[Simh] DG Nova booting from another file or "device"?

[Dell Setzer]

I'm not sure what format that binary file is in, but it doesn't seem to 
be anything RDOS can use. I tried running it in RDOS as well as booting it 
as a standalone program, but it doesn't do anything useful...

...dell

On Sat, 14 Nov 2015, Microtech Dart wrote:

> Thank you, Dell, and Sandy Strain, both of your responses were EXTREMELY
> helpful to me, and these all worked!
>
> Do either of you have any additional thoughts about how I could make what I
> believe to be a bootable file (extracted from a Microtech/Point4 QIC tape)
> into a bootable device for the Nova?
>
> I'll start with the Minicom Disk To Tape Utility:
>
> http://microtechm1.blogspot.com/2015/09/minicom-disk-to-tape-copy-utility.html
>
> I've attached a .zip of the binary file that I extracted from this tape for
> reference.  It's very small, so I zipped it up only so that the emailing
> process didn't interfere with or reject it.
>
> Thanks, all!
>
> -AJ
>
> On Sat, Nov 14, 2015 at 7:23 AM, Dell Setzer <dsetzer at panix.com> wrote:
>
>> It's actually pretty easy. After booting RDOS, press ^E to return to the
>> sim> prompt. Then, attach a host file to the MTA0 unit. If you give a host
>> filename that doesn't yet exist, SIMH will create an empty tape file and
>> attach it to MTA0:
>>
>> sim> attach mta0 testtape.tap
>> MTA: creating new file
>> sim>
>>
>> Then, give the simh G command to return to RDOS and init/f the MT0 tape
>> unit. Note that at the sim> prompt, the unit is called "MTA0" (or MTA1,
>> MTA2, etc), while in RDOS the unit is called "MT0" (or MT1, MT2, etc):
>>
>> sim> g
>> <presss return to get the RDOS prompt again>
>> R
>> init/f mt0
>> CONFIRM? <press Y to confirm>
>> R
>>
>> Now you can dump or copy files to the MT0 device:
>> dump/v mt0:0 -.sr
>>   LITMACS.SR
>>   OSID.SR
>>   NSID.SR
>>   PARS.SR
>>   ALMSPD.SR
>>   <etc.>
>> R
>> dump/v mt0:1 -.sv
>>   BURST.SV
>>   INITIALIZE.SV
>>   SEDIT.SV
>>   MACXR.SV
>>   EDIT.SV
>>   <etc.>
>> R
>> release mt0
>> R
>>
>> After releaseing the tape, press ^E again to get to the sim> prompt and
>> detach the tape file:
>> ^E
>> sim> detach mta0
>> sim>
>> Now you can inspect the testtape.tap tape image.
>>
>> Attaching an existing tape file is similar, except that at the RDOS prompt
>> you'd do INIT rather than INIT/F:
>>
>> sim> attach mta0 testtape.tap
>> sim> g
>> R
>> init mt0
>> R
>> load/n mt0:0
>>   LITMACS.SR            10/20/83
>>   OSID.SR               01/10/84
>>   NSID.SR               10/20/83
>>   PARS.SR               01/31/85
>>   <etc>
>> R
>> load/n mt0:1
>>   BURST.SV              05/09/85
>>   INITIALIZE.SV         05/02/85
>>   SEDIT.SV              05/02/85
>>   <etc>
>> R
>> release mt0
>> R
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>> ...dell
>>
>> On Sat, 14 Nov 2015, Microtech Dart wrote:
>>
>> Hi, I am completely new here, although I recognize the names of several who
>>> post here.
>>>
>>> I am trying to resurrect an extinct Microtech machine from 1982, which
>>> likely used the Point 4 processor, and the SimH DG Nova simulator *should*
>>> be compatible with the Point 4.
>>>
>>> I'm running the NOVA simulator now, with:
>>>
>>> NOVA simulator V4.0-0 Beta        git commit id: 3be5125d
>>> sim> ATTACH DKP0 *rdos_d31.dsk*
>>> sim> set tti dasher
>>> sim> boot DKP0
>>>
>>> I'm teaching myself RDOS now with the RDOS_Command_Line_Interpreter
>>> Manual.
>>> <
>>> http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dg/software/rdos/093-000109-01_RDOS_Command_Line_Interpreter.pdf
>>>>
>>>
>>> Would anybody here be able to suggest some methods by which I could
>>> *create* a magnetic tape device on this SimH Nova simulator, and how I
>>> might write some files to that?
>>>
>>> I think that would be an excellent experiment for me to attempt.  Then I
>>> can inspect the binary file in a hex editor, and see what it looks like,
>>> then compare to the binaries I've pulled off my Microtech/Point 4 tapes.
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> -AJ
>>> http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com
>>>
>>>
>
>
> -- 
>
> Thanks,
> -AJ
> http://MicrotechM1.blogspot.com
>