and I
had to not just call HP Tech support, but prove to them that it was
mine by faxing a bunch of 'proof of ownership' stuff, to get them to
help me unlock it.
That kind of thing makes me shiver/tremble, because it means there's
stuff out there that over time will definitely become landfill
material and/or physical-display-only collectable, when the vendor
goes out of business and/or refuses to cooperate.
If you have a
parallel port, you should be able to do it. I
have never done
this myself, however it is reported by many to work on
Toshiba laptops:
[snip methods]
I got my 300MHz Tecra for nothing because it had a password.
I can attest that the parallel port method works for
that model at least!
Antonio