[Simh] Older Model VAX simulators, what can you do with them and how do they work?

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2016-10-10 01:55, Ray Jewhurst wrote:
> On Oct 9, 2016 7:49 PM, "Johnny Billquist" <bqt at softjar.se
> <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>> wrote:
>>
> And I take it that they would be different   because of different
> interrupt vectors etc?

Interrupt vectors might very well be different too, yes. However, most 
of these routines do not use interrupts at all.

Interrupt vectors are also a bit complex on VAXen, in addition to being 
different on different models. Interrupts from a Unibus, for example, 
will be remapped into the VAX system address space, and different 
adapters had different remapping ranges and abilities.
And it wasn't just the interrupt vectors. The Unibus address space is 18 
bits, and this also includes DMA, so you also remap all DMA addressings 
done on that bus, in order to get to the right place in your 32-bit 
virtual, or 20 bit physical address space. And exactly how your physical 
address space is set up also differs between models.

	Johnny

>
>>However, the instructions as such are the same on the different models,
> and that is not the reason for the problem.
>>
>> However, the controllers and bus adapters themselves are different on
> the different models, and thus require different programming to setup
> for operation. And that is true, even if the end device itself is the
> same on the different machines.
>
>>         Johnny
>>
>>
>> On 2016-10-10 01:46, Ray Jewhurst wrote:
>>>
>>> Thank you Johnny. I will look for those documents. To be honest I knew
>>> that the lines of hex were instructions of course but I honestly didn't
>>> know what they were for. I only have tape experience on a then new HP/UX
>>> server and that was over 20 years ago. I would like to thank all of for
>>> your advice and I am definitely putting getting this to work on my short
>>> list.
>>> Thank you
>>> Ray
>>>
>>>
>>> On Oct 9, 2016 7:35 PM, "Johnny Billquist" <bqt at softjar.se
> <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>
>>> <mailto:bqt at softjar.se <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>     Uh... The bootstrap listed there is for the 11/780. It does not work
>>>     for any other model (the 11/785 is just a faster 11/780).
>>>
>>>     The MtXinu manuals (do anyone have them around) had the bootstraps
>>>     for tape on all the old VAXen (11/780, 11/750, 11/730 and 8600).
>>>
>>>             Johnny
>>>
>>>     On 2016-10-09 16:40, Ray Jewhurst wrote:
>>>
>>>         Hello everyone,
>>>
>>>         I have use the VAX 11/780-5 simulator for quite some time now
>>>         and feel
>>>         pretty comfortable with them so I thought I would play around
>>>         with the
>>>         other pre-MicroVAX simulators and have had no luck with them.  I
>>>         tried
>>>         using the "recipes: from gunkies.org <http://gunkies.org>
> <http://gunkies.org>
>>>         <http://gunkies.org> to set up some
>>>         configurations and nothing works.  (I know the 11/730 has some
>>>         hardware
>>>         differences, so that one is the least of my concerns.)
>>>         Attempting to
>>>         install 3BSD onto the 11/750 gives me a "0000010 HALT" and with
>>>         the 8600
>>>         I can get all the way to the initial boot and I get a kernel
>>>         panic.  Now
>>>         I will admit I haven't tried different deposits and frankly I
> don't
>>>         understand very well how they work but I would really like to
> "try"
>>>         these machines. Also on a similar note I think that we should
> either
>>>         help to revive gunkies.org <http://gunkies.org>
> <http://gunkies.org>
>>>         <http://gunkies.org> or find a new place to
>>>         share our system "recipes" and configurations.  For example, in
>>>         the text
>>>         file that comes with DOS-11 there  are instructions that don't
>>>         apply to
>>>         that version of DOS and I would love to share a revised version
>>>         of said
>>>         instructions.
>>>
>>>         Thanks,
>>>         Ray
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     --
>>>     Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
>>>                                       ||  on a psychedelic trip
>>>     email: bqt at softjar.se <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>
> <mailto:bqt at softjar.se <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>>             ||
>>>
>>>     Reading murder books
>>>     pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
>>                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
>> email: bqt at softjar.se <mailto:bqt at softjar.se>             ||  Reading
> murder books
>> pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
>


-- 
Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se             ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol