On Monday, November 24, 2003, at 04:46 AM, Fred N. van Kempen wrote:
Since the "*** THIS VOLUME" ... comes from the boot loader (it is not
in the bootstrap program...) on tape, we *did* load something from it.
I tried three different tapes, two of which are the same thing. One
tape is a homemade system tape, on an ten inch reel. The label is
handwritten in pencil and hard to read. It says "RSX-11-M-Plus V4.0
Operating system for Eagle (DB2, omitting software directories) VMR'd
for extra pool space <something I can't read>, needs DTR files
[1,2],<something else I can't read>" The other tape is an official
Digital tape on a 12 inch reel. The label says "BB-JO81J-BC
RSX-11M-LUS V4.4 BRU MT:1/1 ID:RSX11MPBL78 DIST 1600BPI COPYRIGHT
1993 DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION MB0804". I don't know what
controller these were written for, or how my Emulex card is set up.
I'll have to read through the Emulex manual some more.
Even though we were able to load the secondary
bootstrap off tape
(which
is blocks 0 and/or 1 on tape), we **ALSO** need to have that code know
what we're loading from.
Are these leading blocks written in the same format
or a different
format as the rest of the tape? What about density? I'll have to look
up in the manual, but I _think_ the default on my drive is 1600bpi,
but I'm not positive.
Suppose... we load the secondary boot. But: that
thinks we're using a
TM11 controller. It then tries to load the rest off tape... but
barfs,
because the TM11 doesnt respond (since it's really a TS11.) ...
error..
What's the difference between the two controllers? Is their tape
format different, or just the headers?
I might
end up doing that, I can write down the output, and email it
to
you.
Use a terminal program on a PC or other system, and just log the
sessions. Much easier :)
Good point... Right now I'm using a Lear Siegler
ADM3A :)
Better yet, use vtserver from a PC to boot the 11/73, and write a
scratch tape from a known good boot image. If the new boot tape
actually boots, your controller and tape drive are validated, leaving a
couple of points-of-failure not to worry about. Plus, you get to play
with the system. :)
I forget the memory specs of your system, but vtserver requires 192KB
on the client (PDP11) to run. vtserver was invaluable in getting our
new 11/84 up and running last month. The previous owners had
bulk-erased every piece of media except the RA-60P disk packs, and had
zeroed those. :(
Doc