[Simh] installing VMS 1.5

[William Pechter]

> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:14:52 +0100
> From: Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se>
> To: Zachary Kline <zkline at speedpost.net>
> Cc: Simh <simh at trailing-edge.com>
> Subject: Re: [Simh] Console floppy and VAX 780
> Message-ID: <56C1DD5C.5040501 at softjar.se>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> First let me point out that I have not looked at that installation
> image, so I have no idea what it is.
>
> On 2016-02-15 14:38, Zachary Kline wrote:
>> 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 :)
>>
>> Thanks for any help,
> Well, VMS V1 have no idea about a VAX 3900, will probably not work at
> all. You need "hardware" that the OS knows about, which for VMS v1 is
> probably only the VAX-11/780.
>
> Second, it is correct that the old VAXen cannot boot from tape. However,
> the standard way of installing was to boot the standalone backup system
> on the VAX, and then restore the VMS system from the tape. Now, if that
> was true already in V1 I don't know. Also, exactly how you get the
> standalone backup system running on an emulated 11/780 is also unclear
> to me here. You could try booting a newer VMS, and just restore the V1
> tape to a scratch disk, and then try and boot that disk.
>
> 	Johnny
>
>> Zack.
>>> On Feb 14, 2016, at 11:25 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm not sure I understand the question. Get what working?
>>> Do you have a real 11/780? Because the simh VAX-11/780 do not use the floppies, as it don't actually emulate the PDP-11 that is used in the FE.
>>>
>>> 	Johnny


Having installed 2.x back in the day -- IIRC you would need to get a VMS machine running with DSC (disk save and compress)
running on it and use that to restore the system.   It might be possible to build bootable DSC on an RL pack
on a different VAX (like an emulated 11/750) and then use that to restore the 1.5.

Actually, I've never seen 1.5 and when I installed v2 back in '81 it came with an immediate update tape to v2.2.

V1.5 probably ran heavily in compatibility mode to support the old utilities from RSX. (I think flx, sye, dsc were all
pdp11 compatibility mode back then).



I think VMS 2.x or 3.x would work with an 11/750 and the 11/750 would load DSC from the console tu58 (or disk drive).

Anyone know if you could create standalone DSC on an 11/750 RL02?

Bill

-- 
Digital had it then.  Don't you wish you could buy it now!
pechter-at-gmail.com  http://xkcd.com/705/



-- 
Digital had it then.  Don't you wish you could buy it now!
pechter-at-gmail.com  http://xkcd.com/705/