[Simh] Install of VMS4.6 on VAX 780 crashes

[Gregg Levine]

On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 1:45 AM, Jarratt RMA
<robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> wrote:
> If you are working from the same media I have, then I think the 4.6 media
> are an upgrade only and you will need to install an earlier version first. I
> think I installed 4.0 first.
>
> Regards
>
> Rob
>
> On 27 December 2010 12:30, Peter Allan <petermallan at googlemail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I have managed to get hold of some versions of VMS, mostly VMS 4.X and I
>> am trying to install VMS4.6 on an emulated 780 using simh.
>>
>> The sequence I have followed is:
>>
>> Boot using the VMS 7.3 CD
>>
>> Run BACKUP to copy the REQUIRED saveset from the VMS 4.6 emulated tape to
>> an RA81 disk with the command
>>    BACKUP/VERIFY  MTA0:REQUIRED/SAVE  DUA0:
>>
>> However, when I boot from the RA81, expecting the installation sequence to
>> continue, I get
>>
>>    VAX/VMS Version  KG  15-Jun-1987 10:00
>>
>>
>> **** FATAL BUG CHECK, VERSION =  KG  INVEXCEPTN, Exception while above
>> ASTDEL or on interrupt stack
>>
>>     CURRENT PROCESS = SWAPPER
>>
>>     REGISTER DUMP
>>
>>         R0 = 00000008
>>         R1 = 04080000
>>         R2 = 00000000
>>         R3 = 00000000
>>         R4 = 80002748
>>         R5 = 00000000
>>         R6 = 00000000
>>         R7 = 00000000
>>         R8 = 00000000
>>         R9 = 00000000
>>         R10= 00000000
>>         R11= 00000000
>>         AP = 00000000
>>         FP = 00000000
>>         SP = 801F91D0
>>         PC = 80004862
>>         PSL= 04080009
>>
>>     KERNEL/INTERRUPT STACK
>>
>>         801F91D8  00000004
>>         801F91DC  00000000
>>         801F91E0  FFFFFFFD
>>         801F91E4  00000000
>>         801F91E8  00000000
>>         801F91EC  00000001
>>         801F91F0  00000003
>>         801F91F4  00000454
>>         801F91F8  8000A71B
>>         801F91FC  04080000
>>
>> Reboot requested, PC: 80158B91 (HALT)
>>
>>
>> Has anyone any idea what is going wrong?
>>
>> I successfully installed VMS 7.3 from the CD on the 780. Experiments give
>> a similar crash when running VMS 7.3 if I have too little memory on the 780
>> (less than 32MB), but no fiddling with the amount of memory seems to help
>> with VMS 4.6.
>>
>> I think someone out there has VMS 4.6 running, so I trust it is possible
>> and I am doing something silly.
>>
>> Peter Allan
>>
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>
>
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>

Hello!
I believe both 4.5 (If that version did exist, I can't remember.) and
4.6 are indeed upgrades, and that 4.0 is the logical way to start. And
no I do not know when the firm started its hobbyist program. It has
been a big bone of contention regarding when that happened, not why it
did, and what release it was wrapped around.

-----
Gregg C Levine gregg.drwho8 at gmail.com
"This signature fought the Time Wars, time and again."