[Info-vax] InfoServer 150

[Bob Wilson]

On Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 10:14:11 PM UTC-5, Mark DeArman wrote:
> On Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 6:29:05 PM UTC-8, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> > On 1/27/19 8:53 PM, Mark DeArman wrote:
> > > On Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 5:42:19 PM UTC-8, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> > >> On 1/27/19 8:25 PM, Mark DeArman wrote:
> > >>> On Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 6:10:50 AM UTC-8, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> > >>>> So, do we have any InfoServer experts here?  I have a problem.
> > >>>> I finally got the chance to work on the InfoServer I have had
> > >>>> for at least a decade and never got to do anything with.  The
> > >>>> hard disk is blank, I assume wiped by the previous owner before
> > >>>> giving it away.  I have all the disk images from the Freeware
> > >>>> 5.0 CD.  I think I have identified them all.  Two should be
> > >>>> software loads and the others are licenses for features. Now,
> > >>>> here's the problem.  None of them will boot.  They are all
> > >>>> Files-11 format and I assume you just boot them in the CDROM
> > >>>> and they will have install scripts that run automatically.
> > >>>> But, no luck.  Anybody have any suggestions?
> > >>>>
> > >>>> bill
> > >>>
> > >>> I second using ImgBurn on Windows.  Use FastCopy to verify copies off of the Freeware media.  Use SIMH to verify it is valid after transferring to the PC.
> > >>>
> > >>
> > >> How is SIMH going verify anything that the real machine won't?
> > >> People have already said SIMH does not emulate the 3100, it
> > >> certainly wouldn't do the Infoserver which seems to be a really
> > >> strange 3100.
> > >>
> > >> bill
> > > 
> > > If there are problems involved in moving it onto the PC, which are trashing the img file before it gets burnt to the CDR media.  Mount it under SIMH, verify the filesystem integrity. This is the most common issue I run into burning ODS-2 or other foreign images onto CD-R.  ImgBurn has no issue burning byte exact copies.  Just make sure to run a verify pass afterwards, many  contemporary CD-R units are flakey.
> > > 
> > 
> > They won't mount on a real VAX running VMS, why would I expect
> > them to mount on SIMH?  I am loading ImgBurn.  That will be
> > the 7th total and 3rd Windows application.  You will pardon me
> > if I don't feel confident that this is going to solve the
> > problem.
> > 
> > bill
> 
> I just downloaded the Freeware_V8 zip from the HP ftp, and mounted one of the images under SIMH successfully. The structure of the boot files is different than the normal VMS layout, but it looks all there. 
> 
> [SYS0.SYSEXE]IS1000_V35.SYS 
> other various files under [SYSD.SYSEXE]
> 
> I don't have a VMS machine at home, but I can try and burn it on Windows and mount it on IA system at work tomorrow, see if there is some other issues.

You'll need to pass a D0000000 (D followed by 7 zeros--the system root) in R5. For the VAX3100 family of boxes I think it would be specified as:

>>> b /r5:d0000000 dka0

n.b. I used to run a bakers rack full of InfoServer 150s (we literally had them stacked on a bakers rack, 3 shelves worth)...probably had 6 or 8 of 'em running at any time, double stacked with the 3100 expansion boxes for extra hard disk drives, and a special enclosure that could hold 7 RRD42 CDROM drives. Was a heck of a mess...way too many SCSI and power cables. There were a couple of InfoServer 1000's thrown in there too. I have a fuzzy recollection of at least one of the Infoserver 150s being a VXT MOP loader [and swap/page/dump file server] It was a god-send when we consolidate all of that stuff (except for the VXT stuff) onto three 4-CPU Alpha DS20E's with HSG connected storage [with the advent of InfoServer on VMS...thanks Doug!].

bw