[CCTALK] Test post and DEC Unix question

From: Rick Murphy <rmurphy_at_itm-inst.com>
Date: Wed May 15 16:14:13 2002

At 09:28 AM 5/15/02 -0700, Ethan Dicks wrote:

>--- Rick Murphy <rmurphy_at_itm-inst.com> wrote:
> > At 03:49 PM 5/14/02 -0700, Ethan Dicks wrote:
> >
> > >I'm trying to break into (my own) DEC Alpha running Digital Unix V3.2...
>
> > Use:
> > >>> b -flags 0,1 dkc0
>
>Why the 0? I did this (Thanks, Doc!)

The command I learned is "-flags 0,1". The first digit sets the root being
booted, the second is a bitmap where the "1" bit means conversational boot.
(See the VMS ALPHA FAQ.) However, "-flags 1" usually works just as well; I
just learned the long way back when I worked on DEC UNIX.

> >>> b dkc0 -flags 1
>
>... and I got in just fine.
>
> > Once you're in single-user mode, "mount -r /" to remount the root...
>
>Right. I know what to do once I'm in. The only thing that threw me
>about Digital Unix vs other stuff I've used is that if you _don't_
>use vipw to edit the passwd file, you have to manually run mkpasswd
>to update the hashed password file (I'm used to a shadow file, or,
>for older stuff, _just_ the /etc/passwd file and nothing else).

Right. That's why I suggested mounting everything and using "passwd" :-)

> > ...mount -a to get everything mounted...
>
>In my experience, if you intend to go from single-user mode to
>multi-user (i.e., you don't reboot from single-user), it's
>safest to not leave anything mounted that isn't mounted when
>you got your prompt.

True. I usually fix the password and reboot to avoid the startup problems.
Arguably, your approach of cleaning up what you changed then exiting the
shell will get you back running faster.
         -Rick
Received on Wed May 15 2002 - 16:14:13 BST