On Thu, Jun 01, 2000 at 12:10:32PM -0500, dp@recycled wrote:
> IIRC you can't read Sparc written filesystems in x86 boxen and vice versa due 
> to endian difference. You need to put the disk into another sparc.
> 
> Quoting Patrick Larkin <plarkin@beth.k12.pa.us>:
> > > Boot net or fix the disk in another machine.
> >
> > I'm trying the latter at the moment.  I have the disk out and in a BSDI
> > machine but I'm having no luck mounting it.

For versions of Unix (and derivatives) that don't use a hashed password
table, you can sector edit the drive and search for 'root:0:0' (or the
appropriate literal for that OS) and replace the encrypted password.

That can be done without an OS (or platform of the correct endian-ness)
capable of mounting the filesystem - since you're looking at raw disk
blocks.

Remember to find ALL the matches, not just the first one, since there may
be old versions of the file floating around on the unallocated blocks, 
and/or password and shadow files, etc... it's a lot of work to tell which 
is which when dealing with the raw blocks, so just fix them all.

I did this for a SCO admin who had no emergency boot floppy built, and
changed the root password the day before starting a 3 week training course
out of the office - and couldn't remember the new password upon returning
to the office.

-- 
David Maxwell, david@vex.net|david@maxwell.net --> Although some of you out
there might find a microwave oven controlled by a Unix system an attractive
idea, controlling a microwave oven is easily accomplished with the smallest
of microcontrollers. - Russ Hersch - (Microcontroller primer and FAQ)