leaknoil wrote:
I just picked
up a pretty cool old CISC based AS/400 box I've been
having fun exploring. Model 9402 C04. [...] The system now complains
about invalid system password and wants me to bypass it or enter in a
valid one. Apparently this is something that gets generated by IBM. I
just bypassed it but, now the system gives me a messages about the
bypass ending in 70 days. The funny thing is it keeps saying 70 days
even after 3 days have past. Y2K issue perhaps?
Probably still 70 days due to the
battery having failed.
I replaced the battery and its still saying 70 days no matter how long
passes. I have even reset the system time and it keeps on saying 70 days.
Anyhow, I researched this a few years back when I had
a CISC AS/400.
To get a new system password, you'll have to pay IBM for an OS/400
license transfer, since otherwise you don't actually have an OS/400
license. I wasn't able to find out an exact price for a license
transfer, other than that it would be *many* thousands of dollars.
IBM changed the OS/400 licensing policy with the RISC-based machines;
on those the OS is licensed to the machine so apparently it can be
transferred with the machine without the astronomical expense. I
haven't tried, though.
Eric
This pretty much is what I have heard too. Although I have also heard
of more then one case where explaining your situation to the right
person can get you the password as well. Unfortunately usually through
sales people rather then the technical side of things. This license
thing seems to be more a IBM sales department controlled thing. People
working on the technical side have no way to do it from what I've heard.
In fact, they don't even seem to know who to contact about it even if
they happen to work on the as/400 side of things.