[Simh] OS/8

[Vince Mulhollon]

On Sun, Jun 25, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Bill Cunningham <billcun at suddenlink.net>
wrote:

>     One thing I have noticed in simh's software kits repository, si that
> the OS/8 there doesn't seem to have any simh loading or preparation
> instructions for OS/8.
>

Find "OS/8 system reference manual" from bitsavers or whatever.  The 1973
edition. AKA document name DEC-S8-OSRMA-A-D

Starts right off with bootstrapping your OS/8 from papertape. (also
instructions for disk and dectape)

I've always meant to implement this in my infinite spare time as TCL Expect
macros to automate an install for testing and general messing around.

Load RIM BIN.  Then a papertape of ODT I guess (A little fuzzy here).  Then
you pick 1 of 3 device driver tapes (RK RF DF) and load that dude up.  Then
load up the command decoder tape.  So three tapes total.  Then run at 0200
and that writes command decoder and ODT to the disk and gives you the
famous . prompt.  Then you spend some time with ABSLDR, which boils down to
R ABSLDR, load up PAL8 or whatever tape, then SAVE SYS PAL8 and repeat
until you're all loaded up.

The instructions are a bit vague in the intro "bootstraping OS8" at the
start of the book.  Toward the middle there is a detailed man page for
ABSLDR.

You've probably seen appendix A an exhaustive explanation of RIM and BIN
loader, perhaps as just an abstracted part.

Its a tolerable good manual.  I've read worse.
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