[Info-vax] Architecture questions.

[Rob]

On 2024-01-10 10:55 p.m., Dave Froble wrote:
> On 1/10/2024 7:08 PM, Rob wrote:
>> On 2024-01-10 3:47 p.m., Craig A. Berry wrote:
>>> On 1/10/24 4:22 PM, Rob wrote:
>>>
>>>> For some reason the system is detected as a model 164SX, despite 
>>>> seeming to
>>>> have a 21164A (according to the stock firmware diagnostics on the 
>>>> front panel
>>>> of the system), a symbios SCSI chip
>>> <snip>>  From there, I'm able to bootstrap OpenVMS, Tru64 and Linux 
>>> from CD, but
>>>>   OpenVMS freezes on the copyright notice
>>>
>>> I might've missed it but is that CD-ROM connected to the Symbios
>>> controller?  My memory is fuzzy but I think that might be the one where
>>> the OpenVMS driver had a poison pill such that it would take itself
>>> offline if the adapter was not DEC/Compaq-branded.
>>>
>>
>> I apologize for my previous reply, it was poorly formatted, not 
>> proofread and
>> also, not sent to the group. I am still trying to figure this out. I 
>> hope this
>> one went to the right place. If I've doinked it *again*, I'm sorry, 
>> *again*, and
>> I'll be back in a bit after I've re-read some instructions.
>>
>> I'll also admit I'm very excited to be here, I honestly didn't think 
>> this place
>> would still be active, and the google groups situation made me think 
>> Usenet was
>> burning down! I was obviously mistaken.
>>
>> To answer the question, yes, the CDROM drive is attached to the 
>> Symbios 57c875.
>> Another of this board's quirks is the IDE connectors have been removed 
>> entirely.
> 
> I'm curious.  Are you playing with that system because it's all you 
> have?  Or is there something special about it.  Old Alpha systems should 
> not be too hard to find.  I've got a bunch of AlphaStation 200 boxes 
> laying around.  Gonna go to the scrap yard sometime.
> 

As to why I have this one, it's because it's all I've got. I have 
unfortunately been disconnected from other technically inclined folks 
for longer than I'd like and have not had access to the places where DEC 
hardware might dwell in dark corners for me to acquire through sincere 
human connection and/or Canadian-grade politeness.

As to *how* I have this one, it was at the e-waste sitting next to a PWS 
433a priced 1500 dollars. They didn't know what either of them were, 
just what they go for on ebay. It was the first time in a very long time 
I've seen something with a 21x64 in it that wasn't marked above a 
thousand dollars, nevermind in-person, because of the mania surrounding 
"Classic Computers". Mania that will surely wain before long, as these 
aren't collectable toys like the glorified terminals people used as home 
computers when these were contemporary.

I am not a professional who has ever had any real experience with VMS or 
DEC systems, I'm just very enthusiastic. I'm also not trying to light up 
my brain with the sensation of how "Valuable" the object itself is, 
causing me to blindly hoard what is otherwise comedically outdated 
hardware. The "specialness" I see here comes from the care and attention 
put into the design of these things, and just how accessible everything 
is at such a low level. I keep being surprised at how far I can get on 
my own with just whatever documentation made it into online archives and 
I do not credit my own skill for this. I am choosing to interpret my 
lack of incumbrance as a sign of respect from people I will likely never 
meet. I haven't even got it to boot an operating system yet!

Part of it is I feel as though I have been presented with a challenge i 
am now stubbornly committed to, part of it is I've been presented with 
an excellent learning experience I wouldn't otherwise be privileged 
enough to engage with, but if I'm being honest a lot of it is "trying on 
clothes that are too big for me". This stuff is *The Real Deal*. Maybe 
part of it is I'm tired of everything being such untrustworthy, busted 
crap all the time.

-Rob