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Ibm as/400

L

leaknoil

Experienced Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2008
Messages
425
Location
Central California
I just picked up a as/400 system. I don't have any idea where to begin with it so, I'm asking some preemptive questions before I bother setting it all up.

The people that sold it to me were not only not helpful they were hostile. Seriously, they were real a**es. Came out of a rebar factory. I don't expect making rebar your whole life makes you a better person. These people were really unhappy.

Anyway, so it looks just like this minus the floppy drive

920913.jpg


I didn't get the key and its in the 'secure' position. That going to bite me ? Are they generic keys like many other manufacturer's gear ?

Ok, so here's this big tan box. AFAIK, the only out is a single db25. It also came with a small IBM box called a 5394-01B. It has a 1.44mb floppy drive and an on/off switch. The back has a db25m and three large round 2 pin connectors.

I also got a few infowindow terminals. Three different styles but, most have a db25 and a db20 ? connector. I didn't count the smaller connectors pins. Looks about 20-18 and I'm too lazy to run back down stairs right now.

There are a ton of cables that came with this. None of which make much sense. Most related to the large 2 pin DIN style connector. I even got a couple strange heavy duty molded things that go from db25 to more of the 2pin things. Unless I'm missing it the cpu has none of these 2 pin connectors on it.

There is no chance I will ever get any question answered from these people. Passwords are out of the question if it has them. I am pretty sure they will hurl rebar at me if I try and go back. I don't think they like outsiders in their little rebar kingdom.
 
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two pin? You mean twinax?
Well, for starters you are going to have to dig preeeeeeety deep to find a source for the OS. AS/400 systems are pretty obscure but once you have one setup they might as well be put in a closet and forgotten about as they run forever. The local Canadian Tire still uses one for their inventory database and I bet you it's been there since it opened in the 80's.

Other than that, I really don't know where to start. :/
 
[derail]Rebar is the stuff that they put in concrete forms to reinforce it. It's basically just a ribbed steel rod.[/derail]
How much power does it require?
 
You don't have to worry much about where to start. I'm not 100% sure what your 2-pin DIN connections are but they do sound like Twin-Ax (predecessor to Coax) .. btw.. keep those cables or offer em up, they're a pain to find lol, I have a few systems that use them I just haven't gotten back to the project. Usually it meant they connect to a terminal.

So back to your system, I'm guessing you have a serial connection on the back of the system. You'll want to ensure you're giving it the right power source (hopefully 120V) but other than that, plug it in and see what happens. If you have a terminal or an old computer, connect a serial cable to the back and open the com port at a low speed (or better yet google around for a manual and know what settings to choose) and see what you get presented with.

If it boots and asks for a password, then you can search around for resetting a lost as/400 password, etc but I wouldn't let that hold you back from turning it on and seeing what happens.

The keys/locks on the front are sometimes a power setting (turn system on, off, or debug/setup mode) and sometimes a case lock so you can't open up the case. That's a bit of a pain if it's a case lock although you have physical control over the box so creativity wise you can probably get in to it either way.

I'm not 100% sure but I think the keys are the same. Kinda depends on the functionality on whether or not it's worth playing with the key.
 
Hello all, this is my first post here, so greetings.
I was for about 4 years an AS/400 operator, I am very rusty, but here goes.
You will need at least the password for the profile/user ID of QSECOFR.
The Q is at the beginning of most IBM profiles, but SECOFR means Security Officer, in AS/400 terms, God (or very close).

The Twin ax cable is what is used to connect the displays (dumb terminals) to the box, normally through some kind of network box. But you may as suggested hook up a serial cable and see what happens.

Good luck!

Sparx
 
Leaknoil,

If you search the forums back a few years you'll find some fairly long posts about the AS/400. We get them occasionally here.

Yours is an older 'white box' model which was made from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. There are some fairly decent administration books out there, and there is a Usenet newsgroup devoted to the AS/400. The AS/400 is the follow-on to the IBM System 38, and is not known as 'System i'.

From 1992 to 2001 I was an operating system developer on the AS/400. My code is probably not on that box because I worked on the next generation, but I have great memories of those boxes. They have a well deserved reputation of being 'bullet proof' servers, although unlike any other server out there.
 
I have installed LOTS of these and hopefully I can help. You will need several things:

#1: a twinax cable
#2: a 5250 compatable twinax terminal
#3: it is very probable that you will need the OS/400 installation tapes


For the very most part, the AS/400 does not support standard serial terminals. There was a workstation controller that supported them, but it was very rare and 99% of the 400's did not have them. If you check e-bay you should be able to find one (a terminal) no problem.
Make sure any terminal you buy comes with the twinax "T" connector it should have 2 connections on it (an "in" and an "out"). You will need a cable to connect the terminal to the AS/400. Set the terminal to address "0" (in the terminal setup, or if it is really old, on DIP switches) and connect the cable to twinax port "0" on the 400. This should be the port for the system "Console". If the terminal does not "Auto terminate" the cable you will need to set the termination switch on the "T" connector.

You will need to find some way to get the key switch set to "Manual". If it were me, I would dissassemble the switch and remove the lock from it, then you can just turn it to whatever mode you want.

Once the unit is in "manual" mode, use the front panel switches to select mode "02" then select "B". This will boot from IPL (initial program load, or boot) source "B" and in manual mode. This should bring you up to the DST. "Dedicated Service Tools". The default password is all two's (22222222222), most 400s of that era have the defaults in there. Once you are in DST (depending on the version of the Operating System), you may be able to reset the QSECOFR password. If you can, you are set, if not, well -- it's OS loadin' time.

(BTW the default password for QSECOFR was QSECOFR, but most everyone changes that).

If you have to load the OS, you will need to know the model number in order to get the OS tapes. the model number is on a little plate above the master power switch, and below the control panel. It will have the model (like E-05) and a serial number like (10-17094)

All of the manuals and OS load instructions are available for download on IBM's web site. (used to be AS400BKS.rochester.ibm.com) Operating system load instructions are in there. AFIK, there are no versions of the OS that are public domain, and it will need to be less than V4R0M0 (IIRC), otherwise you will need license keys from IBM (very expensive). I think you need to stick with a V2 os, as this is a "white box" as/400.

Hopefully this helps!!

Dan Werner
 
It's interesting to read this. Having had nothing to do with server hardware ever, I realise there is a whole other (rather complex) world of 1980s-90s vintage computing out there.

Sounds like server hardware admin/maintenace was a fairly specialist and complex business. Good luck with getting it going.

Tez
 
tezza said:
Nice looking machine!

Incidently, what is "rebar"?

Tez
Click to expand...

Rebar (reinforcing steel) used in conc ftgs (concrete footings), SOG (slab on grade), and CMU (concrete masonry unit) walls.

It's a North American thing Tez - everything seems to get shortened to a few letters - makes it easier to remember the spelling, which even then, doesn't work quite as planned.

You get used to it after a while though - it's like that texting stuff. TTFN.
 
Thanks for all the good advice. I haven't really had time to set it up yet but, I'm going to try tonight.

The Model appears to be a 9402 C04. Does that make any sense ?

The only documentation I got with it was a set of manuals for the AS/400 Construction Management and Accounting System II (CMASII). That and a 1/4" tape labeled IBM Test Tape.

For terminals I got 5 IBM Infowindow terminals with keyboards. There are a couple different types but, they either have a DB25 and DB15 or just a single DB15. They are models 3477 or 3476. They all have keys in them. What ever that key does.

The back of the AS/400 has the Twinax connectors labeled 0 and 1. Then above those in some sort of plug in module is a db25 male connector. The plug in module says 6152 on it and nothing else.

So, I'm guessing I'll need something that goes from the Twinax to the db15 connector correct ? I found one dongle that has a db15 connector on one end and a pair of the Twinaxe things on the other end.
 
NeXT said:
[derail]Rebar is the stuff that they put in concrete forms to reinforce it. It's basically just a ribbed steel rod.[/derail]
How much power does it require?
Click to expand...

Haven't actually got around to plugging it in yet. Its a big box but, not as heavy as you would think looking at it. Gives me hope the power supply isn't too bad.
 
OK so, I dragged it upstairs. I tired plugging it in and just get the 0000aadd status message which google tells me is because it cant start if its in the secure position.

I decided to take the thing apart and its not a lot of fun. What a beast. After all that unscrewing there is almost nothing inside. They just threw blocks of that crappy foam that always turns to mush after 20 years inside. So in this big giant box you have 3 half height scsi drives and a mother board thats about 12" x 10" . Thats it. Its all empty space. Well except for chunks of foam I have to clean out and toss. The whole guts of the thing could easily fit in a small pc case. Except the giant power supply.

Its was humming along after pressing the power button and only drawing 46 watts. This might be a fun box to leave running 24/7 if it stays that low. It will go up after it spins up the drives but, its still going to be pretty low.

The rebar people actually got back to me and said they may have found the key. Seriously doubt it but, now I have to wait on bypassing the keyswitch unless I want to solder it all back again. They are going to mail it to me. It is more likely the key to a file cabinet somewhere but, well see.
 
Man up and go over there to get the key. >_>
You make them sound like they eat babies for dinner and beat their wench wives. :p
 
Well that's cool enough that they actually got back to you with it. Most of those system keys like you probably already found, can be shorted to bypass them. We had a similar issue with an old IBM a friend found (he disassembled it before I got there).. really odd unit though, had a black box full of car style fuses inside of it and that lock. We shorted/jumpered it ourselves to get it to boot but again, it was his.. he wasn't a collector so after a little error more than trial he gutted it.
 
sparx said:
And while you are there, ask them for the passwords.
Click to expand...

I asked for the passwords. That's when things got a little uncomfortable. All of a sudden they started giving me the third degree. Demanded to Xerox my drivers license or they wouldn't give it to me. People started being contacted. Bosses started getting involved from mysterious trailers...
 
That's because you didn't bother to mention that without the password, not only is the OS useless but the entire system.
 
Eh, breaking into the OS is half the fun. For future use, if they have it connected you could politely hint if they could reset the password on the system but usually a company would rather wipe it out or take out the drive. That makes it more difficult if you don't have the installation media. Sometimes it's better to error in caution and get a more complete system before they realize 'hey he's walking out with company data and credentials'.
 
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