[Simh] Console floppy and VAX 780

[Wilm Boerhout]

Zachary Kline schreef op 15-2-2016 om 14:38:
> Hi,
>
> I’m trying to boot http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/bits/DEC/vax/vms/BB-D782B-BE__VMS_V1.5_1600.zip, mostly for interest’s sake. I presume this is an installation tape of some sort.
> I’ve tried on the VaxSserver 3900 simulator, but always seem to get a “DevOffline,” message for Mua0:, the magnetic tape reader.
> I was wondering if I might have better luck with the VAX 11/780. I don’t actually have real hardware of any kind. The reason I was asking about console floppies is that, as far as I know, I can’t directly boot from tape on the 780, at least not with the SIMH “boot,” command.
> If this is something other than an installation tape, of course, the whole process isn’t worth the trouble :)
This is indeed an installation tape. I used it to buiild my VAX-11/780 
installation on Raspberry Pi. See 
http://vxcompany.com/kennis/blog/2016/01/22/a-working-vax-11780-revisited/

The VMS version it contains will never run on a 3900, which is way newer 
than the 780.

So make sure your get the latest simh sources from github, and build 
yourself a "vax780" model. Read vax780.doc, then configure it with (for 
example) an RP07 disk and a TE16 tape unit, restore the tape (find the 
AA-D021B-TE VAX-11 Installation Guide on bitsavers) and start playing...

/Wilm