Question about VAXen?

From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh_at_ix.netcom.com>
Date: Mon Nov 16 00:14:04 1998

>I found a VAX 3100 Model 40 for $40...
>
>It comes with 16MB memory and 2 100 MB Hard drives (the owner isn't sure
>about this)
>No monitor or mouse...

Throw a terminal on it. Or if you don't have a VT you can use an old PC
and software such as TELIX to emulate a VT100.

>I think I could figure alot out, since I am used to Unix from my use of
>Linux and I program a mainframe by profession...I know VMS is different,
>but I plan to get a hobbyist license.

You already know about the Hobbyist license, good.

>Ok...my question is...is this a good deal? What about the
>monitor,...all I have is SVGA monitors...can I just hook up a terminal
>or a serial cable to the PC and run via a terminal?
>Can the OS be installed this way? Is there an adapter so I can use a
>VGA monitor?

Yes, it's a good deal, for a nice machine. As I said above, you don't need
the terminal. Note, if it's a MicroVAX 3100 m40 you can't put a monitor on
it, if it's a VAXstation 3100 m40 you can. It's got a speed of 2.8 VUP's,
and with 16Mb the Hobbiest version of VMS will run very nicely. You might
want to see about picking up a DEC RZ24 or RZ25 Hard Drive if you can. The
RZ23's you describe are a little on the cramped side. Not sure what you
can use generic SCSI wise for hard drives, I do know that with the 3100's
your boot drive MUST be 1Gb or less (the actual number is somewhere around
1027Mb).

>What about CD player...got a Sanyo SCSI, and alot of IDE...can I install
>via this?

Ah, this is a little bit trickier. The 3100's are SCSI, and you'll need a
CD player that does 512k blocks.

>Sorry for all the questions, but I was hoping someone would be familiar
>with VAXen...

This would be one of the places to find such people :^) There are also a
couple of good USENET newsgroups, including some dedicated to VMS. VMS is
nothing like UNIX, but it's a blast!

                                Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh_at_ix.netcom.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh_at_holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
Received on Mon Nov 16 1998 - 00:14:04 GMT

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