test-drb

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

101090 discussions

by pete＠dunnington.u-net.com

On Feb 13, 10:34, Tim wrote: > On an only slightly related note, IMHO the build quality and general > longevity of Silicon Graphics hardware really isn't what you'd hope > of kit that cost so much new... > > I've seen Sun boxes that have been through the mill several times by > the look of things, but flick the switch and you're up and running > (possibility of needing to solder a battery onto the PROM > notwithstanding.) Doesn't sound like you've looked at many recent Suns. The Ultra5 and later are built like cheap PCs. Not at all like the older ones. > Personal (limited, I grant you ;-) experience of Indys on the other > hand suggest you need at least 3 candidates handy if you want to put > together a working combination of power supply, processor and mobo/PROM. I've not had much trouble with them. I have three of my own, and was responsible for "tidying up", reconfiguring, and reselling several dozen at work. I admit the Nidex PSUs have a bad reputation, but I've only had two (or maybe three) fail out of nearly 100 machines. You do know that a few of the later graphics boards need 005, 008 or 010 PROMs? Same applies to certain CPUs (the R5K needs an 010, for example, and that comes with the upgrade kit). > Which isn't to say I don't love 'em, an Indy is my main workstation at > home & the sight of SGI rapidly going down the tubes is deeply sad... I spent this afternoon splitting an Origin 2000 apart to sell part of it off :-( -- Pete Peter Turnbull Network Manager University of York

24 years, 2 months

Amstrad's email phone and Spectrums

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

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24 years, 2 months

SGI build quality (was RE: great site)

by timwa＠snowgoons.fsnet.co.uk

Bill Bradford wrote: > On Wed, Feb 13, 2002 at 10:34:31AM +0000, Tim wrote: >> I also don't think I've yet forgiven SGI for making the power >> supply (simple slide-in/slide-out with two thumbscrews) on the O2000 >> a non user replaceable part - i.e. they won't sell you one without >> a service contract and an engineer round to plug it in. > You sure about that? I had to replace a bad PSU on an O2K in '99; > called SGI, shipped them the power supply, they shipped one back... In the UK, in 2000, they wouldn't ship a power supply without an attendant engineer to perform the complex task of undoing the thumbscrews. (With the attendant cost, as well - of course...) Whether this was global policy or just a local thing, or just SGI being bloody minded for the sake of it I wouldn't like to comment :-). Of course, when said engineer did come round, he cheered me up immensely with "Oh, yes, this model of PSU was known to be bad, they always blow; the replacement should be fine." Well great, thanks for telling me when I needed to know... I also forgot to mention the sheer awfulness of IRIX in my previous list of gripes... Anyone else had to deal with a corrupt XFS filesystem on a production machine? "Excuse me, my XFS filesystem is corrupt and I need it fixed," "well, XFS can't get corrupted so we don't have any tools to repair it." "OK, lets pretend XFS isn't corrupt but that IRIX panics every time it reads a particular directory entry, how do I repair it?" "Sorry, XFS cannot be corrupt, so there is no way to repair it..." Cue a long night of restoring from backups :-(. Fortunately for Sun, there ain't any SGI systems still in production use round my end of the world any more... Cheers, Tim. -- Tim Walls at home in Croydon - Reply to tim(a)snowgoons.fsnet.co.uk

24 years, 2 months

VMS help file

by Antonio.Carlini＠riverstonenet.com

> Congratulations. What does "chuffed" mean? Happy (as a lark) Antonio

24 years, 2 months

small-shop management was Taking control of your collection

by mythtech＠Mac.com

> But wouldn't I need the full FMP installed on the old IBM machine ? Since >this is a neighborly freeby I'm not about to put out big bucks for an >install. There is a developer version of FMP that lets you create runtime solutions, that you can distribute royalty free (you are allowed to charge any amount you want for your database solutions and don't have to pay FMP a dime past the cost of the dev kit). However, that developer version last time I checked is about $500 (that was the price when I bought it, it might have gone up or down slightly since, but figure around there). If this is just a "neighborly freeby" like you say, then I would agree, $500 is WAY too much to spend... as is $200 for a regular single copy of FMP. Depending on your needs, one of the FMP versions has been released as freeware. I *think* it is version 3, which would be good as it is relational and has decent scripting... but I can't seem to turn up any info on it. It might be version 2.1 that was released as freeware, in which case don't bother... it has no relational abilities so doing database linking gets to be VERY messy. If you want to poke around to find the free version, all I recall is some time back, FileMaker Inc released one of the versions free with a few magazine CDs (which I guess might not technically make it freeware, but rather just super cheap purchased... but I would think it would fall into enough of a grey zone that you could get away with using it if you can find a copy). I will keep hunting, and if I turn up any good info, I'll let you know. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>

24 years, 2 months

OT: But too funny...

by dhquebbeman＠theestopinalgroup.com

> Douglas Quebbeman wrote: > > > Seriously, Outlook isn't the source of the stated problems; half-assed, > > self-taught, sycophantic sysadmins who can't secure their systems are! > > Is that true, or has network management gotten to the point that it > takes the equivilent of a PhD to be able to manage the thing? I don't have a PhD; it took me seven years to get an associate degree (well, you don't get credits for partying, and they were no yet offering a bachelor's degree). You just have to realize it's not just a mailer but a programmable platform and secure it accordingly. Regards, -dq

24 years, 2 months

Classic Comp UUCP network.

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Owen Robertson [mailto:univac2@earthlink.net] > would welcome the opportunity to be an active participant in its > development. My only question is (question, not criticism): Why UUCP? Ehh -- good question. Why not? I, for one, would be open to any similar method of communication. FIDO, maybe? :) UUCP is just what springs to my own mind. Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 2 months

Taking control of your collection (small-shop management)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

"Lawrence Walker" <lgwalker(a)mts.net> said: > So now I'm trying to set up a program using an old copy of >Paradox for Windows. (Yeah I know many other OS are better but M-Sloth >is what they'll be exposed to in this world) "This world" depends on what you give them, in this case, since they (from your description) don't have heritage or outside interaction with computers to consider. Thoughts: 1) You won't be around forever (no offense intended). 2) They may have to maintain or replace the system, or decide to upgrade, themselves. If you use Mac OS 7-9 on a used Mac and go with a used copy of Filemaker instead of Paradox, they are *far* more likely to be able to maintain the program themselves, and far more likely to be able to acquire new hardware (if the old one dies) without having to replace the software as well. Note that FM is currently cross-platform, so if they later decide to go Winders, they can. I don't know the cost of hardware and software to you, so maybe lack of availability of Mac's or copies of Filemaker makes this not an option, but you would be doing them a *real* favor to get them off MICROS~1 right at the start. Disclaimer: I don't run a business, so I may not know what I'm talking about. Anybody knowledgable here, please chime in. I think this is a *vital* topic for classic-computers, BTW, as keeping the machines productive is far and away the best way to keep them alive and known. The upgrade path availability is admittedly slightly off-topic, but relevant to the discussion. - Mark

24 years, 2 months

great site

by Adrian.Graham＠corporatemicrosystems.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Sellam Ismail [mailto:foo@siconic.com] > Sent: 12 February 2002 09:00 > To: 'classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org' > Subject: RE: great site > Unfortunately, a lot of pictures were posted that shouldn't have been. > What you're referring to were pictures that were taken of my > collection Aaah! That makes sense. No wonder I thought I'd struck museum paydirt! > The site is undergoing renovation but if you want something badly and > aren't getting a response, let me know and I'll get the > message through to the right people. OK then. I'll give them a test with an Exidy Sorceror, Memotech RS128 and an HH Tiger. *grin* a www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

24 years, 2 months

"Mindset" machine?

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

I came across a desktop something-or-other today with radiused front and rear faces, about 18"x13"x2.25", 2 1.5"x2"x5" sokets in the front edge with some kind of cartridge in one, and "MINDSET" embossed on the front side. I didn't have a flashlight, so I couldn't read the FCC label. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Doc

24 years, 2 months

Old HP Scanner

by tractorb＠ihug.co.nz

Thanks to all for the information re the above. Turns out it is basically a dog unless I can get the wierd special interface card which is scarcer than the proverbial rocking-horse excrement. There's a remote chance it was still where the scanner came from but I'm probably too late now. I won't throw it out just yet though- will put it with all the other 'computer trash' - just in case.... ('Oh Lord' sez spouse of 30 plus years who still can't get the car in the garage!) And the connector WAS a 36 pin standard Centronics style printer connector- enjoyed all the discussion though! Tks all Dave Brown Christchurch NZ

24 years, 2 months

Hubbell twist-lock connectors

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: James L. Rice [mailto:jrice@texoma.net] > Watch out for semiconducting tape. I had one electrician working for > me, who wrapped all of the splices on a entire job with leftover > semiconducting tape. When we megged the leads, every one showed a > direct short to ground. The guy had over 20 years > experience, but was > in over his head on that one. *ouch* I don't remember having seen semiconducting tape. Does it look a lot like normal vinyl tape? :) Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 2 months

SCSI Bus Problem?

by jhfine＠idirect.com

Sellam - this one is racked in a tower box as well with TEN 5 1/4" half height drive bays - is that what you are using? I can't begin to imagine TEN 5 1/4" FULL HEIGHT drive bays, but if that is what you really meant, then I guess this box is only half the size. But in addition to the 6 SCSI drives listed below, there are: two EIDE 40 GByte hard drives - eventually to be expanded to four one 3 1/2" floppy 1.44 MByte one 5 1/4" floppy 1.2 MByte one IDE CDRW burner one IDE CDROM Total drives = 12 the 2 (eventually 4) EIDE drives are hanging on two brackets OUTSIDE the box - so I can see the LEDs flash on them - the LEDs are on the bottom of the drive in the middle. The drives are hanging from secure solid brackets at the 90 degree angle orientation so they stick out only a total of 1 1/4" from the box - very little torque on the brackets. This idea was from a recent suggestion about hanging drives from convenient locations inside the box - thank you (I forget who gave the suggestion - I simply extended it to hanging the drives outside). I have been able to do the following with a single internal SCSI cable that is terminated via an active external terminator (#1 configuration): SCSI hard drive #0 FAT32 - ID=0 SCSI hard drive #1 FAT32 - ID=1 SCSI hard drive #2 FAT32 - ID=2 SCSI Iomega Zip Drive - ID=4 SCSI CDROM Drive #0 - ID=5 SCSI CDROM Drive #1 - ID=6 It all boots and work fine under W98. I can also use an external cable as well (#2 configuration - includes #1): Sony SMO S501 - ID=0 Sony SMO S501 - ID=1 Sony SMO S501 - ID=2 (this one only is terminated) In this case, I MUST remove both SCSI CDROM drives from the internal cable (not just power them down), but ONLY power down the three SCSI hard drives. This also boots and works fine. On many occasions, I wish to switch between the three Sony drives and the three SCSI hard drives. Since W98 and the device drivers think that the Sony drives are removable, none of the software complains if I switch off (i.e. JUST turn off the power) the Sony drives and power on the SCSI hard drives - no cables are added or removed and I use a spare PC power supply for SCSI hard drives, so the internal power supply for the PC is not affected. This all works fine and since it is the minimum configuration that I need right now, I am VERY pleased and satisfied. Question: Can anyone suggest why I must remove the SCSI CDROM drives from the internal SCSI cable before I can attach the external cable with the three Sony drives - otherwise W98 does not complete the boot? Hint: If I attempt to boot with the same configuration as #2 (i.e. with the 3 Sony drives attached via the external cable) but now with the 3 Sony drives turned off and the 3 SCSI hard drives turned on, I also can't boot - i.e. if I want to be able to switch between the Sony drives and the SCSI hard drives, I must boot with the Sony drives powered on and the SCSI hard drives powered off - and the SCSI CDROM drives removed from the SCSI internal cable. Please don't say I am not allowed to switch between the Sony and the SCSI hard drives in the first place - that is something I often require - it works and I am satisfied - if it ever stops working on future systems, I will obviously need to find a solution. ================================================= A note added this morning. My son#3 suggested that I eliminate the external cable completely. Just attach a connecting cable to the end of the internal 50 pin flat cable (remove the active terminator) to the external Sony drives (my case will always be run with the sides off) and put the active terminator at the end of the Sony daisy chain (instead of having that last Sony drive apply termination - so that when I turn off the Sony drives and power on the SCSI hard drives termination will still be there). This all works just fine. Except that when I boot >from a floppy to be able to copy a GHOST backup file from a CD to the D: hard drive, I must unplug the power from the SCSI CD internal drives as only TWO CDROM drives are recognized by the floppy when DOS from W98 boots. Since the SCSI CD internal drives are OT (10 years old and slow), I certainly want to use the "newer" IDE CDROM drives which are much faster. The reason that I will just copy the GHOST back-up file to the D: hard drive is that GHOST will not work when I boot with CDROM support - after I do the copy from the CD to the D: hard drive, I must boot again without CDROM support in order to run GHOST. All in all, the restrictions was very few. I now can now normally boot with all four CDROM drives and the three Sony drives. Or if the Sony drives are off, then I can boot with the three SCSI hard drives turned on and they will be recognized as permanent had drives with correct FAT32 file structures (I did need to do an FDISK). Of course, in this latter case, I can't switch to the Sony drives. The only time that I need to do something a bit unusual is to unplug the internal power to the two SCSI CDROM drives when I boot from a floppy and I want to copy a file from a CD to the D: drive - and then only because of the time it takes with the old SCSI CDROM drives as opposed to the new IDE CDROM drives. Question: Is there agreement that the probable cause of the original problem when there was both an external and an internal cable was likely to do with termination? But is there a specific explanation as to why the SCSI CDROM drives needed to be removed from the SCSI 50 pin internal flat cable when the three Sony drives were plugged into the external cable? 'Tis a puzzle, but now a satisfactory solution has been found.

24 years, 2 months

cdburners (Web site downloaders)

by mtapley＠swri.edu

Lawrence LeMay <lemay(a)cs.umn.edu> asked: > Somewhat out of question, but does anyone know of any software that would > download a web site, or a portion, to a local disk? Chris answered: > I think the other app that I have heard recommended (I >use iCab myself), is called Site Sucker, or Web Sucker, one of those... WebWhacker came with the OS (mmmm... 7.6?) on my PB3400. It seemed OK, though I did not exercise it much. - Mark

24 years, 2 months

DCA controller

by fmc＠reanimators.org

"Robert Schaefer" <rschaefe(a)gcfn.org> wrote: > Hey, I've got a DCA controller here in front of me. It's a full-length > 8-bit ISA/MCA flippy card, with 1 BNC & 1 RJ-11 (4P4C) ports on it. One > sticker says `*LA 0006E1*' and one says `003581 REV.A' A little googling > indicates this might be some sort of 3270 controller, but I couldn't find > anything to confirm this. Anyone know what it is/want it? I haven't seen the thing in years, but Wollongong had something like this in the QA lab. Made by DCA, ISA on one edge, MCA on the opposite, with a daughterboard that plugs into one side or the other depending on which bus you want it to ride. Oh, and it had two different back plates (one for MCA, one for ISA); you attached the appropriate one to the daughterboard. I don't remember what connectors it had poking out the back. Anyway, it was an Ethernet interface. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they made IRMA 3270 interfaces this way too. What does surprise me is that Attachmate (who bought DCA) appears to still sell something like this: the "IRMA 3 Convertible Adapter". http://www.attachmate.com/products/profile/0,1016,416_1,00.html -Frank McConnell

24 years, 2 months

great site

by halarewich＠shaw.ca

that sells old computer stuff http://www.aftermathtechnologies.com/index.html ce ya Chris H

24 years, 2 months

Hubbell twist-lock connectors

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: r. 'bear' stricklin [mailto:red@bears.org] > On Tue, 12 Feb 2002, Christopher Smith wrote: > That's a shitty answer. > That being said, I concede the point. Well, my father was an electrician, and I was raised with stories of incredibly non-compliant I-can't-believe-it-doesn't-melt wiring schemes... Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 2 months

OT: Parallal-USB adapter

by rcini＠optonline.net

Hello, all: Has anyone used the USB to parallel port adapter cables for homebrew projects? I'm wondering if it can truly function as a parallel adapter for a non-printer application (a LCD display hack) and if anyone has done this. Rich Rich Cini Collector of classic computers Build Master for the Altair32 Emulation Project Web site: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/ /************************************************************/

24 years, 2 months

great site

by Adrian.Graham＠corporatemicrosystems.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: chris halarewich [mailto:halarewich@shaw.ca] > Sent: 12 February 2002 11:19 > To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org > Subject: great site > > > that sells old computer stuff > http://www.aftermathtechnologies.com/index.html It would've been a greater site if it'd had let me spend money and not just tell me half the things I wanted were reserved. Mmmm boxed Magnavox Odyssey.....had 3 of 'em too. a www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk

24 years, 2 months

Hubbell twist-lock connectors

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: David Woyciesjes [mailto:DAW@yalepress3.unipress.yale.edu] > Oh boy! What did I do! I was just trying to make up an > example of > dumb-ass electricians! At least this thread does relate to > Classic Computer > Collecting... Well, a common problem I've seen three or four times personally is to wire the neutral and earth swapped. This causes all manner of trouble for UPS systems. They don't like it at all. :) I've also seen wires taped together with incredibly not-good-at-insulating masking tape, causing a high-resistance (if you're very, very lucky) short. Last one of those I found was when I went to change a light bulb, and wondered why the ceiling felt all tingly. Joking aside, I'm lucky the ceiling tile was between me and the wires. Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 2 months

Hubbell twist-lock connectors

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Tothwolf [mailto:tothwolf@concentric.net] > Needless to say, a 20A system (max inrush) running from a 15A > outlet/circuit just does not seem all that safe. I put the > proper plug on > the cord just this weekend, since I got one in with that > weekends haul. Well, isn't the breaker on the SGI desksides 16A? I suppose, in that case, that they'd be relatively safe on a 16A "air conditioner" circuit, or the like, but 15A is living dangerously. :) Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 2 months

Monday Haul

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

And I do mean "haul". I found the stash at work today, and dragged it home. I had already copped the DEC 3000/300x Friday, and my boss told me he thought there was some more of that stuff around somewhere. So I snarked it. 3 DEC 3000/300x 2 untested as yet, w 2xRZ26E each and looks like 64M RAM also MAGMA 2+1 TC (serial/parallel adapter?) 1 w/2xRZ26E and 80M RAM. no MAGMA booting OSF/1 v3.2, Oracle 1 Mouse/KBD breakout w/mouse. 1 DEC SZ12 expansion unit with an RZ58 and a Seagate ST32430N 1 DEC MicroVAX 3100-90 w/serious problems - system board looks like it was wet & powered up. :o( Boots to console, but gets errors at several checkpoints and ends up with "normal operation not possible". Haven't done much trouble-shooting. Looks like 128M RAM *** RRD42 - with "OpenVMS v6.2 Binaries 1 of 1" in caddy! 2xRZ26-E 1G RZ26L-E 1G 3 DEC MicroVAX 3100-80 1) 72M RZ25-E 425M No OS 2) 40M TLZ06 4mm DAT 2xRZ25-E @425M OpenVMS 6.2 3) 40M TLZ06 4mm DAT 3xDSP3107 @1G OpenVMS 6.2 RZ26-E OpenVMS 6.0 1 VSXXX-AA Mouse untested 1 VSXXX-AB Graphics Tablet & Puck. untested, and haven't found the Stylus yet. Do the RZ26-E drives always sound like a gravel-crusher, or are all these toast? All this cool stuff, and the other day I was heavily lusting after an MV3100-30 on eBay, and right now I'm just p*ssed because the '90 is broken. Spoiled, huh? Doc

24 years, 2 months

QT13 on a VS3200

by pat＠purdueriots.com

I'm trying to get my brand new (to me) Emulex QT13 working on my QBus VAXstation 3200, and am having some troubles. When I have the card set to MicroVAX mode, it doesn't get recognized by the hardware. When I set it to LSI-11 mode, it gets recognized, but doesn't seem to work. I've tried both TSV05 and TMSCP emulations, and neither one will seem to work. I've even run the on-card diagnostics, and haven't had any success getting the card to recognize the drive, either (it just waits a few seconds and then says *** TAPE ERROR ***). I've tried swaping the data cables to the drive, with no luck in getting it to work. Help! -- Pat

24 years, 2 months

Freight again

by csmith＠amdocs.com

> -----Original Message----- > From: Russ Blakeman [mailto:rhb57@vol.com] > Ever thought to take a plane/train/bus to Mass (Doesn't Amtrack run to > Chicago still from Shampoo-Banana?) and once you get there Yep, thought about that. The problem is that I guess it will likely take more than a weekend to do it. I could try to get a day off of work, but I'd really rather not do that. Another option is to send somebody else. I know a few people crazy enough to try it... who knows. > If Amtrak doesn't come from C-U, I know there are commuter > planes from the > C-U airport to both Midway and O'hare and Greyhound should > still run there. Yep -- all true, though it still may be a longer trip than I'd like to make. > be the best in this case. truckers won't appreciate the > equipment and will > charge big bux for crating and handling as well. Well, I'd hope they won't go out of their way to screw it up. ;) Chris Christopher Smith, Perl Developer Amdocs - Champaign, IL /usr/bin/perl -e ' print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl Hacker.")."\x08!\n"); '

24 years, 2 months

HP-HIL adapter

by doc＠mdrconsult.com

I'm not sure this is quite 10 years old, but.... I have an HP Apollo 9000/735 with the infamous HIL kbd/mouse port. I've been running the thing headless since I got it because I can't bring myself to pay the asking price for the "Localization Kits" out there. I've run across references to & pictures of an adapter that converts HP-HIL to 2 PS/2 ports. Does anyone have the pinouts/schematic for this critter? Or have one they don't want? Aquiring minds just want. Doc

24 years, 2 months

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test-drb