SUMARY: Prom password

From: Filip J. Bujanic (fbujanic@fikus.com)
Date: Sat Jul 17 1999 - 10:48:34 CDT


Thank you all for a quick response:

David Robillard <David.Robillard@matrox.com>
Casper Dik <casper@holland.sun.com>
Ed Weller <edw@solarsys.com>
Mike DeMarco <mikejd@bnpcn.com>
rsaddler@cccis.com
todd a fiedler <todd.a.fiedler@mail.sprint.com>
"Steve Turgeon"<steve_turgeon_at_putnam@putnaminv.com>
MARC.NEWMAN@chase.com
Nathan Johnson <ursa-major@ghostbear.wayne.edu>
Rick Niziak <rniziak@kappys.med.hostnet.net>
"Bill Fenwick" <bill@digicomp.com>
Mark Hargrave <hargrme@wisdom.maf.nasa.gov>
Tom Lojewski <thl@ProNetC.com>
Matthew Stier <Matthew.Stier@tddny.fujitsu.com>
terry.haupt@pncbank.com
"Fiamingo, Frank" <FiamingF@strsoh.org>

ORIGINAL QUESTION:
>
> Hi,
>
> I just got an old IPX workstation and need to install Solaris 2.5 on it.
> Funny thing is it asks me for a prom password any time I try to boot of
> cdrom. I don't have a clue what the password is. Is there any way to get
> rid of it?

SOLUTIONS:
1. If you can boot the system and login as root. type:
   eeprom security-mode=none
2. Pull the prom chip out of the socket that should get rid of the
   password.
3. Check out http://www.squirrel.com/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html
4. Call SUN support.

I did number 2 and it cleared the password.

Thanks
Filip Bujanic

RESPONSES:
From: David Robillard <David.Robillard@matrox.com>

        I'm afraid your out of luck :( THe Prom passwd is there to stay. Only you might
consider trying the following, even though I doubt it would work, but it's worth a try...

ok setenv security-mode none

or you can do so from the eeprom command in the OS, see man eeprom(1M) for further details.

        But as I said, I doubt it'll work because of what's written in the "OpenBoot 2.x Command
Reference Manual" for Solaris 2.5:

        _______________________________________________________________________________

        "CAUTION - It is important to remember your security password. If you forget
        this password, you cannot use your system; you will have to call Sun's customer
        support service to make your machine bootable again."
        _______________________________________________________________________________
        (OpenBoot 2.x Command Reference Manual for Solaris 2.5, page 29)

Good luck.

From: Casper Dik <casper@holland.sun.com>

if you can boot from disk, try
                "eeprom security-mode=none"

as root

Casper

From: Ed Weller <edw@solarsys.com>

Hi,

Swap the NVRam, or use the eeprom command in the O/S. man page eeprom-
security-mode=none

Ed Weller

From: Mike DeMarco <mikejd@bnpcn.com>

Need to have sun replace the prom!

From: rsaddler@cccis.com

Pry the old PROM off of the board, and install a new one, is my guess :-)

Once it's set, my understanding is that it is SET.

- Ray

From: todd a fiedler <todd.a.fiedler@mail.sprint.com>

Yeah, Sun will do it for a fee. If you can get it from the people the
IPX came from you should be okay. Otherwise, if you paid for it, send it
back.

From: "Steve Turgeon"<steve_turgeon_at_putnam@putnaminv.com>

       Check out http://www.squirrel.com/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html
       Steve

From: MARC.NEWMAN@chase.com

1. Get the password from the prior owner.

2. Get a disk for a Sun4c system (Sparc 1, 1+, 2, IPX or IPC) and take the
existing disk out, and make the new disk your boot disk. Boot off it, and using
the EEPROM command you should be able to set:
eeprom security-mode=none

Then when you reboot, it shouldn't ask for a password, and you can change the
security password.

Marc

From: Nathan Johnson <ursa-major@ghostbear.wayne.edu>

The only way I know how to get rid of it is to get a new Prom from sun

From: Rick Niziak <rniziak@kappys.med.hostnet.net>

You need to have the eeprom replaced

Sorry...

From: "Bill Fenwick" <bill@digicomp.com>

Uh, no. Somebody has set the IPX to its secure prom mode, and unfortunately
you need the password to change the mode (or do much of anything else). The
only thing you can do is replace the prom chips.

From: Mark Hargrave <hargrme@wisdom.maf.nasa.gov>

If you can bootup from disk, issue the command:

eeprom security-mode=none

Thanks,

Mark

From: Tom Lojewski <thl@ProNetC.com>

If you can boot any solaris OS on it, you can then run the "eeprom"
command and change the password. Otherwise you'll have to pull the
eeprom out of it (to flush the memory) and then put it back in.

...Tom Lojewski (thl@ProNetC.com)

From: Matthew Stier <Matthew.Stier@tddny.fujitsu.com>

Replace the boot prom.

 http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html

From: terry.haupt@pncbank.com

There is a way but it requires SUN's assistance. I have heard of prom passwords
and fixes but have never done one, from what I have heard it is quite the pain.

From: "Fiamingo, Frank" <FiamingF@strsoh.org>

Filip,

The PROM security settings can be:
none - no password set
command - ask for a password for anything other than the normal boot
full - ask for a password for everything

In full mode you either need to know the password, or replace/reset the
PROM.
In command mode you can proceed with the normal boot from disk without a
password.
If you know the root password you can then use "eeprom security-password="
as root
to reset the PROM password.

If you don't know the root password you could remove
the disk and configure it in another machine, and then put it back.

If you think you need to replace or reset the PROM, check out Mark
Henderson's NVRAM FAQ before
proceeding.

        Frank



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