On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 11:37 PM, Volker Kuhlmann <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sun 15 May 2011 19:11:47 NZST +1200, Col wrote: > >> >> The adapter kit is US$39. It's hardly expensive. >> > >> > Plus $38.05US shipping via fedex > > Yeah that kills it. How *&@#*$ annoying. They won't ship it USPS?
Reporting back with success! to recap, I have a globalscale guruserver plus for which I could not remember the root password, making it rather difficult to make some software mods and updates. The usual way into this machine in such circumstances is via a proprietary 'jtag' box http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/p-28-guruplug-jtag.aspx which provides a usb serial interface. The jtag box plugs into the server via two plugs, one 4 pin and the other 8. The jtag box was a little expensive, $US39, which I would have worn, but the same again for shipping? No thanks). However my investigations on the net, coupled with help from this list, revealed that the 4 pin port on the server is in fact just a 3.3v serial port, 4 pins for GND, Tx, Rx and 3.3v. see http://www.plugcomputer.org/plugwiki/index.php/GuruPlug#Serial Also I found a page on how to turn an el cheapo nokia usb phone cable into a serial cable http://buffalo.nas-central.org/index.php/Use_a_Nokia_Serial_Cable_on_an_ARM9_Linkstation (well it is a usb to serial cable, but that page goes through a lot of useful stuff on pinouts etc). Also someone on the chch robotics list put me onto a NZ site that shipped the tiny little connectors to attach to the server. (These people are crazy, they ship overnight freight free, my order was only $1.64, they must have spent $10 to courier it!). So with a little help from my friends and a bit of duct tape and swearing, I got a serial console and managed to set the init script to /bin/bash. Thereafter I ran passwd and set the root password, rebooted and Bob's your uncle. I have to say my cabling is a bit hit and miss, fiddly little wires and all, I'll find my soldering iron and some shrink wrap one day and do a better job. Thanks for all the pointers everyone :) _______________________________________________ Linux-users mailing list [email protected] http://lists.canterbury.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/linux-users
