Subject: Loading an OS onto a real PDP-11 - not an emulator
From: Doug Jackson <doug at stillhq.com>
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:51:02 +1100
To: cctalk at
classiccmp.org
Hi List,
Following the wonderful advice so for, My shiny PDP 11/04 has now been
upgraded to a 11/34, and I have a temporary terminator pack for my RL01
disk drive.
I suspect that I have a system that is capable of booting. - Wo Hoo.
(read - the disks spin, and the fault light stays off.....)
My final problem (Dont hold me to that though) is that I while I have a
number of disk packs, I don't believe that I have anything to boot!!
The packs are not really usefully labeled.
Having trawled the list, I can find many many messages about archiving
data off RL disk packs, and onto archival systems (such as emulators,
etc) - bit I cant find anything about how to take a disk image, and put
it onto an real RL01 attached to real PDP11 where there is no other
media... I suspect that I have to load in a serial receiver program,
and dump an image - but the details are so far, sparse....
If somebody could provide some pointers - that would be awesome..... In
an ideal world, I would be able to get RSTS onto this system (I have
dual RL01's - so that may not work) - Alternately, just being able to
boot RT11 to load a Forth interpreter would also work. [Yes, this is
where I admit to being a Forth person - I hope people will still want to
talk to me having admitted that]
Two ways I know of and they are essentailly the same. Create a pack on a
working system or bring up a pack from a working sytems. Other options
are a floppy based bring up (RT11 fits on floppy) or maybe loading core
via serial line with a bottable image. Last option is emulateted Tu58
where the PC acts as a TU58 with RT11 and you use a serial line to boot
and run fromt hat to create a RL pack. IN any case I don't think anyone
has come up with a way to write a RL from a PC directly. Generally every
one has at least one other media (RX01/2 or RX50 OR TK50, TUxx) for
portability.
It's look at the option where someone creates a pack for you or loans
a pack or the emulated TU58 option.
Allison