FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Sun NVRAM, IDPROM, hostid
Newsgroups: comp.unix.solaris, comp.sys.sun.admin, comp.sys.sun.hardware, comp.unix.admin, alt.solaris.x86Frequently Asked Questions about Sun NVRAM/hostid
$Date: 1996/11/26 04:21:39 $
$Revision: 1.39 $
This document has been placed in the public domain by the author - Mark
Henderson (mch@squirrel.com)
If this information is abused, misinterpreted, or incorrect you can render
your computer unbootable. The information in this document is distributed in
the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even the
implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. You
use this document at your own risk. The author disclaims responsibility for
any damages that might result from the use of this document, even if they
result from negligence or errors on the part of the author. Please do not
use the information in this document to steal software or violate licence
agreements with software vendors.
This is the new and hopefully improved Sun NVRAM FAQ. It is an attempt to
answer the following frequently asked questions on comp.sys.sun.hardware and
comp.sys.sun.admin.
1. When I turn on my Sun I get output which looks something like:
Sun Workstation, Model Sun-XXXXXX Series.
ROM Rev X.X, XXMB memory installed
ID PROM invalid.
Testing 0 Megabytes of Memory ... Completed.
ERROR: missing or invalid ID prom
Requesting Internet address for 0:0:0:0:0:0
or
Sun Workstation, Model Sun-XXXX Series.
Type 4 Keyboard
ROM Rev X.X, XXMB memory installed, Serial #16777215
Ethernet address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, Host ID ffffffff
Invalid format type in NVRAM
The IDPROM contents are invalid
How can I fix this? (Probably Replace chip)
2. The clock on my Sun has stopped working. When I turn off the machine it
loses track of the time and/or complains about invalid TOD when I turn
it on. How do I get my clock to keep time when the system is off?
(Replace chip)
3. I get warnings about by NVRAM battery being low when I boot my machine
but otherwise it works nicely. Should I be worried? (Replace chip)
4. When my Sun boots I get warnings about the IDPROM checksum being
incorrect and/or Invalid format type in NVRAM. What does this mean and
how can I fix it?
5. The hostid and/or ethernet address on my Sun have been corrupted. How
can I restore it to a sane state?
6. How do I change the hostid and/or ethernet address of my Sun
workstation?
7. My Sun is in full-security mode (can't even boot without password) and
I don't know the EEPROM password. How do I fix this? (Replace chip)
The information in this document applies to the following Sun architectures:
sun4c, sun4m, sun4d, sun4u, sun3x (but not to sun4, sun3)
All of these questions relate to the NVRAM chip in the Sun workstation. The
contents of the NVRAM chip can become corrupted for a variety of reasons,
most commonly, failure of the embedded battery. The battery embedded in the
NVRAM chip keeps the clock running when the machine is off and also
maintains important system configuration information. This FAQ tells you how
to reprogram your NVRAM chip and where to buy a new one, should you need to
replace your current NVRAM chip. If you have one of the questions marked
(Replace Chip), you'll need to purchase a new NVRAM chip. The cost is about
US$20. For the other questions, as long as your machine retains its hostid
and ethernet address when turned off, and the clock keeps time when the
machine is turned off, reprogramming your NVRAM chip is enough.
One question is marked (Probably Replace Chip). Usually, when the NVRAM getscorrupted in this way, this is a symptom that the battery embedded in the
NVRAM chip has run out and you need to replace the chip. If the machine is
relatively new, you should try reprogramming the NVRAM chip with a hostid
and ethernet address using the instructions below, then do a reset at the
"ok" prompt to make sure the banner looks as expected. Next turn the machine
off for a couple of minutes and turn it on again. If the machine retains its
hostid and ethernet address, then you probably don't need to replace the
NVRAM chip.
People can be asking two different questions when they are asking how to
change the ethernet address of a workstation. If you merely want to change
the ethernet address of an interface on your system, you can use the
ifconfig command and forget about the procedures in this document. The
ethernet address in NVRAM is the default address for all ethernet
interfaces. If, for some reason, you want to change this default ethernet
address in NVRAM, then the instructions in this document will tell you how
to do this. Sun workstations are a little strange in this regard, they don't
get their MAC addresses from the ethernet hardware itself.
The most up to date version of this document can be obtained from the
following sites:
* ftp://ftp.wimsey.com/pub/crypto/sun-stuff/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html
* ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/he/henderso/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html
* http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html
Plain text versions of this document are available from the following:
* ftp://ftp.wimsey.com/pub/crypto/sun-stuff/sun-nvram-hostid.faq
* ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/he/henderso/sun-nvram-hostid.faq
* http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/sun-nvram-hostid.faq
This FAQ is also distributed as part of a larger package for spoofing the
hostid on Sun workstations called change-sun-hostid. In particular, parts of
change-sun-hostid can be used to modify the apparent hostid for some or all
processes on a UNIX system without messing with the NVRAM. This package even
provides a way to make a host seem to have multiple hostids (different
processes see different hostids). If you are interested in changing your
hostid to deal with software licence issues, you should probably try the
scripts/programs in this package first, as most of them don't make permanent
changes to a chip on your motherboard. Changing the NVRAM should be a last
resort. You can retrieve this package from:
* ftp://ftp.wimsey.com/pub/crypto/sun-stuff/change-sun-hostid.tar.gz
* ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/he/henderso/change-sun-hostid.tar.gz
* http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/sun-stuff/change-sun-hostid.tar.gz
Some related links:
* http://www.jaist.ac.jp/~kosmic/private/data/sparc_nvram_change.html is
a Japanese language file with information on reprogramming and
replacing the NVRAM in a sun4c machine.
* http://www.portnet.co.jp/JIS/techical/WS/sunnvram.japanese.html is a
Japanese language eeprom-nvram FAQ
* For other Sun Hardware questions, check out The Sun Hardware Reference
available from ftp://ftp.picarefy.com/pub/Sun-Hardware-Ref
* For those who want more technical information about the NVRAM chips
themselves, SGS-Thomson has a WWW page with datasheets for the M48T02,
M48T08, and M48T59Y on http://www.st.com
* Useful tools for Sun Workstations at
http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/sun-stuff.html
This document consists of the following parts.
1. Introduction and Hardware
2. General sun4c, sun4m, sun4d, sun4u IDPROM Programming
3. A Quick-and-Dirty Guide to Restoring the NVRAM of a sun4c/m/u Machine
4. The Sun 3/80
5. Examples
6. Odds and Ends
a. Resetting the NVRAM when Stop-N doesn't work
b. Attaching a new battery onto an existing M48T02
c. How to start and stop the NVRAM clock on the Sun 3/80 and sun4c
machines
d. Other more arcane methods for modifying the IDPROM
e. The hostid on Solaris 2.5 x86
f. The NVRAM in sun4 architecture machines
7. Credits
Introduction and Hardware
Every Sun 3/80, sun4c, sun4u, and sun4m architecture machine contains an
NVRAM chip (not to be confused with the NVRAM in Prestoserve). This NVRAM
chip stores various configuration parameters (e.g. boot device, amount of
RAM to test), maintains the clock, and also contains the IDPROM data, which
is composed of the ethernet address, date of manufacture, hostid, a version
number, and a checksum. The name IDPROM is historical. On older machines
such as the sun2, sun3, and sun4 architecture machines the hostid and
ethernet address were stored in a PROM called the IDPROM.
The sun4d machines (e.g. SS1000) also have an NVRAM chip. However, the
IDPROM information is stored in a flash EEPROM and is downloaded into the
NVRAM during POST. You can also upload the IDPROM information from the NVRAM
chip to the flash EEPROM, so you can change the value of IDPROM in the flash
EEPROM by merely changing the NVRAM and uploading the new values.
This document is for people who want to accomplish one of the following
tasks:
* Install a new NVRAM chip in a Sun 3/80, sun4c, or sun4m machine.
Usually this will be due to NVRAM failure or loss of the NVRAM password
in full security mode.
* Change the hostid/ethernet address of a Sun 3/80, sun4c, sun4m, sun4u
or sun4d machine.
* Restore a machine with a corrupted NVRAM chip in a Sun 3/80, sun4c,
sun4u, sun4m machine to working order.
I'm going to focus on methods that involve reprogramming the chip from the
FORTH OpenBoot monitor ("ok" prompt). The OpenBoot monitor uses a modified
version of FORTH, which is a language similar to that used on the HP
calculators which use RPN. You don't need to know any FORTH to reprogram
your IDPROM, but the instructions below might make a little more sense if
you do know some FORTH.
The NVRAM chip will usually have a white or yellow barcode label on it
(except for sun4d). Given the barcode, Sun can reconstruct your original
hostid and ethernet address. I have no idea how this is done, but the
barcode serves as an easy way to identify the chip on the motherboard.
[Image]
The following table gives the location of the NVRAM chip for various models
of Sun workstation.
3/80 U0205
4/60 (SS1) U089
4/40 (IPC) U0901
4/65 (SS1+) U089
4/20 (SLC) U1011
4/25 (ELC) U0813
4/50 (IPX) U0512
4/75 (SS2) U0512
4E U1101
4/10 (SPARCclassic X) U0707
4/15 (SPARCclassic) U0707
4/30 (LX/ZX) U0707
SPARC Xterm 1 U1605
SS4 U1605
SS5 U1506
SS10 U1004
SS20 U1004
SS600MP U2701
SS240 (Voyager) U1506
SS1000/1000E U1007
SS2000/2000E U1205
U1/170 U2006
The NVRAM chips are SGS-Thomson Timekeeper (formerly Mostek) chips. They
contain an embedded battery with a fixed life. When the machine is off, the
battery runs down. It is very common for the battery embedded in the
Timekeeper chip in an older Sun (sun4c, sun3x) to fail. The following table
lists the NVRAM chip type by machine architecture:
sun4c M48T02
sun4m M48T08/18
sun4d M48T08
sun4u M48T59Y
sun3x M48T02
The NVRAM chips used to be designated Mostek MK48T02 etc. These chips come
in various speeds. The newer SGS-Thomson part numbers are M48T02-200PC1 for
the 200ns M48T02, M48T08-100PC1 for the 100ns M48T08. 200ns is adequate for
any Sun, but often the faster chips are easier to come by, and there is no
harm in buying them. If you have trouble tracking down a local SGS-Thomson
distributor, Mouser electronics sells the SGS-Thomson Timekeeper chips
(800-346-6873, 817-483-5712). The Mouser part numbers as of 1995 are slighly
different and are as follows:
SGS-Thomson Mouser part number speed capacity
M48T02-200PC1 511-M48T02-20PC1 200ns 2kB
M48T02-150PC1 511-M48T02-15PC1 150ns 2kB
M48T02-120PC1 511-M48T02-12PC1 120ns 2kB
M48T08-150PC1 511-M48T08-15PC1 150ns 8kB
M48T08-100PC1 511-M48T08-10PC1 100ns 8kB
M48T59Y-70PC1 511-M48T59Y-70PC1 70ns 8kB
As of Oct 1995, the prices for these chips from Mouser range from
US$16.00-23.12. I have no affiliation with Mouser other than as a customer.
Dallas Semicondutor makes a clone of the SGS-Thomson M48T02 chips, the
DS1642. I've had mixed experience using the Dallas chips in a Sun. My
experience is that these chips do not work properly in the following
machines: 3/80, SS2, IPX (they fail POST, but otherwise seem OK). However,
the Dallas chips are reported to work in the following machines: SS1, SS1+,
IPC. I have no idea whether the Dallas chips work properly in the following:
SLC, ELC. You can order the DS1642 chips in 120ns or 150ns speeds (150ns is
fine) directly from Dallas in quantities up to 10 by calling 1-800-336-6933
and giving Dallas a credit card number. Data sheets and distrubutor lists
for Dallas are available from http://www.dalsemi.com
Here are some other sources for M48T02/8/18 chips (if you know of sources
not listed here, please send me email). Any SGS-Thomson distributor that
will sell the chips in small quantities should do. There is a list of
SGS-Thomson distributors at http://www.st.com/distrib/index.html. Thanks to
simonallen@cix.compulink.co.uk, Kenji Oshima
C Firth
Lappessen
* Farnell Electronic Components (01132 636311) in the U.K.
* Maplin Electronics (01702 554161) in the U.K.
* Wakamatsu Tsusho Parts Shop, Mitsuwa Budg. 2F, 1-11-4 Soto-kanda,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101 Japan tel. (+81)3-3251-4121 / fax.
(+81)3-3251-7877
* Jermyn GmbH, Im Dachstueck 6, D-65449 Limburg, phone in Germany : 06431
5080
* elpro, Am Kreuzer 13, D-64372 Ober-Ramstadt, phone in Germany :
06154/63570, fax: 06154/635749, email elpro@t-online.de
General sun4c, sun4m, sun4d, sun4u IDPROM Programming
If you have a valid NVRAM chip installed (IDPROM is ok) then before doing
anything else, write down a copy of the IDPROM information. You can get it
under Sun OS 4.1.x by running /usr/etc/devinfo -vp or under Solaris 2.x by
executing /usr/sbin/prtconf -vp. Alternatively you can get the IDPROM
information at the OpenBoot monitor "ok" prompt by typing the command
.idprom (yes the "." is part of the command). You'll need this information
if the NVRAM gets screwed up and you need to try and back out.
Step 1.
Go to the OpenBoot monitor (ok prompt). You can do this by turning on your
machine, pressing L1/Stop-A to interrupt the boot sequence, and entering
"new command mode". Alternatively, if your machine is running, just shut
down your operating system.
If you are installing a new NVRAM type set-defaults followed by the
key and then setenv diag-switch? false followed by the
Generally a machine will reset the NVRAM to the default values (excluding
the IDPROM information) when it detects a new NVRAM. Still, it is good to do
a set-defaults just in case this fails.
Step 2.
The command to reprogram the IDPROM part of NVRAM is "mkp". The format for
the command is
where location is read off the following table (all values are in
hexadecimal). Note that some Sun clones (e.g. Tatung COMPstation 25 with TWS
boot PROM REV 1.7) don't have an "mkp" command. If "mkp" doesn't work on
your system, see the section below entitled Other more arcane methods for
modifying the IDPROM.
byte(s) contents
0 always 01 - format/version number
1 first byte of hostid (machine type)
2-7 6 byte ethernet address (first three bytes should be 08,00,20)
8-b date of manufacture (usually all 0s, doesn't really matter)
c second byte of hostid
d third byte of hostid
e fourth byte of hostid
f IDPROM checksum - bitwise xor of bytes 0-e
As mentioned above, you can look at the complete idprom by executing
.idprom. Bytes c through e in the table above are collectively referred to
as the serial number. If you convert the concatenation of bytes c-e to
decimal, this is the serial number you see when you turn the machine on.
Alternatively, you can use the idprom@ command to get a particular byte from
the IDPROM
returns the IDPROM value of byte
so
prints the IDPROM value of byte
print the value on the bottom of the stack.
Now make the changes using mkp. Be very careful and be sure to compute the
checksum after making changes. If you don't, you'll get nasty warnings about
an incorrect IDPROM checksum on boot. A quick and dirty way to compute and
store the checksum in location f is to execute the following at the "ok"
prompt _after_ you have made your changes to locations 0-e.
0 f 0 do i idprom@ xor loop f mkp
Don't change the first byte of the hostid to something that doesn't
correspond to your system type (see table below). Similarly, the first three
bytes of the ethernet address should be (08,00,20). The first byte of the
hostid is often used to determine the architecture when booting from CDROM
on some Sun models. If you don't set the first three bytes of the ethernet
address to 08,00,20 you might get message which says that you have a
defective motherboard (but then I don't know of any other consequences of
changing this to some reasonable value, especially avoid ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
!. On some systems you can get away with changing the first three bytes of
the hostid to more or less anything you want).
If you'd rather not use the table below, you can find out what you should
make the first byte of the hostid by typing real-machine-type . at the "ok"
prompt. Note that real-machine-type may not be defined on some machines with
older boot proms.
e.g. modify the hostid of an IPX to be 57c0ffee and the ethernet address to
be 08:00:20:c0:ff:ee. At the OpenBoot monitor prompt (ok)
1 0 mkp
real-machine-type 1 mkp
8 2 mkp
0 3 mkp
20 4 mkp
c0 5 mkp
ff 6 mkp
ee 7 mkp
0 8 mkp
0 9 mkp
0 a mkp
0 b mkp
c0 c mkp
ff d mkp
ee e mkp
0 f 0 do i idprom@ xor loop f mkp
Step 3.
If you are on an SS1000, type update-system-idprom at the OpenBoot PROM "ok"
prompt.
For any of the above machines, now type reset at the ok prompt. Your machine
should then attempt to reboot with your new hostid/enet addr.
The following table matches Sun system models with the first
byte of the hostid. This is from a posting to
comp.sys.sun.admin by Andy.Behrens@coat.com
01 2/1x0
02 2/50
11 3/160
12 3/50
13 3/2x0
14 3/110
17 3/60
18 3/e
21 4/2x0
22 4/1x0
23 4/3x0
24 4/4x0
31 386i
41 3/4x0
42 3/80
51 SPARCstation 1 (4/60)
52 SPARCstation IPC (4/40)
53 SPARCstation 1+ (4/65)
54 SPARCstation SLC (4/20)
55 SPARCstation 2 (4/75)
56 SPARCstation ELC
57 SPARCstation IPX (4/50)
61 4/e
71 4/6x0
72 SPARCstation 10 or SPARCstation 20
80 SPARCstation Classic, LX, 4, 5, SS1000, Voyager, Ultra 1
A Quick-and-Dirty Guide to Restoring the NVRAM of a sun4c/m/u machine
This is for folks who need to replace their NVRAM chip in a sun4c/m/u
machine and don't want to bother with XOR calculations or the details above
with mkp. I am assuming that you have a brand new NVRAM chip in hand. All
numbers below are in hex.
First, decide what ethernet address you want to use and what you want for
the last three byte of the hostid. The ethernet address should begin with
08:00:20. There are no restrictions on the last three bytes of the hostid.
Say the ethernet address is 08:00:20:E3:E4:E5 and the last three bytes of
the hostid are H1, H2, H3. The first byte of the hostid will automatically
be set according to the system type (real-machine-type variable in the
OpenBoot monitor).
Turn off the machine. Remove the old NVRAM chip after noting the
orientation. Insert the new NVRAM chip. Be sure to insert it in the correct
orientation, as installing it in the wrong orientation and powering on the
machine will generally destroy the chip. Power up the machine and bring it
to the "ok" prompt. At the "ok" prompt execute the following
set-defaults
setenv diag-switch? false
8 0 20 E3 E4 E5 H1H2H3 mkpl
mkpl expects some input (but it doesn't prompt you). The input is a
Control-D followed by a Control-R. If mkpl does not print a copyright
notice, then it changed the IDPROM. You should make sure by looking at the
idprom after using mkpl by executing the .idpromcommand
e.g. 8 0 20 13 de ad c0ffee mkpl will set the last three bytes of the hostid
to c0ffee and the ethernet address to 08:00:20:13:de:ad.
N.B. mkpl will only work if the IDPROM checksum is invalid. Otherwise it
will simply print a copyright notice after you type the Control-R. So, if
you can't get mkpl to work, you can try making the IDPROM checksum invalid.
You can invalidate the IDPROM checksum in an NVRAM with a valid IDPROM
checksum by executing f idprom@ 1 xor f mkp. If you still can't get mkpl to
work, then you should try using mkp as described in the above section. This
note was added bec fedfa7da-7df 6 byte ethernet address (first three bytes must be
08,00,20)
fedfa7e0-7e3 date of manufacture (all 0s is fine)
fedfa7e4 second byte of hostid
fedfa7e5 third byte of hostid
fedfa7e6 fourth byte of hostid
fedfa7e7 checksum - bitwise xor of bytes at fedfa7d8-fedfa7e6
6. Reset the computer by executing the command k 2. It should come back up
with the desired hostid and ethernet address.
7. If you are installing a new M48T02 chip, you'll also need to initialise
the other values in NVRAM, e.g. boot device, memory, etc. Unlike the
sun4c machines, the Sun 3/80 does not set these parameters to sane
defaults when it detects a new M48T02. To modify the rest of NVRAM you
can use the q command in the monitor. See the table below.
When Sun OS 4.1.x boots, it will kick-start the clock. The first time it
boots it will complain that the TOD is not initialized. It shouldn't
complain the second time the machine boots. However, if you are using Sun OS
4.1 a bug that was fixed in 4.1.1 will prevent the OS from being able to use
the NVRAM clock. One can fix this. change the line in
/usr/include/sun3x/devaddr.h and /usr/kvm/sys/sun3x/devaddr.h from
#define V_CLK1ADDR 0xFEDFC7F8
to
#define V_CLK1ADDR 0xFEDFA7F8
and then patching the kernel by searching for 0xFEDFC7F8 in the kernel and
changing it to be 0xFEDFA7F8. Thanks to simonallen@cix.compulink.co.uk for
this information.
The following table of memory locations in NVRAM for the Sun 3 series
machines is from the Sun Hardware Reference by James W. Birdsall
Sun Hardware Reference to restore a 3/80 to working order. I've omitted a
few rows that have nothing to do with the 3/80 (mostly 386i stuff)
0x14 Installed memory in MB.
0x15 Tested memory in MB
0x16 Monitor screen 0x00 1152x900 (standard resolution)
size
0x12 1024 x 1024
0x13 1600 x 1280
0x14 1440 x 1440
0x15 1024 x 768
0x17 Watchdog reset 0x00 invoke ROM monitor
action
0x12 initate power-on reset (default)
0x18 Boot device 0x00 poll (default)
0x12 boot from EEPROM/NVRAM specified
boot device
0x19-0x1a SunOS boot 0x78 xy
device name (in 0x79
ASCII)
0x78 xd
0x64
0x73 sd
0x64
0x69 ie
0x65
0x69 id
0x64
0x6c le
0x65
0x1b-0x1d SunOS boot 0x00 (0,0,0) (default)
device 0x00
controller, 0x00
unit, partition
numbers
0x1f Primary terminal 0x00 monochrome FB
0x10 serial port A
0x11 serial port B
0x12 0x12 VMEbus and 3/60-P4 color
frame buffers (configure locations
0x60c-0x613 when VX and MVX
graphics options are installed)
0x20 non-3/60 P4 color frame buffer
0x20 Power-up banner 0x00 Sun logo display
0x12 custom banner stored in 0x68-0xb7
0x21 Keyboard click 0x00 off
0x12 on
0x22-23 Diagnostic boot Used when NORM/DIAG switch is in DIAG
device name (in position. On the 3/80 there isn't a switch,
ASCII) NORM/DIAG mode is controlled by location
0x70b. As in 0x1b-0x1d or 0x00, 0x00 to
invoke the PROM monitor
0x24-0x26 Diagnostic boot device controller, unit, partition number
0x28-0x4f Diagnostic boot Used when in DIAG mode. ASCII codes for
path path and filename to boot, or all zeros to
invoke ROM monitor
0x50 High resolution number of columns
0x51 High resolution number of rows
0x58 Serial port A 0x00 9600
default baud
rate 0x12 use rate stored at 0x59-0x5a
0x59-0x5a Serial port A The baud rate as a 16-bit number, MSB first
baud rate (e.g. 0x04 0xb0 for 1200)
0x5b Serial port A 0x00 assert DTR and RTS
DTR/RTS
0x12 do not assert DTR and RTS
0x60 Serial port B 0x00 9600
default baud
rate 0x12 use rate stored at 0x61-0x62. Note
that when in DIAG mode, port B
runs at 1200 baud and the settings
in 0x60-0x62 are ignored
0x61-0x62 Serial port B The baud rate as a 16-bit number, MSB first
baud rate (e.g. 0x04 b0 for 1200)
0x63 Serial port B 0x00 assert DTR and RTS
DTR/RTS
0x12 do not assert DTR and RTS
0x68-0xb7 Custom banner ASCII codes for desired banner, padded with
spaces and ending with 0x0D, 0x0A in
locations 0xB6 and 0xB7
0x18f Logo type 0x00 normal Sun logo
0x06 3D logo for CG6
0x12 custom logo
0x492 Password mode 0x01 command secure mode
select
0x5e fully secure mode
other non-secure mode
0x493-a Password Eight bytes of password in ASCII. If the
ROM is 2.8, enter a '@' character before
each letter of the password. Enter one
letter per location, followed by Return. If
the password is less than eight letters,
enter 0x00 in the remaining locations. The
hexadecimal values of the letters can also
be used to enter the password.
0x70b 3/80 power-on 0x06 normal boot
mode
0x12 diagnostic boot
other diagnostic boot
Examples
N.B. As I said above, you should be careful that the first byte of the
hostid matches the system type.
1. Modify the hostid of an IPX to be 57c0ffee and the ethernet address to
be 08:00:20:c0:ff:ee. At the OpenBoot PROM monitor prompt
01 0 mkp
57 1 mkp
08 2 mkp
0 3 mkp
20 4 mkp
c0 5 mkp
ff 6 mkp
ee 7 mkp
57 8 mkp
0 9 mkp
0 a mkp
0 b mkp
c0 c mkp
ff d mkp
ee e mkp
29 f mkp
Notice the simplification in the above example. If you make the
ethernet address 08:00:20:H1:H2:H3 and the four bytes of the hostid
ST,H1,H2,H3 where ST is the system type byte, and you put ST,0,0,0 in
the date of manufacture field, then the IDPROM checksum will always be
29 (remember all of these numbers are hexadecimal). This make things a
bit easier, you can, in general, just enter
01 0 mkp
real-machine-type 1 mkp
08 2 mkp
0 3 mkp
20 4 mkp
H1 5 mkp
H2 6 mkp
H3 7 mkp
real-machine-type 8 mkp
0 9 mkp
OK set-defaults
> OK set-defaults
> then power-cycle
>
> SS2 — you need to boot from a good NVRAM, then hot-swap the "bad" one
> and "set-defaults". Only if the L1-N (or is it L1-D) thingy
> doesn't work for you.
Attaching a new battery onto an existing M48T02
My take on this procedure is that it isn't worth trying to save the US$20 it
would take to buy a new M48T02. This procedure requires considerable care.
I'm including this excerpt from the old NVRAM FAQ for completeness.
The contents of the (nv)ram are backed up by a 3V lithium battery. It's
located together with a quartz on top of the ram in a kind of backpack. The
battery is on the side that's opposed to the dot marking pin 1, next to pin
12:
_oscillator
/
/ _battery
/ /
-------
| O O | <-- cut here
-------
/
Pin 1
At the point marked above, some kind of nose is reaching down from the
backpack over the resin. Carefully cut through the polyester resin filling
the dimple. This works best with some kind of mini drill with a small
milling head or a razor knife. Buried in the resin you'll find two small
diagonal metal connectors :).
Be careful not to short-circuit them, or you'll loose the contents of your
nvram (if it was still able to keep them). -That's why you should save them
*before* :)
The connector closest to pin 12 is ground, the other (opposing) one +3V. You
can now solder some wire to them and connect them to a new 3V lithium
battery.
How to start and stop the NVRAM clock on the Sun 3/80 and sun4c machines
The following information on starting and stopping the clock in the NVRAM
chip on the Sun 3/80 was contributed by simonallen@cix.compulink.co.uk. I've
added the tables and the sun4c information below. As it says below, you
don't normally need to do this. Sun OS will take care of starting the clock
on a new NVRAM chip for you.
Procedure to 'kick start' a new MK48T02 NVRAM clock chip on Sun 3/80
WARNING : This procedure is intended to be used on new, blank NVRAM chips only.
If you are using it on an existing NVRAM (for some unknown reason) you should
follow the procedures described in 'Backing up your NVRAM'.
This procedure shouldn't normally be necessary as SunOS provides this
functionality as part of the normal clock initialisation. However, it may
prove useful in unforeseen circumstances.
The step numbers correspond to the step numbers in the SGS-Thomson
data sheet procedure for 'kick starting' the clock.
The data sheet warns NOT to leave the kick start bit set to 1 for normal use
as this will cause excessive current drain and shorten the life of the battery.
It does not mention if this is dangerous or by how much the life of the battery
is shortened...:-(
The kick start bit is the MSB in location 7FB
(The old NVRAM contents will be displayed by the monitor in the place
marked XX in the steps below.)
First halt the machine and get to the monitor prompt.
> q 7f8
EEPROM 7F8: XX? 80 Step 1. Set write bit (enable write)
EEPROM 7F9: XX? 0 Step 2. Reset stop bit (not stopped)
EEPROM 7FA: XX? (Press Enter)
EEPROM 7FB: XX? 80 Step 3. Set kick start
EEPROM 7FC: XX? q
> q 7f8
EEPROM 7F8: XX? 0 Step 4. Reset write (disable write)
EEPROM 7F9: XX? q
Step 5. Wait for 2 seconds.
> q 7f8
EEPROM 7F8: XX? 80 Step 6. Set write bit
EEPROM 7F9: XX? q
EEPROM 7FA: XX? (Press Enter)
EEPROM 7FB: XX? 0 Step 7. Reset kick start
EEPROM 7FC: XX? q
> q 7f9
EEPROM 7F9: XX? 0 Step 8. Set a dummy time & date...
EEPROM 7FA: XX? 0
EEPROM 7FB: XX? 0
EEPROM 7FC: XX? 4
EEPROM 7FD: XX? 11
EEPROM 7FE: XX? 1
EEPROM 7FF: XX? 96
> q 7f8
EEPROM 7F8: XX? 0 Step 9. Reset write bit
EEPROM 7F9: XX? q
And that's it.
Double check that the Kick Start bit is set to zero by doing the following :
> q 7fb
EEPROM 7FB: XX? q
XX should be a value less than 80 Hex. If it isn't repeat the procedure
again.
The related and opposite function to this is Stopping the Clock in the NVRAM.
When the clock is stopped, the storage life of the battery is extended because
the oscillator is not running. This might be useful if you intend to put the
machine into storage or not use it for a while.
Again, halt the machine and get to the monitor prompt.
> q 7f8
EEPROM 7F8: XX? 80 Set write bit
EEPROM 7F9: XX? 80 Set stop bit
EEPROM 7FA: XX? q
> q 7f8
EEPROM 7F8: XX? 0 Reset write bit
EEPROM 7F9: XX? q
Simon Allen simonallen@cix.compulink.co.uk 1996.
As Simon Allen mentions, the kick-start procedure is not normally necessary
as Sun OS automatically starts the lock in an NVRAM with a stopped clock.
However, if you are putting a machine into long term storage, it is nice to
be able to stop the clock as doing this will significantly lower current
drain on the battery. The following information from the M48T02 data sheet
gives information on the clock.
The M48T02 Register Map
Data
Address Function
Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0
7ff - - - - - - - - Year 00-99
7fe 0 0 0 - - - - - Month 01-12
7fd 0 0 - - - - - - Date 01-31
7fc 0 FT 0 0 0 - - - Day 01-07
7fb KS 0 - - - - - - Hours 00-23
7fa 0 - - - - - - - Minutes 00-59
7f9 ST - - - - - - - Seconds 00-59
7f8 W R S - - - - - Control
* ST is STOP BIT
* W is WRITE BIT
* R is READ BIT
* S is SIGN BIT
* FT is FREQ TEST BIT
* KS is KICK START BIT
Instructions for starting the clock
1. Set the Write Bit to 1
2. Reset the Stop Bit to 0
3. Set the Kick Start Bit to 1
4. Reset the Write Bit to 0
5. Wait two seconds
6. Set the Write Bit to 1
7. Reset the Kick Start Bit to 0
8. Set the Correct Time and Date
9. Reset the Write Bit to 0
N.B. Leaving the KS bit set will cause the Clock to draw excessive current
and will shorten the battery life.
Instructions for stopping the clock
1. Set the Write Bit to 1
2. Set the Stop Bit to 1
3. Reset the Write Bit to 0
Given the above tables, Simon Allen's instructions for the 3/80, and the
next section on which tells how to map the NVRAM to virtual memory on sun4c
machines, it is a relatively easy matter to see how to stop and start the
clock on a sun4c machine.
Stopping the clock on a sun4c machine
2000000 obio 0 map-page map NVRAM to page 0
80 7f8 c! set write bit
80 7f9 c! set stop bit
0 7f8 c! reset write bit
Starting the clock on a sun4c machine
2000000 obio 0 map-page map NVRAM to page 0
80 7f8 c! set write bit
0 7f9 c! reset stop bit
80 7fb c! set kick start
0 7f8 c! reset write bit
wait for two seconds
80 7f8 c! set write bit
0 7fb c! reset kick start
0 7f9 c! set dummy time and date
0 7fa c! (if necessary)
0 7fb c!
4 7fc c!
11 7fd c!
1 7fe c!
96 7ff c!
0 7f8 c! reset write bit
Other more arcane methods for modifying the IDPROM
mkp and mkpl are not the only way to modify the IDPROM. Before I discovered
these commands, I used to use procedures like the ones below. The material
in this section assumes that you have access to the OpenBoot PROM manual
which is part of the Solaris 2.x Answerbook.
You can use the OpenBoot monitor to find the virtual address of the NVRAM.
The basic steps are:
1. cd to the eeprom device (you can find its exact name via show-devs)
2. execute .attributes or .properties depending upon whether you have V2
or V3 of the OpenBoot PROM.
3. execute device-end followed by reset
For example
ok show-devs
...
/obio/eeprom@0,200000
...
ok cd /obio/eeprom@0,200000
ok .attributes
address: ffee9000
...
ok device-end
ok reset
>From this point, you can modify and look at the NVRAM by using the c!,
dump,and c? commands in the OpenBoot PROM. You can also get the virtual
address of the NVRAM by looking at the output of /usr/etc/devinfo -vp under
Sun OS 4.1.x or /usr/sbin/prtconf -vp under Solaris 2.x. On sun4c machines,
the IDPROM starts at offset 0x7d8 from the start of the NVRAM. On sun4m,
sun4d, and sun4u machines the offset is 0x1fd8.
>From here one can also find the physical address of the NVRAM using pgmap?.
In the above example, if we type ffee9000 pgmap? at the OpenBoot prompt, we
get a few lines of output, one of which is
Physical: 0.7120.0000
which means on this machine the physical address is 71200000 in address
space 0.
You can also use map-page to map the physical address of the page containing
the IDPROM to virtual address 0. To do this you need to know the physical
address of the NVRAM. You can find it as above or just use the following
table:
machine type address space arch -k
SS1, SS1+, SS2, ELC, IPC, IPX, SLC 02000000 obio sun4c
Classic, LX, SS5, SS4, Voyager 71200000 0 sun4m
SS10, SS20, 6x0/MP f1200000 f sun4m
SS1000 00280000 f sun4d
For the sun4m and sun4d machines, the page size is 4kB (0x1000) so the
simplest thing to do is map the second page of the NVRAM. This is because
we're using map-page and it only maps one page at a time.
e.g. Modify the hostid of an IPX to be 57c0ffee and the ethernet address to
be 8:0:20:c0:ff:ee
02000000 obio 0 map-page
1 7d8 c!
57 7d9 c!
08 7da c!
0 7db c!
20 7dc c!
c0 7dd c!
ff 7de c!
ee 7df c!
57 7e0 c!
0 7e1 c!
0 7e2 c!
0 7e3 c!
c0 7e4 c!
ff 7e5 c!
ee 7e6 c!
29 7e7 c!
e.g. to modify the hostid of an SS10 to be 72c0ffee and the ethernet address
to be 08:00:20:c0:ff:ee, do the following
f1201000 f 0 map-page
01 fd8 c!
72 fd9 c!
08 fda c!
0 fdb c!
20 fdc c!
c0 fdd c!
ff fde c!
ee fdf c!
72 fe0 c!
0 fe1 c!
0 fe2 c!
0 fe3 c!
c0 fe4 c!
ff fe5 c!
ee fe6 c!
29 fe7 c!
Note that we added 0x1000 to the physical address in the above table, as
explained above.
The hostid on Solaris 2.5 x86
Intel processor machines don't have an IDPROM. Sun uses a different
mechanism to generate the hostid. When the operating system is initially
installed a pseudo-random hostid is generated. It appears that this
pseudo-randomly generated hostid will always be between 1 and 3b9aca00. The
hostid is based on eight bytes of serialisation information in the kernel
module /kernel/misc/sysinit. This is in contrast to the situation on SPARC
machines where the hostid is based on the IDPROM.
/kernel/misc/sysinit contains code which initialises the variable hw_serial
in the kernel based on the serialisation information. On both SPARC and x86
versions of Solaris 2.5, hw_serial stores the hostid as a decimal C string.
Other than the eight bytes of serialisation information the
/kernel/misc/sysinit files do not differ between machines. Four of the
serialisation bytes depend upon the other four bytes, so the hostid is
somewhat tamper resistant. If the serialisation information is tampered with
carelessly or the sysinit module fails to load for some other reason, the
hostid of the machine will be 0. A little more obfuscation is done in the
code, i.e. hw_serial is not referenced directly in the module, but
indirectly via the pointer _hs1107.
This means that if you need to have two machines with the same hostid for
some reason (say, to have a backup server with the same hostid in case your
primary server malfunctions), you can just copy the /kernel/misc/sysinit
file from one machine to another.
Moreover, it seems that initialising hw_serial is the only function
performed by the sysinit module. Hence, it is a simple matter to replace
/kernel/misc/sysinit yielding a machine with whatever hostid one wants, by
compiling a simple C program for a loadable kernel module which sets
hw_serial to the desired value.
C code for a generic replacement sysinit module is included in change sun
hostid which is available from the sites listed near the beginning of this
document. Replacing part of the operating system is probably not the best
way to achieve this effect. In general, I'd recommend using one of the other
modules in change sun hostid as there is less risk of damaging things and
rendering the system unbootable, but a few people have asked for this.
The NVRAM in sun4 architecture machines
The sun4 machines (e.g. Sun 4/1xx, 4/2xx, 4/3xx, etc.) also have M48T02
chips. These chips do not store the hostid and ethernet address, which are
in an actual PROM, but they do keep track of the time of day and the system
configuration information. Replacing the NVRAM chip is a relatively simple
matter, the only trick is to set the appropriate values in the Sun PROM
monitor using the q command then boot the operating system to kick-start the
clock. You can use the table for the Sun 3/80 to set the values in the old
Sun PROM monitor. The only significant difference is that normal/diagnostic
boot is controlled by a physical switch instead of the byte at location
0x70b. See the Sun Hardware Reference (referred to above), your machine
documentation, or the Sun FE Handbook if you need more information on the
Sun PROM monitor.
Credits
I'd like to thank the following people who have helped make this a better
document. If I've left anyone off this list who should be on it please drop
me a note and I'll add the name to the list.
* Kevin Murty for the use of an SS1000 for testing
* simonallen@cix.compulink.co.uk for the kick-start information,
information on the Sun OS 4.1 clock bug on the 3/80, a U.K. source of
NVRAM chips.
* Michael Firth
chips.
* dowdy@cs.colorado.edu (Stephen Dowdy)
* drzob@vectrex.login.qc.ca (Denis Solaro)
* coughlin@cfa0.harvard.edu (Michael Coughlin) for numerous suggestions
and bits of information.
* sameer@c2.org
* Kenji Oshima
source for replacement NVRAM chips in Japan.
* eberin@xsvr1.cup.hp.com (Eddie Berin)
* Marek Jedryszek
* Andy Michael
* Bernd Wagner
* Lonnie Borntreger <67goat@exchange.wcc.att.com>
* Jay York
* James Lin
Mark Henderson — markh@wimsey.bc.ca, henderso@netcom.com, mch@squirrel.com
ViaCrypt PGP Key Fingerprint: 21 F6 AF 2B 6A 8A 0B E1 A1 2A 2A 06 4A D5 92 46
http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/ - change-sun-hostid, unstrip for Solaris,
computer security, TECO, FGMP, Sun NVRAM/hostid FAQ, Wimsey crypto archive
