[olug] Damn Small Linux install on WYSE thin client

Tue May 20 04:29:54 UTC 2008

before i read through the wealth of info you've sent me (holy crap, that's
some good stuff)...i'll fill you in on the current state.

#1 - will not finish booting NT anymore. it just resets after trying. i
think i filled up the "CF" card running some mysterious "*extract*.exe"
program. i knew it was a bad idea, but i did it anyhow. after resetting, it
does not boot NT. PXE seems to be the only hope for this one.

#2 - i hacked the crap out of M$NT on this one.... up and running with
"extended" user privileges...

#3 - stepped in to fill #1's shoes. up and running NT with user privileges.

#4 - has no CF card, and will not power on (might just be broken..). i will
replace with another unit tomorrow.

i used the default username/password i found in the "quick-guide" for the
model of winterm i have. the administrator password was not set to default
on the equipment i have, so user access is all i can get for now.

i started off on #1 by typing c:\ in the address bar of IE (the only thing
on the user desktop). it took me to C:\(root), and i was able to create a
text file (FU.bat.txt).
i hit enter on the txt file, which opened a notepad.
i typed "cmd", then saved the file as "FU.bat".
upon executing FU.bat, i got the NT CLI.
the first thing i typed was "explorer", which brought back the taskbar and
start menu. after that came "dir /s c:\*.exe". using this search, the only
usefull things i immediately found were explorer and regedit.
regedit is acting all weird - letting me change some keys (c:\ as IE
homepage), but not the ones i need to change (restoring the control panel,
forcing DHCP to adapters, etc). after tinkering with other executables, i
seem to have killed the NT installation on this machine, effectively
bricking the device (for now).

as far as NT hack options, there's not a whole lot more i can do without
admin privileges. (this is a linux forum anyway, right?).

now, i think my best option is PXE boot, which i know absolutely nothing
about other than a brief overview of how it works. i'm downloading neopxe
(good choice?) to use as a PXE server on a linux platform. my only linux
right now is a liveCD, so i hope i can get the daemon to run correctly. i
know very little about tftp, and that seems to be a key component to PXE, so
that may be a setback also.

the good thing is that i'm getting some good practice time, and i'm about to
learn a lot about something which i know very little about.

i'm going to read over what you sent, then apply what i learn tomorrow.
i've got to get to bed right now, but i want you to know how much i
appreciate your help. i've got too much time invested in this to give up on
it, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

thanks once again!

On 5/19/08, Shannon <ridgid at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> http://www.freewysemonkeys.com
> this might be what your looking for
>
> On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 9:39 PM, Shannon <ridgid at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > will the WYSE boot without the CF card installed. or have you tried
> > annother card..  could it be the cards are blank?
> >
> > here is some interesting info I ran across looking for stuff. looking for
> > things using http://www.archive.org
> >
> > *
> > Winterm FAQs*
> >
> > *The most frequently asked questions in Technical Support:*
> >
> > *Q* *How do I stop the auto logon process?
> > A* AUTO LOGON - STOPPING PROCESS WITH ALT+F4
> >
> > When the auto logon sequence is counting down from 15 to 0, press
> "ALT+F4"
> > to stop auto logon. A window will appear prompting for a username and
> > password. For username type "administrator"; DO NOT type a password and
> > press the [Enter] key to return to the CONNECTIONS windows.
> >
> > If you want to disable auto logon: from the CONNECTIONS window click on
> > SETUP button. In the CONNECTION SETUP window remove the "x" from the box
> > labeled "AutoLogin Enable."
> >
> > *Q* *I got a 1057 error. What can I do to fix this?
> > A *ERROR 1057 - ELIMINATING MESSAGE BY G-KEY RESET
> >
> > This error message usually indicates some problem with the installed
> > firmware that can be corrected by resetting the terminal to its factory
> > default settings. When reset, the terminal will list two connections,
> > "Default" and "Manufacturing Selftest (Network)".
> >
> > Resetting the Winterm terminal:
> >
> > Begin with terminal power off. Press and continue pressing down on the
> > terminal keyboard "G" key and power up the terminal. The Wyse Winterm
> logo
> > screen will appear followed a few seconds later by a "beep" sound.
> Release
> > the "G" key after the beep.
> >
> > If the above steps fail to reset the terminal try the following
> variation:
> > Begin with terminal power off and then power terminal on. When the Wyse
> > Winterm logo screen appears begin pressing and releasing ("tapping") on
> the
> > G key and stop when you hear the beep.
> >
> > If both these methods fail use a different keyboard and try the above
> > methods again.
> >
> > *Q* *Why did my Winterm Terminal hang, and what can be done to correct
> > this?
> > A* IF YOUR TERMINAL HANGS WHEN:
> >
> > 1. Trying to save connection information
> > 2. Clicking on "Options" button
> >
> > or hangs when
> >
> > 3. TERMINAL REPORTS MISSING FILES/DRIVERS WHEN ATTEMPTING TO CONNECT
> >
> >  This usually indicates some problem with the installed firmware that can
> > be corrected by resetting the terminal to its factory default settings.
> >
> > Resetting the Winterm terminal: Begin with terminal power off. Press and
> > continue pressing down on the "G" key and power up the terminal. The Wyse
> > Winterm logo screen will appear followed a few seconds later by a "beep"
> > sound. Release the "G" key after the beep.
> >
> > If the above steps fail to reset the terminal try the following
> variation:
> > Begin with terminal power off and then power terminal on. When the Wyse
> > Winterm logo screen appears begin pressing and releasing ("tapping") on
> the
> > G key and stop when you hear the beep.
> >
> > If both these methods fail use a different keyboard and try the above
> > method again.
> >
> > *Q* *My screen is black instead of making a connection and shows no error
> > messages. How do I correct this?
> > A* WINTERM SCREEN SHOWS BLACK INSTEAD OF MAKING CONNECTION AND GIVES NO
> > ERROR MESSAGES.
> >
> > Cycle the power on the unit: Turn it off then on again. At the
> > "Connections" window, click on the "Setup" button and close the setup
> window
> > to force the unit to write to EPROM. Then attempt connection.
> >
> >
> >
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