the phone is mine james, i have won it in a newegg sweepstake (yeah i know, sounds crazy) almost two years ago when it first came out in the US. i have all the documents that came with it.
i can decode it myself, the problem is that i don;t think i have access to the encrypted file.

If he knows the root password (needed to ssh) then obviously the phone was his, or am I neglecting something?
________
NEXIUM LAWSUIT

sod android, wait till September and get the new iphone.

android = fragmented rubbish

It's not so hard to make a meego sd, and loading the kernel (not flashing it - next reboot gets you back to maemo) is just one command. I would prefer it over wiping, except if I had a recent backup. Search how to install meego de on n900 sd.

Also maybe m4r0v3r is right and wiping does not help. I know for sure it doesn't reset the lock code. But will it enable you to reach the terminal? I don't know.
________
BunnyBoo cam

waiting for galaxy s2
anyway, until September comes, the only option i see now is to re flash it (or is there anything else?)
having ssh server installed an not being able to use it is very frustrating !

do i need to flash the VANILLA too ?

thanks

thanks qwazix

do i have to have an external SD card ? i don't think i have one (does it come with the phone?)

i see now that i need an sd card, i will find one.
so just to get it right, i should try to follow the instructions to dual boot maemo and meego and then i will get access to maemo ?
why would it bypass the lock code if i do it?

also, the instructions say that i should install uboot-pr13 from extras, how can i do it if my phone is locked ?

I think if anything will happen the rootfs will be enough, but I wouldn't know.

For meego you need an external sd, sure. Even if you could install meego to the emmc there would be no point since you can't have access to your device. And, No external sd didn't come with the device, but they are cheap now. You can get one for about 15? or something, and then you will have an extra 4gb of storage. Meego requires class 6 for speed but since you want it only for a specific one-time use, I can confirm it can boot off of a class 4 too. It's painfully slow, but you'll do your job
________
Colorado Dispensary

You shouldn't need it. After you finish copying meego to the sd you can load the kernel with flasher.

see the bottom of this page http://wiki.meego.com/ARM/N900/Install/MMC

from that page:
NOTE: The command above will only load the kernel to the device, so next time you boot the device the original kernel should be used and your Maemo 5 OS should boot normally.
________
The Legend Condominium Pattaya