Multi-platform distribution format (Was: Backups [was

[Jay Jaeger]

On 9/21/2015 11:34 AM, Paul Koning wrote:

> For RX50?  On standard PDP11s, those used an MSCP controller, which means the controller would have to do it.  Did it?  The only MSCP controller I remember that did formatting was the UDA50.
> 
> I suppose you could on a Pro, since that had its own particularly disgusting junk controller.  But I haven't seen RX50 formatting there.  My impression was that they came factory formatted, with the DEC-specific 10 sector per track format.
> 
> 	paul
> 

Acch.  Bad memory cells.  This actually was discussed back in 2002.
Some of the correspondents in that discussion are also denizens of this
mailing list, may recall I made the same mistake back then:

The diagnostic was/is:

BL-FN7AP-MC CZFNAP0 M-11 FORMTR RX50

So, just to verify, I fired up my 11/23 (which hasn't been on in YEARS),
which came right up, and inserted the floppy and booted it:

It formats:

RD51, RD52, RD53 on an RQDX1 or RQDX2
RD51, RD52, RD53, RD54, RD31, RD32, RX33 on an RQDDX2

Sorry for the confusion.

JRJ