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July 11, 2005
Resetting the NVRAM on a Sun Ultra 5/10
So you managed to source an Ultra 5 or 10 and it has a f**ing setup password set. You really only have two options at this point: try to guess the system password (hit stop+a at boot time and then login) or clean the NVRAM.
To clear the NVRAM you can either buy a completely new unit (they're ST part number MT48T59Y available from Mouser) or you can reset the one you currently have.
If you choose to reset the one you currently have, you'll need some little object to pry it out, and some kind of 28pin SRAM. I happened to use a Dallas DS1225AB NV-SRAM chip, but regular 62XXX SRAM should work too.
With the original NVRAM chip in the machine, boot and record the machine's MAC address and host ID; if you miss this step, don't worry, new ones can be made up later.
Remove the original NVRAM and replace it with your own. The NVRAM is the rather large black chip with an orange label underneath the PCI slots. To remove it, grasp the protrusions on the end of the chip and (carefully) pull.
Boot the system. It should get upset about invalid idprom and NVRAM data, this is normal. If you're not at the 'OK' prompt, push <STOP> + <A> to bring you there.
Now carefully remove the temporary chip and carefully replace it with the old one.
From the console run 'set-defaults' (type that followed by an enter at the OK prompt).
Your machine now no-longer has a password; unfortunately, your machine no longer has any settings either.
From the 'OK' prompt, enter the command 'setenv diag-switch? false' (followed by an enter), and your machine should respond with diag-switch? = false. Again at the OK prompt, type the six hex-pairs of your MAC address separated by spaces (eg '80 0 20 4E 5F 61') then another space. Enter the six hex digits of your hostid (eg 'F00BA5') then another space. Finally enter 'mkpl' followed by an <enter> ('M' 'K' 'P' 'L'). Your full command should have looked like '80 0 20 4E 5F 61 F00BA5 mkpl' <enter>. If you forgot your MAC or hostID, feel free to make them up; the first three digits of your MAC should be '80 0 20' (Sun's prefix). If, after entering the previous command, you get an 'OK' prompt and no other output, you're ready to go.
Typing 'reset' at the console will power cycle your Ultra.
Sources
Mark Henderson's NVRAM guide.
Posted by spiffed at July 11, 2005 10:00 PM