A client has a Partner Mail R3 (manufactured 1997). I took a look inside this and it is a PC with a hard drive. Also there is a real-time-clock chip (RTC)on the motherboard. I did not see any jumpers at all.

Questions:
1. Is there any jumper on the motherboard?

2. Exactly what kind of motherboard is this, what processor does it use, and what operating system is it running?

3. I assume the RTC chip also contains a battery. Is that correct? After 14 years it is probably dead. What happens to the voicemail system when this battery goes dead?

4. Can you pry the RTC chip out of its socket and replace it, or is it soldered in.

5. Will removing the RTC chip erase the sysadmin password? Will this cause a loss of setup information or otherwise screw up the system?

6. How can I reset the Partner Mail 4.3 admin password or reset the entire system to factory settings?

7. Is it possible to insert a video card or hook up a terminal to a serial port, and see and modify the system? This Partner Mail R.3 has a modem attached to a serial port, so it would seem that you can. Do you need a special admin program for this?

PM sent to Butch.

In all my years in this business I have NEVER, EVER seen anything in the way of service documentation, schematics or even a block diagram for ANY equipment made by ANY manufacturer since the 1A2. They just don't exist outside of the manufacturer's vault.

Which just confirms my opinion that all refurbishers and repair facilities are a bunch of crap because there is no way that they can do much more than simple repairs without documentation.

-Hal