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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!peora!pesnta!phri!roy
From: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: ATT 3b2 firmware password
Message-ID: <2445@phri.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Sep-86 21:20:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: phri.2445
Posted: Mon Sep 29 21:20:44 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 1-Oct-86 01:29:57 EDT
References: <305@pinney.munsell.UUCP> <256@mrstve.UUCP>
Reply-To: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Organization: Public Health Research Inst. (NY, NY)
Lines: 25
Summary: software power-down sucks

> In <305@pinney.munsell.UUCP> pac@munsell.UUCP (Paul Czarnecki) complains:
> I reached around and powered the beast off.  On my screen flashes the
> words, "System shutdown in 5 minutes."

In article <256@mrstve.UUCP> rjk@mrstve.UUCP (Richard Kuhns) replies:
> If you "reached around to power the beast off", [...]  you simply started
> `powerdown' running with all its defaults [...] to power the machine down
> as fast as possible, log in as `powerdown', or try `shutdown -y -g0 -i0'.

	I've never used a 3b2, so I'm taking Richard's word for it that the
only way to power-down the machine is via a software command.  I'm sorry,
but if this is really true, then that machine has some serious brain-damage
to it.  Hell, my Vax has software shutdown, but when the system die{ it's
nice to know I can still hit that reset button or turn the key-switch to
"off".  Comes in handy when smoke starts to curl out of the disk drive too.

	On the other side of the coin, I wouldn't want some software bug to
be able to power-down my system by mistake -- I know my disk drives are
designed for that, but I still sleep better if I spin then down before
turning off the power.  Unix may still need a lot of improvements, but
/dev/powerswitch isn't one of them.
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016