test-drb November 1997

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

126 participants
546 discussions

Who Was Looking for the RSX-11/M Manual??? Please Respond!

by mcquiggi＠sfu.ca

Hi: I was in contact with someone through the group who was looking for an intro manual to RSX-11. I lost your street address (and email message)!!! Please repeat, and reply to me directly! Kevin --- Kevin McQuiggin VE7ZD mcquiggi(a)sfu.ca

26 years, 8 months

[RANT] I hate life, I wish this was simple, like the PDP...

by dseagrav＠bsdserver.tek-star.net

I have been sitting here for the past 3 hours trying to make **** BSDi see a Digiboard that MS-DOG swears is there and BSD swears is not. If this were my PDP I could just drop in another DZ11, but no, Intel has to make the machines, and they have to use some bass-ackwards IBM BIOS which limits the normal amount of serials to 4... And, since this is work, I can't leave at 5 because the CUSTOMERS are down, and they get to call me with their whiny little voices and say "The Internet is down, and it's your fault I didn't read the mail saying this was scheduled...", and worst of all I'll be here till 6 because this doesn't work, and I could be getting an RL02, controller, and terminator for $20 at 5:00, but no, the CUSTOMERS are down, so I have to put myself last *AGAIN*... Oh, that feels better. Now, off to rebuild BSD again...

26 years, 8 months

Caution!

by yakowenk＠cs.unc.edu

I just noticed in poking around this goverment auction stuff, a lot of the computer stuff is marked with codes F# or H#, which can mean it is radioactive. Yikes! Read the fine print before bidding! But that Encore system is listed as A1 - in good working order, etc. And another list showed it's original list price as something like 2.4 megabucks. Pretty picture, too. Bill.

26 years, 8 months

Tape backup unit: Any clues?

by engine＠chac.org

At 09:52 11/15/97 -0800, you wrote: >Came across an interesting find recently....a >Pertec-interface TBU that uses, of all things, a VHS cassette mechanism to >back up as much as 2 gigabytes to a normal T120 VHS tape. > > I'm just curious if anyone else has crossed paths with this unit. It's >called a 'Gigastore.' Such a device, maybe not this particular make, was the standard OEM backup for Alpha Micro minicomputers. Mid-eighties. Not madly reliable. __________________________________________ Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org http://www.chac.org/index.html Computer History Association of California

26 years, 8 months

Software preservation

by kyrrin2＠wizards.net

OK... now that I've -finally- gotten hold of a CD burner, I can start thinking about preserving all the old software I have. What I'd like from the group is some pointers on ways that I can preserve things like RX50 floppies on CD. EPROMs and PROMs I can already deal with. What kind (if any) of binary or bit-copy utilities are available to help me in this regard? FTP sites, anyone? My primary workstation is Windoof NT, though I will be setting up an ESIX (Unix) system in the near future, or possibly Linux (haven't decided yet). I know about CoComp's SCSI Toolkit, but I'm not quite ready to spend another $500 just yet! ;-) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin2(a)wizards.net) http://www.wizards.net/technoid "Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."

26 years, 8 months

Classic Computer Accumulation Squad

by engine＠chac.org

At 09:27 11/15/97 -0500, you wrote: >> Your problerm is that your starting with a passion for collecting >> rather than a passion for a particular machine, platform, or >> architechture . > >Unlike those of us who never _planned_ to accumulate a bunch of >"obsolete" hardware (Hell, some of it _wasn't_ when we got it), but >just have a serious problem throwing anything away. And then after >a few years decided to start filling gaps in the product line. Disclaimer -- I do have a serious problem throwing anything away. Nonetheless, with computers and me, it's not that. In June 1986 I bought two 10MHz 286 clones (1MB RAM, 20MB disk, green mono) from a nice guy in Scotts Valley for $2500 each. One of those belonged to an intensely practical person, i. e., my wife, and is now gone. The other one, however, was mine, and every time I went to chuck it, I said "Hey, I paid real money for this thing." So, in eleven-plus years, it's been a 286/10, a 386/40, a 486DX/33, a 486DX4/100....and is now, saddled with the cynical nickname of Millennium Falcon, my kid's second-string machine. Since it had a new PS sometime in the early nineties, the only original part left is the case, but bygawd I haven't wasted that $2500 yet.... It's like farmers who park their old cars in a row in a field. I mean, we have a house rule of "No computers in the living room or dining room, unless they're laptops or they're leaving," and even so, we have enough computers here that they take some time to count. __________________________________________ Kip Crosby engine(a)chac.org http://www.chac.org/index.html Computer History Association of California

26 years, 8 months

HD Floppies in DD Drives

by manney＠nwohio.com

>William Donzelli wrote: > >> says that they will last at least ten years. The best solution (other than >> mylar punched tape) is probably the older WORM drives (not MOs!), as they > >Purely out of morbid curiosity, has anybody ever considered making Tyvek >tape? The stuff is damned near impossible to tear and difficult even to >stretch enough to lose data. I don't think that indestructibility of the tape is the issue...the coating is the problem -- sliding across the head. What are you gonna bond to Tyvek? (still, DuPont managed to bond Teflon).

26 years, 8 months

Tape backup unit: Any clues?

by Anthony.Eros＠digital.com

I've heard of these before, a large chemical company headquartered where I live used these to back up engineering data. There was some senior management concern raised though over the format -- "We've got to keep these under tight control. If they fall into the wrong hands, our competition might put them into a VCR and look at our data." I kid you not... -- Tony ---------- From: Bruce Lane[SMTP:kyrrin2@wizards.net] Sent: Saturday, November 15, 1997 12:52 PM To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers Subject: Tape backup unit: Any clues? Hi, folks, Came across an interesting find recently. Manufactured by Digi-Data Corporation, out of Maryland (yes, they are still around), it's a Pertec-interface TBU that uses, of all things, a VHS cassette mechanism to back up as much as 2 gigabytes to a normal T120 VHS tape. Darndest thing I've seen this year! I've spoken to Digi-Data already, and it is still possible to get a manual for the thing (you better believe I'll be doing so!), so I intend to put it to good use. I'm just curious if anyone else has crossed paths with this unit. It's called a 'Gigastore.' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin2(a)wizards.net) http://www.wizards.net/technoid "Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."

26 years, 8 months

HD Floppies in DD Drives

by manney＠nwohio.com

>Since some of the software for my "old" (first generation PC) computers >is on 5 1/4" disks of dubious condition, I would like to make copies >onto new disks. Since HD disks are still readily available and cheap, I >thought this would be an ideal way to do so. Try asking for used DSDD disks...I have boxes of 'em that I get free. 'Course, you might get a dirty one... > >I also seem to have fried the 5 1/4" HD drive in my PC while sorting >through some old software. It seems a couple of disks had some dirt on >them which caused horrible screeching sounds when the disk was spinning, >and also deposited a very hard black coating on the heads. The only way >I could remove the deposits was to scratch it off with my fingernails >(alcohol would not touch it). However, I must have bumped the heads out >of alignment, because the drive won't read disks any longer. > >My question is: can I plug a Double Density drive into the same >connector in my modern PC and use it for my old disks? I know I will >have to change my BIOS setting, but is there anything else I need to >consider? No. Just specify it as a 5 1/4", 360K. You might want to test the drive you install (Norton, for example), to make sure it does a good job. For greatest archive longevity, I'm told that tape (pick something common, such as QIC-80) *if recorded on a new tape and then not read often* will outlast anything -- even CD-ROM's. manney(a)nwohio.com

26 years, 8 months

Tape backup unit: Any clues?

by kyrrin2＠wizards.net

Hi, folks, Came across an interesting find recently. Manufactured by Digi-Data Corporation, out of Maryland (yes, they are still around), it's a Pertec-interface TBU that uses, of all things, a VHS cassette mechanism to back up as much as 2 gigabytes to a normal T120 VHS tape. Darndest thing I've seen this year! I've spoken to Digi-Data already, and it is still possible to get a manual for the thing (you better believe I'll be doing so!), so I intend to put it to good use. I'm just curious if anyone else has crossed paths with this unit. It's called a 'Gigastore.' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272) (Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin2(a)wizards.net) http://www.wizards.net/technoid "Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."

26 years, 8 months

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test-drb November 1997