21 Nov
2005
21 Nov
'05
3:10 p.m.
Subject: CP/M 2 - what's its legal status?
From: JP Hindin <jplist at kiwigeek.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 16:24:04 -0600 (CST)
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Hey there folks;
Decided to move into the CP/M world a little with my Vector Graphic
machine, which is expecting CP/M 2.0.
I was curious what the legal status was these days? Since I find source
code for CP/M, MP/M and so on online, I'm guessing the status is fairly
free, but I wanted to check.
I can also find CP/M 2.0 online - but I don't believe I have any way of
producing a bootable 5.25" floppy disk of it.
The copyright is still valid but the owners have released it for
non-profit use.
If the OS is in a free-as-in-speech state, would it be
possible for
someone to whip me up a 5.25" disk and ship it out to me (shipping paid
for, of course) for the Vector?
If you look around there may be a copy for that machine and a way to
get it to you.
The Vector suggests 2.0, but it appears that 2.2 is the
superior release
of the 2 series, I'm hoping that this will work on the machine.
Nominally 2.0 doesn't really show on radar. Almost all releases of V2
are really 2.2 and 2.2 is interchangeable upgrade (fewer bugs).
The real issue is getting a boot able disk and Vector did make a few
machines so copies are possible.
Allison
21 Nov
21 Nov
3:35 p.m.
On 11/21/2005 at 6:10 PM Allison wrote:
Exactly what model Vector do you have? Some took hard-sectored diskettes.
Cheers,
Chuck
If the OS is in
a free-as-in-speech state, would it be possible for
someone to whip me up a 5.25" disk and ship it out to me (shipping paid
for, of course) for the Vector?
If you look around there may be a copy for that machine and a way to
get it to you. 
22 Nov
22 Nov
11:48 a.m.
On Mon, 21 Nov 2005, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 11/21/2005 at 6:10 PM Allison wrote:
Exactly what model Vector do you have? Some took hard-sectored diskettes.
Only some?
I am unsure of the model, to be honest. The front case simply says
"Vector". The sticker on the back says the model number is 9002-something,
if memory serves.
(The Vector is in a 'mainframe' configuration, with multiple terminals,
and an MFM hard disk attached)
I have done a quick review and am confident I own no hard sectored disks
at all, so if the drive is hard sectored, I'm kinda up a tree without
another classiccmp member helping me out.
Any extra information, even lacking preformatted and bootable CP/M disks
;), would be very helpful.
JP
If the OS
is in a free-as-in-speech state, would it be possible for
someone to whip me up a 5.25" disk and ship it out to me (shipping paid
for, of course) for the Vector?
If you look around there may be a copy for that machine and a way to
get it to you.
2:07 p.m.
On 11/22/2005 at 1:48 PM JP Hindin wrote:
Only some?
I am unsure of the model, to be honest. The front case simply says
"Vector". The sticker on the back says the model number is 9002-something,
if memory serves.
Yes, the Vector 4 for instance, was made with with both hard and
soft-sectored drives. And if you've got the S-100 "box" version of the
Vector 1, it could use any third-party S-100 diskette controller, so the
question of "what format" may be a bit harder to determine.
Here are some photos of various Vector models:
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/company.asp?st=1&l=V
Cheers,
Chuck
2:21 p.m.
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005, Chuck Guzis wrote:
How helpful ;P
I'll have a close look at the disk drive tonight and see if I can look it
up and find something out about it.
Only some?
I am unsure of the model, to be honest. The front case simply says
"Vector". The sticker on the back says the model number is 9002-something,
if memory serves.
Yes, the Vector 4 for instance, was made with with both hard and
soft-sectored drives. And if you've got the S-100 "box" version of the
Vector 1, it could use any third-party S-100 diskette controller, so the
question of "what format" may be a bit harder to determine. Here are some photos of various Vector models:
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/company.asp?st=1&l=V
I have the external chassis Vector, like an MZ (or System B), but the MZs
and Bs I have seen all seem to have "MZ" and "B" screen printed onto
the
front case along with the "VECTOR" name, which mine does not, as below.
(Pictures-)
http://www.kiwigeek.com/misc/VectorGraphics-front.jpg
http://www.kiwigeek.com/misc/VectorGraphics-hdd.jpg
http://www.kiwigeek.com/misc/VectorGraphics-top.jpg
I appreciate your help in continuing to identify what specific Vector I
have.
9:14 p.m.
On 11/22/2005 at 4:21 PM JP Hindin wrote:
How helpful ;P
I'll have a close look at the disk drive tonight and see if I can look it
up and find something out about it.
Well, that drive looks like a Tandon TM-100M, so most likely, you not only
have hard-sectored diskettes, but they're 100 tpi also. Vector had a DS
format that held about 640K.
Cheers,
Chuck
9:18 p.m.
On 11/22/2005 at 4:21 PM JP Hindin wrote:
>How helpful ;P
>I'll have a close look at the disk drive tonight and see if I can look it
>up and find something out about it.
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005, Chuck Guzis wrote:
Well, that drive looks like a Tandon TM-100M, so most
likely, you not only
have hard-sectored diskettes, but they're 100 tpi also. Vector had a DS
format that held about 640K.
... just to add to the bad news,...
I've seen numerous TM100-4M drives that were labelled TM100-4 !
So, a visual inspection may be inadequate to identify it.
9:37 p.m.
On 11/22/2005 at 9:18 PM Fred Cisin wrote:
... just to add to the bad news,...
I've seen numerous TM100-4M drives that were labelled TM100-4 !
So, a visual inspection may be inadequate to identify it.
Vector Graphic was suprisingly stubborn about retaining the 100 tpi HS
format long after it had become pass?. I've had HS 100 tpi diskettes
from the Vector 4. I think Vector used some Micropolis
drives and some
Tandon. They may have also used some MPI drives in the 100 tpi
format.
What I can't explain are the small cables between the RAM cards in the
middle of the card cage and whatever the cards are at the rear.
Cheers,
Chuck
23 Nov
23 Nov
1:16 a.m.
I used have some original hard sectored 5 1/4" floppy disk for one of the
Vector machines. I was going to send them to Don Maslin but don't think I
ever got around to it. Let me know if you figure out what model you have
and I'll try to find these and see if they're for the same.
Joe
At 02:07 PM 11/22/05 -0800, you wrote:
On 11/22/2005 at 1:48 PM JP Hindin wrote:
Only some?
I am unsure of the model, to be honest. The front case simply says
"Vector". The sticker on the back says the model number is 9002-something,
if memory serves.
Yes, the Vector 4 for instance, was made with with both hard and
soft-sectored drives. And if you've got the S-100 "box" version of the
Vector 1, it could use any third-party S-100 diskette controller, so the
question of "what format" may be a bit harder to determine.
Here are some photos of various Vector models:
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/company.asp?st=1&l=V
Cheers,
Chuck
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ajp166＠bellatlantic.net -
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