Graphics Console Woes

[Dave Olson]

In <9106250455.AA07119 at gsusgi1.gsu.edu> syscrc at GSUSGI1.GSU.EDU (Randy Carpenter) writes:
| I've talked to a couple of SGI folks about this one and they say:
| "It can't be done.".   Tell me it ain't so... 

Perhaps the problem wasn't stated as clearly as it is here?

| We have a 4d/280gtx that we use for a graphics class (as well as some
| general-purpose UNIX stuff) here at the University. Unfortunately, 
| we don't have any PI's, and the way our funds look now we probably
| won't be getting any for some time :(.  So, we need to open the
| graphics console up to the class by putting it in a public area 
| like our student computer lab (so it can be available 24 hours a
| day).  This will all work ok...until the system goes down for some 
| reason and thus displays the System Maintenance Menu on the graphics 
| console, whereby a clever student can proceed to boot the system in
| single-user mode and change my root password.  Doing a...
|            setenv console d 
| ...in the PROM Monitor doesn't help because you lose the graphics
| monitor altogether.
| Can we we make /dev/ttyd1 the full-time console and have a graphics
| monitor at the same time?  

You don't lose the console, it just doesn't start graphics
automatically.  What you could do is have a script fire up the
graphics for you from /etc/inittab or one of the rc scripts.  What
you lose this way is the ability to have people login as different
id's.

In IRIX 4.0, the graphics login will come up even when the console
is set to 'd' (assuming the graphics is present and working).

For now, if the machine is on the net, you could have the person
who wants to use the graphics console rlogin, and then type
	/etc/gl/restartgl
which will start the window system as though they had just logged in.
An rsh command to do the same thing should also work.