In message <E17FXxt-0006jz-00@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
          Ben Harris <bjh21@netbsd.org> wrote:

> In article <ee6168414b.peter@riscpc01.reading.fourcom.com> you write:
> >Help, I have just installed and booted 1.6 beta (first time BSD
> >install), but I can't log in.
> >
> >From install.txt:
> >
> >::  2.   Logging in
> >::
> >::       After reboot, you can log in as root at the login prompt. Unless
> >::       you've set a password in sysinst, there is no initial password.
> >
> >This appears not to be true - I have no recollection of setting a
> >password in sysinst, but any attempt to login to root with a blank
> >password is greeted with 'Login incorrect'
> 
> Very odd.
> 
> >Can anyone state what the default password really is, or how to login
> >otherwise?
> 
> The master.passwd file installed with a new system contains:
> 
> root::0:0::0:0:Charlie &:/root:/bin/csh
> 
> which really is a null password.  Try booting single-user (erm, I think that
> involves adding "-s" to the "BtNetBSD" line in !BtNetBSD.fastboot, but I'm
> likely to be wrong -- I don't think I've ever booted an acorn32 box
> single-user), and doing:
> 
> mount -u /
> md5 /etc/passwd /etc/master.passwd /etc/pwd.db /etc/spwd.db
> passwd root

Okay, Mike Gilbert responded off-list with this suggestion and it
worked.  Unfortunately he didn't suggest the md5 command.  However,
I'm sure that I will be repeating the installation before too long - I
will try to remember to get the information next time!

> And send us the result of the second command.  That way we can see whether
> the password database you've got has got clobbered after installation, or
> was broken as shipped.

I honestly did nothing (couldn't do anything) post installation, so I
would guess that the passwaord database is broken as shipped, or
sysinst is doing something to it.

-- 
Peter Bell - peter@bellfamily.org.uk