The tragedy of password-protected old computers

[shawn510]

All the Unix machines you can boot in single user mode and change the password. On O2 I remember you have to boot it to SASH (stand alone shell).

There should be a point in the IRIX boot process where you can click "stop for maintence". From there you can get to the SASH prompt. That is unless you are like me and have a Indigo that also has a PROM password.

 

[Sharkonwheels]

Sash is on the CD, though.
I don't think Irix has that option, I believe because they were used in many govt installations. You can STILL find NASA dumping out SGI's through their surplus departments.


T

 

[barythrin]

For several systems I've removed the drive, stuck it in another system and whether or not you can read the partition doesn't really matter (I had to do this with Irix and SunOS) but just get a drive editor, search for "root:" and replace the password hash with a password hash you DO know from another system. It'll be the same number of bytes so you'll be ok.

Naturally if you CAN read the filesystem, then yeah you can blank the password to just :: and it'll let you right in with that username.

 

[Sharkonwheels]

Not too big a deal - if he CAN get the cdrom, I can figure out a way to get him the boot cd. Doesn't Irix use EFS or something strange?

T

 

[Trixter]

----
I was going to suggest the same thing, but I think the problem is that there's no boot media...

Just because he doesn't possess boot media doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Ask the guys on the classiccmp list for boot media, I'm sure they can help.

 

[Sharkonwheels]

Just because he doesn't possess boot media doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Ask the guys on the classiccmp list for boot media, I'm sure they can help.

That hopefully won't be a problem....

I have 6.5.8, 6.5.10, 6.5.18 (I think) and then like 6.5.20 or so.
Only thing that really changes, is the base CD's. I bought a 6.5.8 a few years ago, and when I install, I just the later OS disks, with the original add-on stuff.

Of course, i haven't done an Irix load in a few years, so i could be talking out the side of my head, too!

matter of fact, I remember find a link on setting up a network-load, and using an Indy with an 18GB drive just to hold all the media. It was a pain, but well-documented. Had to edit all the files allowing permission for the machine being loaded, and it's IP, etc...


T

 

[Mr.Amiga500]

Just because he doesn't possess boot media doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Ask the guys on the classiccmp list for boot media, I'm sure they can help.

I didn't ask for the boot media. I'm not here to schmooze it out of people. I just wanted a technique to get in without the boot media (like that NeXT boot trick).

It is very nice for people to offer to give me boot media and I appreciate their generosity, but until I get an external SCSI CD-ROM, I can't really use it. (and if I did have the drive, I certainly wouldn't come on here with a sob story to try to manipulate people to give me a copy)

Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

 

[Sharkonwheels]

I didn't ask for the boot media. I'm not here to schmooze it out of people. I just wanted a technique to get in without the boot media (like that NeXT boot trick).

It is very nice for people to offer to give me boot media and I appreciate their generosity, but until I get an external SCSI CD-ROM, I can't really use it. (and if I did have the drive, I certainly wouldn't come on here with a sob story to try to manipulate people to give me a copy)

Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

SGI never went after anyone, for example eBay sellers, because every machine came with an Irix license.

Now, beyond SGI machines, there is absolutely no use for Irix, as there is no proper WORKING emulator, even today.

That is BESIDE the fact that no NEW SGI Irix-based machines have been made in about what? 2 years? They dropped it, and "ain't makin' 'em no mo'"

That being said, when ya need media, just holler, and we'll try to figure out a way. From what I recall, maintenance mode didn't allow much - ya needed to boot up from the CD, even SASH.

Maybe things changed with later versions...

see here for more info...

link to booting: booting install CD (overlay)

Link to network install : network install

Now, i gave ya the link to network booting, because if you have a linux box, you can copy the stuff off the cd, and network-boot the box from the OS copied to your linux box.

Ain't GOOD Unix'es (Unices? What's plural of Unix?) nice?

UPDATE: Here's a step-by-step, but what they all have in common, is requiring the boot media :
Step-by-step root password reset on SGI Irix


T

 

[Mr.Amiga500]

Thanks Sharkonwheels.

(...but I am having a hard time picturing a shark on wheels... )

 

[Trixter]

I didn't ask for the boot media. I'm not here to schmooze it out of people. I just wanted a technique to get in without the boot media (like that NeXT boot trick).

It is very nice for people to offer to give me boot media and I appreciate their generosity, but until I get an external SCSI CD-ROM, I can't really use it. (and if I did have the drive, I certainly wouldn't come on here with a sob story to try to manipulate people to give me a copy)

It's not a "sob story", we're restoring old computers! I would feel terrible if I had the media and did NOT give it to you.

Most *nix systems don't have a "boot trick" where you can get in without the root password, so that's why I didn't mention it. NeXT is one of the few (old old versions of HPUX are another).

I would try taking the drives out, if they're regular IDE or SCSI, and trying to mount them in Linux. Get a linux distribution with kernel sources and compile *IN* every single filesystem supported. Then you have a good chance of mounting them (hell, if Coherent Unix is still mountable then I'm sure Irix and others are

 

[Mr.Amiga500]

It's not a "sob story", we're restoring old computers! I would feel terrible if I had the media and did NOT give it to you.

Oh, sorry Trixter. I misunderstood. I thought you were starting a "piracy is bad and people who promote it should die"-type comment. My reaction is the result of too many years defending myself on other old computer forums where the "piracy police" jump on you any chance they get... like vultures looking for a fresh kill.

(Just for the record - in case any "piracy police" are reading - I have never copied any program or OS that was currently for sale anywhere - or that I did not originally own at one time.)

 

[Sharkonwheels]

Like Trixter says...if ya got a Linux box, you can mount the drive.
It'll be either EFS or XFS, I think those are the only two they used, and I believe 6.5.x
was XFS by default - EFS was the older one (or mebbe I'm backwards?)

And yeah, it ain't like Linux, where you can put "init=/bin/bash" on the kernel boot command line, and get into single-user mode, without security.

I always liked Irix, and have for YEARS had at least 2-3 SGI's in the house...
Right now it's rather thin, as I eBay'd my 3 Octanes, 2 O2's (1 was an RM5200 1GB/18GB/1600SW LCD), sold the Indigo R4000 to someone on here, the Indigo2's (3 of 'em) were eBay'd, and what's left is 4-5 Indy's, one a factory R5000, one a factory R5000 WebForce Indy, and a Challenge L (headless Indy). Got some spares, like the Phobos 10/100 ethernet for Indy/Indigo, IndyVideo+CosmoCompress boardset...

I wouldn't mind getting a couple again, but only the bad@ss ones: Onyx2 with some sort of *Reality graphics, or mebbe
put 2 Origin2000's in a half-rack.

T

 

[NeXT]

Don't know your Irix login password, eh? Been there before.
Well if memory serves, the 6.5.22m overlay contains a bootable miniroot.
Just download it (you will probably need a free Supportfolio account), boot from it and go reset the passwords.

OR you mount the drive on another system that supports the XFS filesystem (linux works...or another SGI) and go reset the passwords from there.

 

[Trixter]

Oh, sorry Trixter. I misunderstood. I thought you were starting a "piracy is bad and people who promote it should die"-type comment.

As someone who helped start the Abandonware movement over a decade ago, I don't think you'll ever hear me talk like that

(Just for the record - in case any "piracy police" are reading - I have never copied any program or OS that was currently for sale anywhere - or that I did not originally own at one time.)

I have! But only in the interest of software archival/history/appreciation, and never to make money.