Introduction And Questions About Media Preservation "Mostly DecStuff"

From: Francesca Smith <fsmith at ladylinux.com> Reply-To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"<cctalk at classiccmp.org> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Introduction And Questions About Media Preservation "Mostly DecStuff" Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 21:07:35 -0400 Hello, I been lurking here for a while and figure I come out of my shell to say hi and say how much I love reading most all the posts here. Now as to my question/questions and or dilemma. I have a bunch of old media. RK05's , RK06's, RL02's, RL01's , 8 Inch Floppies, RX50 Floppies , 9 track tapes among other things. Now before I run off and do something real stupid (Like damage the media by not properly handling it when archiving off) I figured I ask some advice. I know all about Bitsavers "Al Kassow I am so sorry but I bid up against you a few times and now that I have gotten to know you by lurking here It won't happen again." Bitsavers is a awesome resource and yours and others efforts there are VERY much appreciated and admired from my lil corner of the world. I have some sentimental attachment to some of this media as in its from my "PDP" days of the late 70's and 80's. But most of this stuff I just rescued. Lots of it has actual Dec Labels indicating multiple versions of RT11, RSX11, Older Vms etc. To get this stuff out there for all of you. What should I do ?? Put up a list with my best guess of the contents and see if anyone will help me and all of you out by getting the bits off the platters/media for people for years and years to enjoy ?? Or is this stuff so garden variety that I should just hook up my 11/34 , 11/73 and Microvax and get busy pulling off the bits and bytes before they become star dust or whatever old magnetic bits and bytes go to when they vanish from the media. ?? I don't have everything in place to read off all this stuff yet. I am having a dickens of a time getting someone to send me a BA23 I won on E-Pay so I can put together franken pdp (11/73 from many parts :-)) And I certainly don't have a RK06 laying around and or controller for example. All I ask is that anyone taking any of this media understand that some of it I want back after analysis and in every case if anything valuable turns up that it be posted publically. Sorry for the long winded post. Had a lot to say I been holding back now for months. I won't even touch on my piles of documentation that I need to start scanning in this post. Perhaps in the future :-) -- Kindest Regards, Francesca Smith "No Problems Only Solutions" Lady Linux Internet Services Baltimore, Maryland 21217