[Simh] Tops-20 4.1 on simh PDP-10: trouble during install

[Richard Cornwell]

Hi Tom,

  While I have not tried Tops-20 on the KS10, I do have versions 2
  through 7 running on my unreleased KL10 simulator. I am still
  resolving issues, I should be releasing it in a month or two.

   I think you need to hit ^C after the NO SYSJOB. 

Rich

> I'm a new simh user, and have mostly been using it to relive my youth
> on PDP-11s.  But I also had played with TOPS-20 back in those misspent
> days, and wanted to see if I could have my own, fully realizing that
> SIMH can't run later versions of TOPS-20 because it simulates a
> KS10. Still, I am having trouble getting past the first few steps of
> the install.
> 
> I am starting from the install document at 
> http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/dec/pdp10/TOPS20/V4.1_Feb83/AA-P346A-TM_KS_Install_4.1_Feb83.pdf
> 
> I have downloaded the install tape from 
> http://pdp-10.trailing-edge.com/tapes/bb-d867e-bm_tops20_v41_2020_instl.tap.bz2
> 
> I use this "install.ini" file (cribbed from
> https://gunkies.org/wiki/Running_TOPS-20_V4.1_under_SIMH):
> 
> set cpu tops-20
> d wru 006 
> att tu  bb-d867e-bm_tops20_v41_2020_instl.tap
> set rp rp06
> att rp t20.dsk
> boot tu
> 
> at which point I'm greeted with the expected MTBOOT> prompt.  I then
> do:
> 
> 
> MTBOOT> /L
> MTBOOT> /G143  
> 
> and basically say Y to all the questions:
> [FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TYPE "?" TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
> QUESTIONS.]
> 
> DO YOU WANT TO REPLACE THE FILE SYSTEM ON THE PUBLIC STRUCTURE? Y
> 
> DO YOU WANT TO DEFINE THE PUBLIC STRUCTURE? Y
> 
> HOW MANY PACKS ARE IN THIS STRUCTURE: 1
> 
> ON WHICH "CHANNEL,UNIT" IS LOGICAL PACK # 0 MOUNTED: 0,0
> 
> DO YOU WANT THE DEFAULT SWAPPING SPACE? Y
> 
> DO YOU WANT THE DEFAULT SIZE FRONT END FILE SYSTEM? Y
> 
> DO YOU WANT THE DEFAULT SIZE BOOTSTRAP AREA? Y
> 
> [STRUCTURE "PS" SUCCESSFULLY DEFINED]
> 
> [PS MOUNTED]
> ?PS UNIT 0 HAS NO BAT BLOCKS.
> DO YOU WANT TO WRITE A SET OF PROTOTYPE BAT BLOCKS? Y
> 
> %%NO SETSPD
> 
> System restarting, wait...
> 
> 
> At this point, the simulator just sits there for hours, never giving
> the date/time question the installation guide says I should get
> next.  It does seem that the install process has at least initialized
> the disk image, and if I reboot and tell it to skip all of those
> filesystem initialization steps, it blasts right to the %%NO SETSPD
> and "System restarting" steps, whereupon it hangs again.
> 
> I'm running simh off of today's current git master branch.  I have
> compiled it both on FreeBSD and on Ubuntu 16.04 with identical
> results (so I am not assuming it's just a FreeBSD incompatibility
> issue).
> 
> 
> I see plenty of old references to running TOPS-20 4.1 on SIMH, and no 
> such references to this apparent hanging of the simulator at a very 
> early stage in installation.  Has anybody got this running?  Am I
> missing something blindingly obvious somewhere?



-- 
==========================================================================
Richard Cornwell
rich at sky-visions.com
http://sky-visions.com
LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-cornwell-991076107
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