🚀 go-pugleaf

Someone asked about eliminating the hardware password.  One
proposal put forward was to reverse the battery for a few
seconds.  This elicited the following response:

> DO NOT DO REVERSE THE BATTERY!!!!  Name me one NeXT document
> that states this should be done.

This response prompted someone else to write:

> Would you care to expand on your comment?  Name me one NeXT document
> that states this should NOT be done?  8^)

I ask the following: just because the documentation DOESN'T say
you shouldn't dump a quart of water into your computer's air
vents, would you think it a reasonable thing to do?  Just because
we didn't write that you shouldn't plug your computer into a 1000
volt power supply, does that mean you should do it?  Just because
we don't explicit remind you not to rm -rf /, does that mean it's
okay to recommend that as a means of fixing an out-of-space
problem?

It's just not possible for us to list all the things that one
should not do.

I'd recommend pretty strongly against inserting the battery
backwards.  One ought to observe current polarity in a sensitive
electronic device.  (Now, it might well NOT damage your computer.
But, just because you CAN extinguish a match in a bucket of
gasoline, and just because you succeeded once in doing it, doesn't
mean it won't explode the next time.)

So, if you need to eliminate the hardware password, remove the
battery and wait until the capacitors discharge (which might take
a couple of hours).  Realize this will also clear out any other
parameters stored in the NVRAM, such as the boot command.
--
Alan M. Marcum
NeXT Tech Support
amm@NeXT.COM

Private P.S. to P.C.: thanks.