[cctalk] Re: Experience using an Altair 8800 ("Personal computer" from 70s)

Bill Degnan wrote: Most of the disk images I have in the Altair emulation are set up to communicate via my own homebuilt dual-serial card - There might be one set up for the original Mits serial card... The ones with the Horizon emulation are set up for the serial ports build into the Horizon, and the Vector 1+ images are set up for whatever I had in that machine. There is a an image of the NorthStar master system distribution disk - which has "unpersonalised I/O" this is what was first used to get it running on the Altair - it boots and hangs in an infinite loop at I/O initialization - you halt the system and then toggle in minimal I/O functions functions through the front panel - then you can restart DOS and get a console prompt, at which point you can load "fresh" DOS elsewhere in memory, then using the NorthStar monitor, poke in your I/O routines, then IN(itialize) a fresh disk and save that DOS to it - thereby creating a bootable disk that "talks to the console". This is one of things you can do on the "Virtual Altair", do/experience what it was was involved in getting an OS up on a front-panel system when you didn't already have this OS running! Something you had to do in the first days, but few people today have done! (other then list members or course) I do have information about how to do this included with the emulater! -Dave