PDP-11/44 boot prompt

From: Mitch Wright <mew_jac_at_swbell.net>
Date: Sat Oct 31 22:05:31 1998

Buck Savage wrote:
>
> One expects that the operating system executing on the 11/44 will be
> RSTS or RX/11 or some other operating system. Hence, the commands
> (and isn't this obvious) acceptable at the keyboard are relative to the
> operating system. So, which OS is it that is running on your machine?

Its got RSTS/E on tape and platter. Ver 7.x to ver 9.x. My memory of the
the PDP-11 boot prompt was different from this one. The TS11 tape drive
is broke and I think one of the RK07s need alignment. I can get RSTS to
boot up past the init stage but I think it is expecting the second
drive. I don't know much about RSTS so I'm sort of shooting in the dark.
I expect to put BSD on it and maybe RT-11 if I get the tape and drive
working.

 You got more money than I if you can pay to have one of these shipped
anywhere. It was a timeshare system at a school also. Four racks, one
fullsize for the TS11 tapedrive, two halfsize for the heavy RK07s, and
one halfsize for the CPU. The CPU has two 16 port terminal controllers
and the RK07 controller.
My wife wants her parking space back in the garage. I can not imagine
anyone turning one of these things on in their living room, you'll dim
the lights and go deaf.

 I was looking for somrthing more along the line of an 11/34 but you
gott'ya take what comes your way.

I'm mostly looking for documenation now, which might take some time to
track down.

--Mitch


>
> This information is important to me, since I 1) have an 11/44 being
> shipped to me in the next month, 2) have no idea of the OS's that
> such a computer can support (though my 11/34a and 11/45 have RSTS/E
> and BSD 2.9), and 3) expect, as you, to operate the thing upon arrival.
>
> BTW - mine was used for timesharing applications at a university, so
> I expect yours is a fairly large machine. Please, tell me more about your
> 11/44, such as features of the CPU, the memory size, and peripheral
> devices available, and the overall dimensions of the computer. Mine is
> said to be some 30 feet long, so if yours is similar, how do you find the
> space to put all the parts together. I plan to put mine in the living room
> of my home, and my wife, as you might imagine, has some reservations
> on the matter!
>
> William R. Buckley
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mitch Wright <mew_jac_at_swbell.net>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> <classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
> Date: Saturday, October 31, 1998 6:11 PM
> Subject: PDP-11/44 boot prompt
>
> >Ok, So ">>>BOOT DM" booted the 11/44 from the RK07. Thank you Toni. But
> >I'd like to know what the rest of the commands do? This is the dump from
> >HELP:
> >
>
Received on Sat Oct 31 1998 - 22:05:31 GMT