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MiniSport Laptop Hacker (TM) - Vol. #29. December 1998
Copyright (c) 1998 Brian Mork
>>> ADMIN
I've collected enough stuff during the past three and a half years that
I finally wanted to do another issue of the Minisport Laptop Hacker. If
you want to acquire a compendium of all issues, check one of the
internet search engines for mlhack28.zip (the previous release) or
mlhack29.zip (includes this file). If you're only ftp capable, check:
ftp.cs.buffalo.edu (128.205.32.53) /pub/ham-radio
oak.oakland.edu (198.111.3.158) /pub/simtelnet/msdos/info
Login with the name "anonymous" and use your email address as the
password. My primary drop point is the SimTel collection, directly
accessible at their website http://www.simtelnet.com.
>>> DELETING THE HARDWARE PASSWORD
During the CMOS setup screen, there is an option of installing a boot-up
hardware password on the Minisports. If you do this, and you forget
your password, it's been nigh impossible to ever get access to your
machine again. Or at least that's been true until I got a letter from
William and Joe. Here's what Joe wrote:
"Remove the modem cover and the back of the unit. Locate a 14- or 8-pin
IC labeled 93C46. If you are looking at the back of the machine with
the modem in the upper right quadrant, you should see two square notches
at the bottom of the board. If you look approximately one inch in from
the right top corner of the right notch, you should find the chip. (Mine
was a 14-pin chip labeled U36). For a 14 pin chip, connect a jumper
from pin-5 to pin-9. The board is not labeled so you need to count from
the indentation which marks pin 1. If it is an 8-pin chip, connect a
jumper from pin-3 to pin-9 [William?s notes indicate pin-3 and pin-5; I
would check the spec sheets for the device and find which makes sense].
Then turn the unit over on an insulated surfaced and turn it on. Go
into setup, go to modify password, and when you receive an error, cut
the jumper and press enter 4 times."
That's the text book answer. Here's what actually succeeded for Joe:
"I connected the jumper as instructed, turned the machine on, and went
into setup (something I could not do without the jumper). The 'modify
password' option had two choices: password and no change. I selected
PASSWORD and pressed enter. This took me to password verification.
After some experimentation, it appears that this is the key. With the
jumper in place, I could get through the verification field without
having the original password. The next field was for entering and
confirming a new password. I entered a new password, confirmed it, then
cut the jumper before pressing enter to write it into the CMOS. If I
didn't cut the jumper, I received an error that it could not write to
CMOS and the original password remained intact. It would appear that
the jumper can be cut anytime after you pass through the password
verification."
>>> SCANNED IMAGES
Concurrent with the release of MLH #29, I'm submitting mlhschem.zip and
mlhremrk.zip to the distribution sites. Both include only scanned .tif
images. Mlhschem has schematics and notes for the Minisport power
supply, and mlhremrk has scanned images of the front pages of three
articles that came out in Remark Magazine in 1989 and 1991. I have been
unable to contact Remark Magazine about distributing the copyrighted
text, so the best I can do is make them available one at a time to
individuals wanting them for scholarly research.
>>> AN ERA PASSING - AND CONTINUING
For the die-hard MLH readers, you'll remember at the end of the last
issue I was moving to Colorado to attend Space Tactics School, and begin
a position as Assistant Professor at the Air Force Academy. As I write
this, I've finished that assignment, and am in a temporary location
while looking for more opportunities. I'm again active in the astronaut
selection cycle while I fly for the Air Force Reserves.
Please provide feedback! * Internet mork@usa.net
* ARO Net KA9SNF@..qrt...
73, Brian * 928-E Grenoble, Lansing, MI 48917