[Info-vax] Backup TK50 tapes

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2013-02-24 01:56:01 +0000, David Froble said:

> If your objective is to be able to use the old versions of the OS, you 
> can, as someone else mentioned, copy the save set(s) from the tape.  
> The save sets are just files.  COPY will copy the files on tape to 
> wherever you wish.
> 
> The save set with the ".A" is a minimal copy of VMS, and when restored 
> onto a disk, using BACKUP, is then booted and the installation 
> continues with the other save sets.

The VMS kit .B file (eg: VMS073.B) is the BACKUP /IMAGE of the bootable 
installation.

The .A file contains the KITINSTAL, used for OpenVMS VAX upgrades.

FWIW.

> If your intention is to be able to build distribution / bootable tapes, 
> or perhaps logical disk container files (LD), then as mentioned, 
> STABACKIT does just that.  But you'll first have to install the OS from 
> the save sets and then be running that OS in order to use STABACKIT.

Yes; you need a working OpenVMS VAX installation to build an installation kit.

> It's been a long time, and I may need to refresh some memories.

S'okay.  I'm apparently prone to lecturing, not nice anymore, and also 
now irony-impaired, or so I hear.  Does this lead to "GOML"?

> I haven't gone into detail because I'm still not sure of just what your 
> goals are.  If you're going to state your goals, then do just that. 
> Don't attempt to describe what you think you should be doing, because 
> that doesn't help, and gets people going off on tangents.

Is anybody in this newsgroup actually tangent-impaired?  (If so, are 
they posting?)

> Note, I've never used LD container files.  All my VMS systems are still 
> running on VAX and Alpha hardware.

LD is handy for stuff, even on real hardware.  Useful for testing 
certain sorts of commands, burning disks, partitioning disks, etc.


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