2 Apr
2012
2 Apr
'12
11:05 p.m.
Now that I have read in a few archival tapes and unpacked the simple
ones (ANSI-D) I am looking at extracting files from VMS BACKUP
tapes. I found a program vmsbackup originally by John Carey at
Monash University in AU. It actually seems to understand my
tape container format, maybe because it is practically identical
to some other formats. But, it is complaining that my tape
has 80-byte header records, and it wants 256. My tapes start
out with VOL1, HDR1 and HDR2 80-byte records, then a tape mark and
then the backup save set follows. I get the message :
Invalid header block size: expected 256 got 80
So, does anyone know whether there is a version of this program that
will handle a backup tape with 80-byte header records, or is there
another program for extracting files from a VMS backup tape or
save set that will run on Linux?
Thanks,
Jon
2 Apr
2 Apr
11:46 p.m.
On 04/02/2012 11:05 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
Now that I have read in a few archival tapes and
unpacked the simple
ones (ANSI-D) I am looking at extracting files from VMS BACKUP
tapes. I found a program vmsbackup originally by John Carey at
Monash University in AU. It actually seems to understand my
tape container format, maybe because it is practically identical
to some other formats. But, it is complaining that my tape
has 80-byte header records, and it wants 256. My tapes start
out with VOL1, HDR1 and HDR2 80-byte records, then a tape mark and
then the backup save set follows. I get the message :
Invalid header block size: expected 256 got 80
So, does anyone know whether there is a version of this program that
will handle a backup tape with 80-byte header records, or is there
another program for extracting files from a VMS backup tape or
save set that will run on Linux?
This may be a crazy idea, but...Why not do it with VMS?
You can install simh on your Linux box, get VMS up and running in
probably half an hour, complete with IP networking. Mount your tape
images via simh and extract your savesets with the software that they
were written to be extracted by. :)
I don't know your level of expertise with VMS or simh, so please don't
take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a "canned"
simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
3 Apr
3 Apr
3:02 a.m.
Dave McGuire wrote:
On 04/02/2012 11:05 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too...
Regards,
Holm
--
Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe,
Freiberger Stra?e 42, 09600 Obersch?na, USt-Id: DE253710583
www.tsht.de, info at tsht.de, Fax +49 3731 74200, Mobil: 0172 8790 741
Now that I have read in a few archival tapes and
unpacked the simple
ones (ANSI-D) I am looking at extracting files from VMS BACKUP
tapes. I found a program vmsbackup originally by John Carey at
Monash University in AU. It actually seems to understand my
tape container format, maybe because it is practically identical
to some other formats. But, it is complaining that my tape
has 80-byte header records, and it wants 256. My tapes start
out with VOL1, HDR1 and HDR2 80-byte records, then a tape mark and
then the backup save set follows. I get the message :
Invalid header block size: expected 256 got 80
So, does anyone know whether there is a version of this program that
will handle a backup tape with 80-byte header records, or is there
another program for extracting files from a VMS backup tape or
save set that will run on Linux?
This may be a crazy idea, but...Why not do it with VMS?
You can install simh on your Linux box, get VMS up and running in
probably half an hour, complete with IP networking. Mount your tape
images via simh and extract your savesets with the software that they
were written to be extracted by. :)
I don't know your level of expertise with VMS or simh, so please don't
take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a "canned"
simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA 
8:19 a.m.
At 02:02 AM 4/3/2012, Holm Tiffe wrote:
Dave McGuire wrote:
Like a VMware appliance?
- John
I don't know your level of expertise with
VMS or simh, so please don't
take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a "canned"
simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too... 
8:49 a.m.
On Apr 3, 2012, at 8:19 AM, John Foust wrote:
At 02:02 AM 4/3/2012, Holm Tiffe wrote:
The concept isn't super different; I'm assuming Dave means a zip or
tarball of a premade image and SIMH config file that you can just
run with "vax vms-7.3.cfg" or something. Having recently gone through
the process of building VMS from scratch (with copious help from an
online tutorial from Hoffman Labs), it's non-trivial for the uninitiated
(plus you need to get install media from somewhere, which took me
about a month from Montagar).
- Dave
Dave McGuire wrote:
Like a VMware appliance? I don't know your level of expertise with
VMS or simh, so please don't
take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a "canned"
simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too...
11:11 a.m.
On 04/03/2012 08:49 AM, David Riley wrote:
The concept isn't super different; I'm assuming Dave means a zip or
tarball of a premade image and SIMH config file that you can just
run with "vax vms-7.3.cfg" or something.
That's sorta what I was thinking. The legalities would prevent me
Dave McGuire wrote:
Like a VMware appliance? I don't know your level of expertise with
VMS or simh, so please don't
take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a "canned"
simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too... from distributing such a thing, though. I'd have
to remove my license
and you'd have to install your own (easy to do) before
doing anything
with it.
Having recently gone through
the process of building VMS from scratch (with copious help from an
online tutorial from Hoffman Labs), it's non-trivial for the uninitiated
Oh c'mon, it's not that tough. ;)
(plus you need to get install media from somewhere,
which took me
about a month from Montagar).
I wish I'd known you needed it! :-/
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
11:25 a.m.
set it up then when it's ready, remove any licenses,make the image and then distribute
that,along with instructions on how to add your own license.
it could even auto-start tcp/ip, do the bridging and stuff for novices.
it wouldn't be that hard or is there still a legalities issue with distributing the
image itself?
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2012 11:11:58 -0400
From: mcguire at neurotica.com
To:
Subject: Re: Reading VMS backup tapes
On 04/03/2012 08:49 AM, David Riley wrote:
The concept isn't super different; I'm assuming Dave means a zip or
tarball of a premade image and SIMH config file that you can just
run with "vax vms-7.3.cfg" or something.
That's sorta what I was thinking. The legalities would prevent me
from distributing such a thing, though. I'd have to remove my license
and you'd have to install your own (easy to do) before doing anything
with it.
Dave McGuire wrote:
> I don't know your level of expertise with VMS or simh, so please don't
> take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
> some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a
"canned"
> simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too...
Like a VMware appliance? Having recently gone through
the process of building VMS from scratch (with copious help from an
online tutorial from Hoffman Labs), it's non-trivial for the uninitiated
Oh c'mon, it's not that tough. ;)
(plus you need to get install media from
somewhere, which took me
about a month from Montagar).
I wish I'd known you needed it! :-/
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
8:12 p.m.
On 04/03/2012 11:25 AM, Dan Gahlinger wrote:
set it up then when it's ready, remove any
licenses,make the image and then distribute that,along with instructions on how to add
your own license.
it could even auto-start tcp/ip, do the bridging and stuff for novices.
it wouldn't be that hard or is there still a legalities issue with distributing the
image itself?
There are likely legal issues with distributing the complete disk
image; I'm honestly not sure. I'm certainly not going to make such
things available for public download. I appreciate the VMS hobbyist
license program and will not do anything to jeopardize it.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
12:06 p.m.
On 4/3/12 8:11 AM, "Dave McGuire" <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
On 04/03/2012 08:49 AM, David Riley wrote:
The concept isn't super different; I'm assuming Dave means a zip or
tarball of a premade image and SIMH config file that you can just
run with "vax vms-7.3.cfg" or something.
That's sorta what I was thinking. The legalities would prevent me
from distributing such a thing, though. I'd have to remove my license
and you'd have to install your own (easy to do) before doing anything
with it.
I just recently renewed my licenses and they have rewritten the script to
be VERY user-friendly. Instead of having to remove all the old licenses
manually (so you don't get a string of errors every time you start up) the
DCL does it for you - it also loads the licenses after installing them.
Soooo, what makes sense IMHO is a premade image with the licenses removed,
as you say, Dave. Then the recipient gets his/her own licenses (which
takes only a few hours at worst) and runs that script. To get the script
onto the emulated VAX, I recommend using a terminal emulator that allows
you to set a significant delay between lines, especially with the
emulator, whose input buffer otherwise seems to fill up and choke. Then
start the ASCII upload and go get a cup of coffee. -- Ian
Dave McGuire wrote:
> I don't know your level of expertise with VMS or simh, so please
>don't
> take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
> some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a
>"canned"
> simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in
a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too...
Like a VMware appliance? Having recently gone through
the process of building VMS from scratch (with copious help from an
online tutorial from Hoffman Labs), it's non-trivial for the uninitiated
Oh c'mon, it's not that tough. ;)
(plus you need to get install media from
somewhere, which took me
about a month from Montagar).
8:24 p.m.
On Apr 3, 2012, at 11:11 AM, Dave McGuire wrote:
Ah, well. It was worth the wait, anyway. The licenses from the
VMS hobbyist organization sure come through fast, though. I still
need to get a PL/I license from Kednos, but that's due to lack of
action on my part rather than theirs.
- Dave
On 04/03/2012 08:49 AM, David Riley wrote:
I stress the "uninitiated" part. If you haven't gone through it,
it's a bit daunting. I'm sure the config options for the Linux
kernel are similarly daunting for those who haven't done a million
before, but I can do a menuconfig nearly in my sleep at this point.
Having recently gone through
the process of building VMS from scratch (with copious help from an
online tutorial from Hoffman Labs), it's non-trivial for the uninitiated
Oh c'mon, it's not that tough. ;) (plus you need
to get install media from somewhere, which took me
about a month from Montagar).
I wish I'd known you needed it! :-/
11:35 p.m.
On 4/3/12 5:24 PM, "David Riley" <fraveydank at gmail.com> wrote:
On Apr 3, 2012, at 11:11 AM, Dave McGuire wrote:
Ah, well. It was worth the wait, anyway. The licenses from the
VMS hobbyist organization sure come through fast, though. I still
need to get a PL/I license from Kednos, but that's due to lack of
action on my part rather than theirs.
The Kednos folks are great. We have PL/I on the VAX-11/780-5 at LCM, and
I've bruised my brain on it. -- Ian
On 04/03/2012 08:49 AM, David Riley wrote:
I stress the "uninitiated" part. If you haven't gone through it,
it's a bit daunting. I'm sure the config options for the Linux
kernel are similarly daunting for those who haven't done a million
before, but I can do a menuconfig nearly in my sleep at this point.
Having recently gone through
the process of building VMS from scratch (with copious help from an
online tutorial from Hoffman Labs), it's non-trivial for the
uninitiated
Oh c'mon, it's not that tough. ;) (plus you
need to get install media from somewhere, which took me
about a month from Montagar).
I wish I'd known you needed it! :-/ 
9:56 a.m.
Sent from my iPad
On Apr 3, 2012, at 7:19 AM, John Foust <jfoust at threedee.com> wrote:
At 02:02 AM 4/3/2012, Holm Tiffe wrote:
I would really like something like this for the hp 2000f and the TSB.
Kelly
Dave McGuire wrote:
Like a VMware appliance?
- John
I don't know your level of expertise with
VMS or simh, so please don't
take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a "canned"
simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too... 
12:03 p.m.
On Tue, 3 Apr 2012, John Foust wrote:
At 02:02 AM 4/3/2012, Holm Tiffe wrote:
*drools*
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://www.scarletdme.org - Get it _today_!
Buying desktop hardware and installing a server OS doesn't make a
server-class system any more than sitting in a puddle makes you a duck.
[Cipher in a.s.r]
Dave McGuire wrote:
Like a VMware appliance?
I don't know your level of expertise with
VMS or simh, so please don't
take this the wrong way, but...if you want to do that and would like
some help, I'd be happy to help you out. I can put together a "canned"
simh VMS installation for something like this in a very short time.
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too... 
12:16 p.m.
On 3 April 2012 17:03, Gene Buckle <geneb at deltasoft.com> wrote:
*drools*
Back when I was an apprentice at Ferranti, I had lots of tinker time
on their networked VAX systems (VMS 4,3 I think) and it would be fun
to have a play again and see if I can remember enough to justify it
still being on my CV! I really don't have the time to devot to
getting to grips with simh, locating images and and working out how to
install it all etc. A ready-to-roll VM type thing would definitely
get a download off me, though! Please consider it..
Rob
On Tue, 3 Apr 2012, John Foust wrote:
> At 02:02 AM 4/3/2012, Holm Tiffe wrote:
As you know Dave I have very similar problems. I'm
very interested in a
"canned" VMS - SIMH Version too...
Like a VMware appliance?
4488
days inactive
4489
days old
13 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
dgahling＠hotmail.com -
elson＠pico-systems.com -
fraveydank＠gmail.com -
geneb＠deltasoft.com -
holm＠freibergnet.de -
IanK＠vulcan.com -
jfoust＠threedee.com -
kfergason＠gmail.com -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
robert＠irrelevant.com