QNX

QNX DEMO diskExtending possibilities and adding undocumented featuresupdate2008April28I am lucky to know briliant person who's nick is:dHiResToday dHiRes gave me customized QNXdemo floppies!Yes,it is possible now.As proof of concept I add2floppy images below."boot" floppy boots to customized QNX,while"fsys"contains extras.To mount extras floppy click"fsys-fsysfl-mount"in QNX menuboot_qnxdemo_by_dHiRes.IMAfsys_by_dHiRes.IMAQNX DEMO is the best Operational System between tiny"1-floppy"OS'es.At the same time it the most poorly documented one.Long time ago QSSL discontinued support and removed it from official web page.This page is designed in form to answer SW&HW related extra features,never discussed before.Therefore,for the experiments with QNX demo is necessary:1.QNX demo disk Ver.405,preferably network version.You can download them from here:network405version:qnx_demo_405_network.ISOmodem405version:qnx_demo_405_modem.isoFor faster booting I created boot CD versions of this floppy.I will post her all my collection of boot floppies soon.:):2.Working network connection.Still,this is the most critical point.QNX DEMO network version supports only3C509,NE1000and NE2000NIC's.3.Local network with running HTTP,FTP,TELNET servers.This is optional, but highly recommended.The servers can be simplest in the world-use themjust for keeping several files.Step1-preparingFrom the first view QNX DEMO looks rock solid-user has very little rights in this OS.You are basically trapped in GUI.Good news came with QNX demo Ver405there is undocumented"back door".Using file browsers go to:/usr/httpd/.photon/pwm/pwm.menuClick and open pwm.menu file.This file controls the menu options.You are allowed edit and save it.Lets change the lineTowers of Hanoi G voyager-x0-y0-h412-w628-u http://127.1/hanoi/game.htmlInto something more useful:Voyager compact G voyager-x0-y0-h412-w628-cOption"-c"launches voyager in"compact"mode,thus saving a bit of scarce system memory.Save the file.If you open the menu now,you see that nothing is changed.You need to refresh the pwm menu.Step2-refreshing pwm menuWith the QNX DEMO Ver.405QSSL introduced possibility to upgrade the system via installing extra applets.Only3special packages were released and you can download them here:telnet.qnxdegame1.qnxdeutils1.qnxdeThis upgrade option is our long wanted"back door".Every time you install or uninstall the package PWM menu is refreshed! The algorithm is very simple:-Change pwm.menu file in/usr/httpd/.photon/pwm/pwm.menu-Install or deinstall extension-Execute command via choosing the line in refreshed PWM menuTest compact version of Voyager,without these fancy buttons.NOTE:before opening in"compact"mode you need keep open at least one Voyager window in"normal"mode.Other vice error message"server not running appears".Step3-getting the shellWell,I tried to create.qnxde applet myself.Unfortunately there is no information available about the format of these files and their structure….I was getting desperate,but my salvation came in person of my colleague.He gives the following idea about getting the shell.So there is no more need to create our own.qnxde applets.Take any QNX4 photon application and add.qnxde extension to the file name.We noticed,that QNX DEMO installer works like this:a)It copies any file with.qnxde extension from external web server to local/tmp_ram directory.b)The installer pops up the window with questions"Continue"or"Cancel". Whichever you press,the Qnxdemo installer detects,that this file is invalid and erases/tmp_ram directory.Of course,that is not the case with original QNX extension applets.So the following algorithm gives you the shell:1.Add in the/usr/httpd/.photon/pwm/pwm.menu file the following line:ksh_tmp pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/ksh.qnxde(Important note:PWM menu lines are written like in this example:ksh_tmp<TAB><SPACE_or_any_symbol><TAB>pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/ksh.qnxde)2.Download and install telnet.qnxde extension.3.Download ksh.qnxde from external web server but when installer window pops up DO NOT press anything.Leave it running.4.Open QNX PWM menu and execute new line ksh_tmp5.Oh well,you have shell….quite simple,isn't it?Step4-ftp is also simpleLet us start again.Shell was nice,but ftp is more useful at the moment.Again: 1.Add in the/usr/httpd/.photon/pwm/pwm.menu file the following line:ftp_tmp pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/ftp.qnxde2.Download and install telnet.qnxde extension.If it is already installed,you do not have repeated it.We need telnet.qnxde utility only for using pterm terminal that goes with it3.Modify file/etc/services and add extra line:ftp21/tcp4.Refresh PWM menu by downloading and installing utils1.qnxde official extension5.Download ftp.qnxde from external web server but when installer window pops up DO NOT press anything.Leave it running.6.Open QNX PWM menu and execute new line ftp_tmp7.Test ftp connection and have fun:)Step5-mounting floppyQNX DEMO is capable of running almost ANY QNX4application.The simplest way-accessing floppy.1.Add in the/usr/httpd/.photon/pwm/pwm.menu file the following lines:-fsys pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/fsys.qnxdefsysfl pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/fsys.floppy.qnxdemount pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/mount.qnxde/dev/fd0/fd-pfm/fd/pfm-2.Download fsys.qnxde from external web server;when installer window pops up execute"fsys"line from PWM menu.Leave terminal window open.Close installer by pressing"CANCEL"3.Download fsys.floppy.qnxde from external web server;when installer window pops up execute"fsysfl"line from PWM menu.Leave terminal window open.Close installer by pressing"CANCEL"4.Insert QNX4formatted floppy disk.Again,download mount.qnxde from external web server;when installer window pops up execute"mount"line from PWM menu.Leave terminal window open.Close installer by pressing, "CANCEL".Now,via File browser you can see contents of the floppy in folder /fdThe floppy is yours.Again,it should be QNX4formatted.You can place on it and execute almost ANY QNX4terminal and Photon applications.Step6-useful toysTake control over your file system in comfort.Add line:pfm_tmp/tmp_ram/pfm.qnxde...and download file manager:pfm.qnxdeTime is an option?Add line:pfm_tmp/tmp_ram/pwmclock.qnxde...and use386as wall clock:pwmclock.qnxdeSome updates in year2005.Just to keep project alive....Calculator?Add line:calculator/tmp_ram/phcalc.qnxdephcalc.qnxdeA few games.Classic Solitaire,mines and more:Add lines:solitare/tmp_ram/solitawe.qnxdemines/tmp_ram/mine.qnxdesolitawe.qnxde and mine.qnxdeat the end you screen looks like this:Tips tricksAt the end of experiments I ended up with the following PWM menu of frequent use:=CUSTOM QNX Workspace MenuJoin the Internet J netcfgVoyager Web Browser V voyager-x0-y0-h412-w628Towers of Hanoi G voyager-x0-y0-h412-w628-uhttp://127.1/hanoi/game.htmlFile Browser F fbrowseNotepad N noteInstall voyager-u http://your_http_server_ip/Install telnet voyager-u http://your_http_server_ip/telnet.qnxdeRemove Extensions destaller-fsys/tmp_ram/fsys.qnxdefsysfl pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/fsys.floppy.qnxdemount pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/mount.qnxde/dev/fd0/fdftp_tmp pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/ftp.qnxdeksh_tmp pterm-z-R/dev/pty//tmp_ram/ksh.qnxde-ftp pterm-z-R/dev/pty//fd/ftpksh pterm-z-R/dev/pty//fd/kshpfm/fd/pfmumount/fd/umount/dev/fd0Shutdown S rebootUnfortunately,it is not possible copy text from voyager window directly.There is workaround:Place this list as text file on your telnet server,connect with QNX Demo,open it in terminal window select copy it to with shortcut:Ctrl-Alt-X Paste in note editor Ctrl-VYuo can press<Cancel>in the installer after program is on the screen and download next.qnxde appletHW issue:Some types of keyboards refuse to work under Photon.Although they respond perfectly normal during startup phase,they"freeze"when GUI is started.The solution:F1-F1go via diagnostic screen.When GUI appears press<Enter>many times.Generally20-40hits are enough to"wake up"the keyboard and start working under QNX Demo.Enabling.qnxde applets direct download from Apache server-suggested by Robert HartSometimes there is a problem with the Voyager browser opening the.qnxde applets as a text file.The problem is that your Apache server uses a default MIME type of"text/plain"when the file is of an unknown type.Try adding a file called".htaccess"into your directory with the following line:----------------------------------------------------------------------AddType application/octet-stream.qnxde----------------------------------------------------------------------This.htaccess file will tell the server to send the MIME type"application/octet-stream"for.qnxde files.Final note:All the material described is for educational purposes only.I just want to show endless possibilities of Qnxdemo disk.I never had or owned"real"QNX4OS. All the files described in this article were downloaded from free and publicly available ftp servers.You can contact me:DMARIZA@ONE.LTSekmes!Linas。