The Vault - Fallout Wiki

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The Vault - Fallout Wiki
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Revision as of 01:02, 20 May 2011

 
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File:Terminals (Fallout 3).jpg

A desktop terminal (left) and a wall-mounted terminal (right) in Fallout 3.

A terminal is an electronic device that is used to interface with various computers, such as those programmed for controlling turrets, opening safes and doors, storing information, and activating robots and other special equipment. Some terminals have been rigged as traps. The operating system of a terminal is the Unified Operating System, published by RobCo Industries. A typical terminal is dumb, i.e. it uses the computer mainframe which it is connected to for processing and data storage. It has a keyboard for typing commands and a monochromatic monitor for displaying data.

Fallout and Fallout 2

The terminals in Fallout 1 and 2 can be used with the skilldex science if it's high enough.

Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas

Secured Terminals

Most terminals are secured. To access them you either need

  • A password.
  • A high enough Science skill to hack them.
  • An encryption key.

Usually only one or two of these options are available.

Passwords

Terminal Password

A terminal password, presented in the Notes section of your Pip-Boy.

There are various ways of getting a password to a terminal. The two most common ways to get a password are that someone tells you the password or that you find an item describing the password, such as a holotape.

Mothership Zeta Terminals

There are terminals scattered around the ship Mothership Zeta, in the add-on of the same name. They are used by the Aliens for security purposes, and with the required Science skill, ranging from 25 to 75 Science, you can hack them. There are a few choices once hacked: 1) Set it to blow up in a small amount of time. 2) Set a proximity charge and 3) Unlock the door. These terminals can also be destroyed by gunfire.

Hacking Terminals

Terminal level Science skill
requirement
Password length XP reward
Very Easy 15 4-5 20
Easy 25 6-8 30
Average 50 9-10 40
Hard 75 11-12 50
Very Hard 100 13-15 60

One way to deal with secured terminals is to hack them -- if you can. This works only under the following conditions:

  • The terminal is hackable.
  • Your Science skill is high enough to hack the terminal. You will need 100 in Science (base or adjusted; see below) to even attempt to hack a "very hard" terminal.

The Vault 101 Lab Jumpsuit, the Vault Lab Uniform, the Surgeon's Lab Coat, and most types of Scientist Outfit that can be found later in the game (with the exception of Doctor Li's Outfit) will add +5 to your Science skill. Lesko's Lab Coat adds +10.

Hacking a terminal yields XP, depending on the difficulty level of the terminal.

Terminal

A typical hacking session on a terminal.

You will be presented with a list of words, all of the same character length, interposed with random characters. The length of the words is determined by the difficulty of the lock. One of the words is the correct password, and your goal is to guess it. You choose a word by clicking on it. If you didn't guess correctly, the terminal will display "x/y correct" where x is the number of correct letters, and y is the word length. A letter is correct only if it is in the right spot. For example, if the password is "RELEASED" and you choose "DETECTOR" then you will be told that there are 2/8 correct because there are 'E's in the 2nd and 4th place for both. The words have other letters in common, like 'R', but it is in the first spot in one word, and the last in the other. You have four attempts to select the correct password. If you have the Computer Whiz perk, you will get another try. This game is similar to Mastermind, a board game.

There are also things you can do with the characters that are not part of words. Clicking on matching brackets (i.e. () [] {} <>, even with other characters between, but not a whole unremoved word between) can remove a dud password or reset the number of remaining guesses to four. The brackets must be of the same type and on the same line. Although you cannot match brackets with a whole word between them, you can match brackets separated by the dots that appear when a dud word is removed ( <.......> ). Also, two or more opening brackets can be matched to a single closing bracket ("[ [ ]" on a line gives you two chances), but the opposite is not true ("[ ] ]" only gives you one chance). When you scroll across this type of entry from left-to-right, the entire entry will be highlighted letting you know if you've found one or not.

Previous choices are displayed on the right-hand side of the terminal.

To get to the hacking mini-game quickly, you can click the startup screen on the terminal to skip to the next screen. Click once more to load the hack screen instantly. (Note: in Fallout: New Vegas if you back out after your first hack attempt prior to "locking" computer, you must wait even longer for the initial key in prior to the mini-game)


Cheating

You can guess three words, exit out of the terminal and re-access. All of your guesses are replenished and you can try again, repeat until hacked.

Suspicious Terminals

Several Suspicious Terminals can be found at H&H Tools Factory on the top floor. They are equipped with "Hidden Network Drives" that can be accessed through the player's Pip Boy.

Encrypted Terminals

Sometimes terminals have options that can't be used until you have the correct encryption key, and will be presented as gibberish.

An example of this are the terminals used by Chinese Remnant in the Capital Wasteland - but the terminal encryption key is usually nearby.

Trapped terminal

Trapped terminal

Trapped terminal

A terminal can also be a trap in disguise.

If triggered by activating the keyboard, the terminal will become electrified (not harming the player), and then the rigged frag grenade will detonate.

A trapped terminal has a broken rear, and a small antenna on the back, sending or receiving from an unknown location; see picture to the right. Also, all terminals with traps on them are plainly called "Terminal", as with the normal "Click/press 'A' to Activate Terminal."

Disarming a trapped terminal demands 45 Explosives skill. In New Vegas, it requires a skill of 60. It is disarmed by activating the rear of the terminal rather than the front.

A frag grenade was used to create the trap, and you will get the one used to rig the terminal when you disarm it.

After disarming, these terminals cannot be used for anything except re-arming with any type of grenade, a fruitless gesture since it is not a trap any NPC could spring. It is not possible to use these terminals for informational purposes.

Purpose of Terminals

Terminals are generally used to find information about a particular quest or character. This information may be useable in some practical way, or it may be for background and atmosphere (an example of the latter is the nurse's diary on the terminal outside Germantown Police HQ, detailing how she and her fellow nurses sickened and died of radiation poisoning after the nuclear attack).

Controlling defense systems

Turrets often have a terminal near them that can turn them on or off, or disable the turret's targeting. If targeting is disabled, the turret will shoot at everyone within range, not just the player (including other turrets, two turrets close together can destroy each other this way). This can be very useful to thin out the ranks of your enemies without exposing yourself, turning the turret(s) back off before you move into the area yourself.

A few terminals are more specialized. In the Robot Repair Center there is a terminal that can set off a pulse explosion disabling every robot in the area. There is one in Fort Constantine that launches the fort's ICBM if the player has the Fort Constantine Launch Codes (the launch appears to be abortive). There is also one in SatCom Array NW-05a that allows the player to launch a nuclear strike from the Highwater Trousers orbital weapons platform, though the nukes are relatively small and there is no way to aim them (they explode harmlessly some distance from the player).

Opening doors and safes

Terminals are quite commonly used to open safes, giving an alternative to lockpicking the safe. To get maximum XP, you can pick a lock first, then hack the terminal which would have unlocked it. You could also hack the terminal but not unlock the safe/door etc before exiting and then lockpicking it.

Terminals are also sometimes used to unlock or open doors; an example is the terminal used in the Tenpenny Tower quest to let Ghouls in from the Metro.

Riddles & Mini-games

  • In the Museum of Technology, Prime has reprogrammed a few terminals so that Jiggs can track his whereabouts, if he manages to get the answers right. See Jiggs' Loot.
  • In Hubris Comics, one still-working terminal has a beta test of a text adventure game called "Reign of Grelok".
  • In the National Archives, a terminal controls a multiple-choice quiz that dispenses a reward ticket on successful completion. This ticket (and others found elsewhere in the museum) can be cashed in at a nearby terminal for some unique Mentats.

Notes

  • Some terminal areas would suggest that the termianl has not been tampered with since pre-war times. Despite this, some password options will be "Deathclaw" or some other select creatures in the Wastelands that have obviously come about through intense radiation exposure, this of course being post-war, mutating them into what we see in Fallout. Therefore, obviously, making it impossible for any one living during pre-war times to know what a Deathclaw, or any creature for that matter, actually is.

List of hackable terminals (Fallout 3)

For the Data Miner achievement/trophy, you need to find 50 terminals to hack.

Place (or closest map marker) Location in place Skill level Purpose How Many Bad Karma?
Alexandria Arms Second floor Average Unlocks door to Storeroom 1 No
Arlington Library Library lobby Easy Information 4 No
Arlington Library Arlington Library Media Archive middle floor Average Turret control 4 No
Arlington Library Arlington Library Media Archive top floor Average Turret control 4 No
Arlington Library Arlington Library Media Archive top floor Average Unlocks safe 4 No
Anacostia Crossing Station near Seward Square exit Average Protectron 1
Anchorage War Memorial At the top of the steps leading to the Anchorage Memorial Facility Bay Average Unlock Door 1
Bethesda Ruins Bethesda Offices East Average Turret control 2
Bethesda Ruins Bethesda Offices West Average Turret control 2
Capital Wasteland Southeast of the Arlington Library at a Talon Company checkpoint Average Turret Control 1
Capital Wasteland Southeast of Flooded Metro (CW) on a bridge near a raider encampment Average Turret Control 1
Citadel In the Clinic, Ring B Very Hard Information 3 Yes
Citadel Squire Maxon's Room, Ring B Very Easy Information 3
Citadel Elder Lyons room, Ring B Very Hard Information 3
Dunwich Building Forsaken Dunwich Ruins Easy Story Infos 1
Dunwich Building Forsaken Dunwich Ruins, Second Level, Behind Average Locked Door Easy Story of a Scavenger who holed himself up in the room waiting for a 'Billy'. His corpse and gear can be found at your feet. 1
Dupont Circle Station In the room before the cavern, behind a door Average Turret Control 2
Dupont Circle Station South of the Collapsed Car Tunnel exit. Very Easy Protecton Robot control 2
Enclave Field Research: Crater Camp Just west of Fort Bannister Average Information 1
Fairfax Ruins Southeast of, halfway to Andale Average Turret control 1
Falls Church/Mason Dst Metro Near the entrance of Franklin Metro Utility Easy Unlocks Door 1
Farragut West Station Office near entrance Very Easy Protector Robot control 1
Fort Bannister Fort Bannister Bunker Easy Turret Control System 3
Fort Bannister Commanding Officer's Quarters Average Unlocks door 3
Fort Bannister Commanding Officer's Quarters Average Turret Control System 3
Fort Independence Fort Independence Lower Level Average Turret Control System 2
Fort Independence Fort Independence Lower Level Hard Unlocks Door 2
Franklin Metro Utility Right after entering Hard Unlocks safe 2
Franklin Metro Utility Below of first room Hard Turret Control 2
Germantown Police HQ Ground Floor Very Hard Unlocks jail cell doors 4
Germantown Police HQ Ground Floor Very Hard Unlocks contraband closet 4
Germantown Police HQ Top Floor Very Hard Information 4
Germantown Police HQ Top Floor Easy Unlocks safe 4
Grayditch Doctor Lesko's Shack Average Information related to Those! 2
Grayditch Brandice's House Easy Information 2
Greener Pastures Disposal Site Offices Average Unlocks Safe 1
Jefferson Memorial Jefferson Museum and Gift Shop Average Turret Control System 1
Jefferson Memorial Jefferson Museum and Gift Shop Very Easy Scribe Bigsley's Terminal, Only in Broken Steel 1
Jury Street Metro Station Jury St. Tunnels Very Easy Unlocks Safe 1
Little Lamplight The Great Chamber, NW corner Average Opens Vault 87 Reactor Door (see Joseph) 1
L.O.B. Enterprises East Wing, NW corner Very Hard Info on unique pistol 1
Lucky's Inside, on a counter Hard Unlocks Scavenger's safe 1
Marigold Metro Station Left of behind subway car near flashing light Easy Unlocks door 2
Marigold Metro Station Dr. Lesko's Office Average Unlocks access door and notes 2
MDPL Mass Relay Station Inside Power Station Very Hard Unlocks safe 1
MDPL-13 Power Station Derelict Power Plant, inside upper office Average Unlocks safe 3
MDPL-13 Power Station Derelict Power Plant, inside lower office Hard Turret Control 3
MDPL-13 Power Station Inside power substation, on desk Hard Unlocks Safe 3
MDPL-16 Power Station Power Substation Average Unlocks safe 1
MDPL-21 Power Station Power Substation Hard Unlocks safe 1
Megaton Children of Atom Very Easy Information 5 Yes
Megaton Craterside Supply Very Easy Information 5 Yes
Megaton Megaton Armory Hard Deactivating Deputy Steel and Weld 5 Yes
Megaton Moriarty's Saloon Average Information (Finding out where dad went) 5 Yes
Megaton The Brass Lantern Very Easy Information and unlocks safe 5 Yes
Meresti Service Tunnel Meresti Trainyard Station Entry Terminal Very Hard Information 1
Meresti Metro Station The Family's Terminal Very Hard Information 3
Meresti Metro Station The Family's Terminal #2 Very Hard Information 3
Meresti Metro Station Vance's Terminal Very Hard Information and Unlock Safe 3
Museum of History Lower Hall - Top of Staircase on right Average Turret Control 1
Museum of Technology Atrium, In the Security Station Average Turret Control 4
Museum of Technology West Wing, In the Security Station Average Turret Control 4
Museum of Technology West Wing, In the Security Station Average Information 4
Museum of Technology West Wing, in the Planetarium Control Room Easy Unlocks nonexistent door 4
National Archives Next to archives sub-basement door Easy Unlocks door 1
National Guard Depot Offices Wing, behind a locked door (Average) on the other side of the wall (go up the stars and down the other side) there is an unlocked door that goes to the same room. Average Disable Turrets 4 No
National Guard Depot Training Wing Average Disable Turrets 4 No
National Guard Depot National Guard Depot Average Disable Turrets (#1) 4 No
National Guard Depot National Guard Depot Average Disable Turrets (#2) 4 No
Northwest Seneca Station Inside Grocer, on counter Easy Unlocks safe 1
Nuka-Cola Plant South East of Wasteland Very Easy Activating Convoy Belt for Nuka-Cola Quantum's 2
Nuka-Cola Plant Storage and Mixing Vats Very Easy Activating security protectron 2
Olney Powerworks (Broken Steel Add-on) Olney Powerworks Very Hard Unlocks Door to Tesla Coil 2 No
Olney Powerworks (Broken Steel Add-on) Olney Powerworks Hard Machine Fail Safe for Electrical Field around Tesla Coil 2 No
Our Lady of Hope Hospital First floor Average Information (Nurse Station 01) 4
Our Lady of Hope Hospital First floor, north Average Information (Nurse Station 02) 4
Our Lady of Hope Hospital Inside entrance, near reception Average Turret Control System 4
Our Lady of Hope Hospital Second floor, dead end to the east Average Information (Nurse Station 03) 4
Outcast Outpost In Protector McGraw's chamber. (Operation: Anchorage) Very Easy Information 1
Paradise Falls In Eulogy's Pad, on the table with the SpeechBobblehead near the heart bed Average Use in quest Rescue from Paradise 1
Queen Ant's Hatchery Accessed from Marigold Metro Station Average Use in quest Those! 1
Raven Rock Level 1B, Delivery Terminal Average Unlocks Cage #364 3
Raven Rock Level 1B Average Disables Force Field 3
Raven Rock Level 2C, same room as Bobblehead - Energy Weapons Average Disables Force Field 3
Red Racer Factory CEO Offices Average Disable chip broadcast 3
Red Racer Factory CEO Offices Average Surgeon's Notes 3
Red Racer Factory CEO Offices Average Surgeon's Notes & disable chip broadcast 3
Rivet City Midship Deck, Abraham Washington's room Average Information 7 Yes
Rivet City Midship Deck, Seagrave Holmes's room Average Information 7 No
Rivet City Tower (2 terminals) Very Easy Information 7 No
Rivet City Upper Deck, Clinic Average Information 7 Yes
Rivet City Upper Deck, Bannon's room Easy Information 7 Yes
Rivet City Upper Deck, hotel lobby Very Easy Information 7 Yes
RobCo Factory Upper Level - Offices and Cafeteria Average Robot control 1
Roosevelt Academy Ground Floor - Admin Office Very Easy Protectron 2
Roosevelt Academy Ground Floor - Nurse Office Hard Open Safe 2
SatCom Array NN-03d Tower C Very Easy Open Door 1
SatCom Array NW-05a Southeast of Raven Rock Average Turret Control 1
Steelyard In front of a line of 4 Protectron's Hard 4 Protectron's 1
Super Duper Mart In a storage area the the back of the store, next to the Protectron. Very Easy Protectron 2
Super Duper Mart Office at the back of the store. Easy Opens door to the storage area to the right of the terminal. 2
Taft Tunnels Before the flood door Very hard ? 1
Tenpenny Tower In Boutique Le Chic, 1st Floor Average Unlocks Safe 4 Yes
Tenpenny Tower In New Urban Apparel, 1st Floor Average Unlocks Safe 4 Yes
Tenpenny Tower In the Federalist Lounge, 1st Floor Easy Store Discount 4
Tenpenny Tower Metro Access & Generator around back of the tower Easy Unlock containment door for Tenpenny Tower 4
Tepid Sewer To the left of the entrance Average Control automated turrets 2
Tepid Sewer Outside Rocksalt's storage room Easy Unlocks Rocksalt's storage room 2
Underworld Winthrop's Room Average Information/Unlocks Safe 4 Yes
Underworld The Chop Shop Very Easy Information 4 Yes
Underworld The Ninth Circle Very Easy Information/Unlocks Safe 4 Yes
Underworld Underworld Outfitters Very Easy Information 4 Yes
VAPL-58 Power Station Inside building Very Hard Unlocks Safe 1
Vault 87 Living Quarters Average Information/Unlocks Safe 8
Vault 87 Test Labs, Isolation Room 01 Hard Unlocks Door 8
Vault 87 Test Labs, Isolation Room 02 Hard Unlocks Door 8
Vault 87 Test Labs, Isolation Room 03 Hard Unlocks Door 8
Vault 87 Test Labs, Isolation Room 04 Hard Unlocks Door 8
Vault 87 Test Labs, Isolation Room 05 Hard Unlocks Door 8
Vault 87 Test Labs, Lab Tehnician Average Unlocks Door 8
Vault 87 Test Labs, Medical Wing Maintenance Average Unlocks Door(s) 8
Vault 92 Living Quarters Average Women's Dorm Security Terminal 5
Vault 92 Living Quarters Average Men's Dorm Security Terminal 5
Vault 92 Living Quarters Hard Data Storage Entry 5
Vault 92 Living Quarters Average Security Terminal 5
Vault 92 Atrium Average Supply Shop 5
Vault 101 Interrogation room during Trouble on the Homefront Average Opens cell, Information (this terminal is unlocked during Escape!) 3
Vault 101 Overseer's office Very Easy Opens tunnel, Information 3 No
Vault 101 Sub-Level Hard Information 3
Vault 106 Entrance, security room Very Hard Information 2
Vault 106 Living Quarters, Overseers office Very Hard Information 2
Vault 112 Tranquility Pod Floor Hard Unlocks door to Supply Room 1
Vault-Tec Headquarters Vault-Tec Administration, Lower Floor, NE Corner Average Disable Turrets 2
Vault-Tec Headquarters Vault-Tec Administration, Upper Floor Average Disable Turrets 2
Wheaton Armory Bottom of missile silo Average Turret control 2
Wheaton Armory Bottom of Missile silo Very Hard Unlocks Door 2
Greener Pastures Disposal Site In the offices of the disposal site on a table when you walk in to the offices Average Unlocks safe 2

List of hackable terminals (Fallout: New Vegas)

For the Hack the Mojave achievement/trophy you must hack 25 terminals

Place (or closest map marker) Location in place Skill level Purpose How Many Bad Karma?
Black Mountain Prison building Very Hard Password/disengage lock 1 No
Black Mountain Broadcast building 1st floor Easy Background info 2 No
Camp Golf House Resort Easy-Hard Ranger info 2 Easy-No Hard-Yes
Camp McCarran 1 outside 1 in supply shack Very Easy-Average Shack: Download weapons manifest 2 outside no, supply shack yes
Camp Searchlight Around the turrets Very Easy-Very Hard Turret control 5 No
Gomorrah Big Sal's Office Average Disengage lock 1 No
Goodsprings School/ prospector saloon Easy Disengage lock 2 No
H&H Tools Factory 2nd floor Average Background info 1 No
Hidden Valley bunker L1 Very Easy-Hard Journal entry's/turret access 4 Yes
Hidden Valley bunker L2 Very hard Self destruction 1 Yes
Lucky 38 casino Hard Quest related 1 No
Lucky 38 Presidential suite 1 No
Nipton In a nipton home near Town hall Background info 1 No
REPCONN Headquarters 3 FL1, 2 FL2, 2 FL3 Very Easy-Very Hard Disengage lock/Background info/Bypass security 7 No
Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters Factory Floor Very Easy-Average Background info 3 No
Vault 3 Maintenance Wing Average Disengage lock 2 No
Vault 3 Living Quarters Average-Hard Disengage lock 3 No
Vault 3 Left of vault entrance Very Easy Close access panel 1 No
Vault 21 Gift Shop Very Hard Background info 1 Yes
Vault 21 Sarah´s room Easy Sarah Weintraub´s Mail 1 Yes
Vault 11 Hard Disengage lock 1 No