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

[Tom Russo]

On Fri, Jan 24, 2020 at 08:17:09PM -0500, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <rich at sky-visions.com> flavor, containing:
> 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.

That should be pretty cool.  I look forward to it.

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

I never get to a NO SYSJOB anywhere.  It hangs right at 
"System restarting, wait..."

^C does nothing at that stage.


> 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
> ==========================================================================

-- 
Tom Russo    KM5VY
Tijeras, NM  

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