[Info-vax] VMSKITBLD.COM fails with CREATE_SYSDIRS cannot locate product description file.

[Andrew Back]

On Sunday, 13 January 2019 20:58:20 UTC, John E. Malmberg  wrote:
> On 1/13/2019 1:58 PM, johnwallace4 at yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> > On Sunday, 13 January 2019 14:58:35 UTC, Andrew Back  wrote:
> > 
> > As others have pointed out, VMSKITBLD isn't usually relevant
> > to the picture you describe, even if what you want to do is
> > end up with a VAXstation 2000 with its own local independent
> > copy of VAX/VMS.
> > 
> > I was going to suggest you looked at some of the entirely
> > useful SIMH/VAX/VMS/VAXcluster articles on the web elsewhere,
> > some of which have actual pictures. And some others provide
> > step by step (but hopefully reasonably complete and reasonably
> > correct) descriptions of procedures specific to SIMH.
> > 
> > I have a feeling you may have seen one or two of them already,
> > but I'll include them anyway in case they may help e.g.
> > https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/a-raspberry-pi-vax-cluster
> > has pictures and links, is credited to Andrew Back in 2012
> > and also links to
> > https://www.wherry.com/gadgets/retrocomputing/vax-simh.html
> > which is a handy document too,
> > And there's
> > https://raymii.org/s/blog/OpenVMS_7.3_install_log_with_simh_vax_on_Ubuntu_16.04.html
> > which has lots of detail for installing VAX/VMS V7.3 in a
> > SIMH/Ubuntu environment ready for forming a VMScluster,
> > including the log of the initial VMS installation
> > procedure and relevant Q+A that may not *quite* match your
> > current setup but may be at least as helpful as what you're
> > seeing here at the moment.
> 
> https://sourceforge.net/p/vms-ports/wiki/VMSInstallation/
> 
> I would not bother installing VAX/VMS on an RD53.  It will just barely 
> fit with out the optional components.
> 
> You may almost get better performance to just always boot the VAXstation 
> 2000 diskless from SimH/VAX.  I think the network bandwidth might be 
> better than the local disk.

Done that — it's boring. I could also likely get an MFM/SD adapter, which would also be dull and not make that nice RD53 scratchy sound on disk access.

Granted VAX/VMS 5.5 might be a better fit on that disk. Or I could install an RD54 — I think 2 out of the 4 drives I have work.

Andrew