Booting VMS 5.5 from tape?

From: W.B. <hofmanwb_at_worldonline.nl>
Date: Wed May 17 00:32:08 2000

quite nice isn't it
----------
> From: r. 'bear' stricklin <red_at_bears.org>
> To: Classic Computers <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
> Subject: Re: Booting VMS 5.5 from tape?
> Date: Monday, May 15, 2000 4:59 PM
>
> On Mon, 15 May 2000, Chuck McManis wrote:
>
> > I finally found my VMS 5.5 TK50's today and thought I would try to
install
> > VMS on my MicroVAX II. The tape loads in the TK50 just fine, but after
typing
> > B MUA0:
> > It reads and reads and reads ...
>
> Bwahahah.. forgive the repost, but it had to be done. Just as a warning,
> though, the article contains some strong language which may cause your
> wallpaper to peel just a little.
>
> ok
> r.
>
>
> From: mabbas_at_staff.uiuc.edu (Majdi Abbas)
> Newsgroups: alt.sysadmin.recovery
> Subject: Exabyte whiners and real tape drives (tape drive dick length)
> Date: 7 May 1997 00:09:35 GMT
> Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
> Lines: 161
> Approved: tk50_at_godless.org
> Message-ID: <slrn5mvi1v.ovs.mabbas_at_ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
> Reply-To: mabbas_at_uiuc.edu
> NNTP-Posting-Host: ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
> Summary: TK50s blow.
> Keywords: TK50 masochism
> X-Newsreader: slrn (0.9.2.1 BETA UNIX)
> Status: RO
> X-Status: A
>
> So here I am, sitting with *bootable* install media for my
VAX[1].
>
> The catch: It's on TK-50 tape. *One* TK-50 tape. Which means
I've
> got one shot, and only a 33% chance to make it close enough to even get
that
> shot. That's on a good day. Today is a Monday.
>
> What follows is *not* useful information. If you have one of
these,
> or have to work with one of these, you're too far gone to be recovering,
and
> this isn't going to help you any. May the God of DEC have mercy on your
soul.
>
> Oh, and before I get going, those of you who whine about Exabyte
> drives not ejecting tapes have no concept of a TK50. TK50's *do not*
eject
> tapes. You have to arm-wrestle the drive for the tape most of the time,
and
> even if you're lucky it's a manual eject[2].
>
> Before you can eject the tape, the VAX has to think it's done
with the
> tape. This is a pretty simple concept, if it worked. The TK50s were not
in
> production very long, and for good reason. Rumor has it their
replacements
> are better.[3]
>
> I'm going to describe the operation of a TK-50, ignoring some of
the
> things that go along with booting a VAX. If you know them, I'm sorry, if
> you don't, well, consider yourself extremely lucky.
>
> 1) Wait for green light.
> 2) Pull drive flap up.
> 3) Stick tape in, right side first or it won't fit.
> 4) Coerce tape into fitting into the drive.
> 5) Shove it all the way back
> 6) Push drive flap down. You may need a hammer.
> 7) Press Big Red Button. Green light will go off, red light will
> start flashing, then go solid.
> 8) Tape drive begins reading tape.
>
> Here's where we go off onto a tangent for a little bit, although
it
> is related. TK-50 (drive;cartridge;whole shebang) were designed by
complete
> absolute fscking lusers.
>
> The cartridges are nice and small. This is because they are just
a
> reel of tape. The other reel is inside the drive itself. When it starts
to
> read a tape, it snags the beginning of the tape using a leader that whips
> around the spindle of the inside reel, and drags the tape in past the
read
> and erase heads[4].
>
> 9) Drive reads tape, system boots, all is good. </SARCASM>
> 10) You press the big red button again, wait 45 minutes for the
thing
> to rewind, then it stops and the green light goes on, it moves
a
> servo that allows you to move the drive flap again, then you
are
> permitted to remove the tape. No eject mechanisim whatsoever.
>
> Now, on with the show.
>
> So here I am, booting the VAX.
>
> Things are going good, we get past the 5 minute POST, and the
drive
> starts *reading* the tape. So the media is good and I'm actually
thinking
> I have a chance yet. Then the gods decide that they've had enough fun at
my
> expense, and it's time to get serious.
>
> Loading system software.
>
> 2..
> ?4B CTRLERR, MUA0
> ?06 HLT INST
> PC = 00000E0A
> Failure.
> >>>
>
> My reaction: "Shit."
>
> VAX's reaction: "Yadda yadda yadda *WHOMP* *SCREEEECCCH* *thwap*"
> "THWAPthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwap"
> [continues]
>
> My reaction:
"MotherfuckingasslickingpieceofshitasspirateDECtapedrive."
>
> Actually, my reaction was much more lengthy and probably much
more
> obscene, but in the afterglow right now that's all I can remember.
>
> Knowing that the tape is hopelessly fucked and there went my last
> chance for a while, I don't even bother with the normal procedures. This
is
> a TK-50. One must adapt constantly or get sucked in.
>
> I quickly wrestle the vax for the tape, remove it, and all seems
good.
> But I know what's coming. A few hundred feet of half-inch tape, all
spooled
> into the drives internals.
>
> I spend the next half hour removing tape from the drive, clean it
up,
> check everything out, decide to try out this unlabeled TK50 I have.
Nope,
> won't boot. Okay VAX, rewind tape.
>
> [Pause for one hour]
>
> VAX, surely you must be done with it now.
>
> VAX: Nope, it's still in there. I swear.
>
> Me: BULLSHIT. I can hear you flapping around empty. You're
flapping
> around so much that the VAX is about ready to take off and my hair is
being
> blown back.
>
> Me: Hits the power switch, pops the thing open, pulls the drive
out.
> Grabs toolkit and commences disassembly of the drive. Sure enough, it's
done.
> But I can't get the VAX to let go of the tape until it realizes that it's
done,
> which isn't going to happen. Powercycling et al will not make it realize
that
> it's done, it has to feel like relinquishing it's dinner.
>
> So, I'm now dissassembling the TK-50. Sure enough, the magic
little
> leader that feeds these tapes in is broken. Surprise surprise. Tape
looks
> okay tho.
>
> It's a couple of hours later, and I have one reassembled TK50,
one
> sliced hand, a screwdriver with a broken tip, a spare black plastic part,
> three spare washers, a couple of spare screws and a spring. The tape is
> still in the drive, and I've managed to get all of the first tape into a
box
> for convenient disposal at my leisure. Like I have leisure. Anyhow, I'd
> like to make you an offer: Free TK-50 tape drive, including install
media in
> need of a manual rewind and a preloaded blank tape. Donatee must pay
shipping
> and psychiatric admission fee. Includes spare parts[5].
>
> WTB: One SCSI Qbus card.
>
> I am *not* going through this again. Especially because I took
> pictures of the aftermath of the first tape, and I'm going to post those
> near the VAX as a reminder. Let me know if anyone wants scans.
>
> Every single bad thing you've ever heard about any tape drive
doesn't
> even begin to describe what the TK-50 is like. Exabyte 8200s have
nothing on
> these things and never will. DEC was fucking up hardware design years
before
> the advent of the 8200. I personally believe that the TK-50 is probably
what
> nearly bankrupted DEC. The number of man-hours wasted in-house wrestling
with
> these things alone is in the millions. It would have to be.
>
> I saw an RU-81A today. Now *there* is a sight. Appropriately in
a
> junkyard. For those of you involved with BOFHnet, what do you think of a
> bofh.tdfh.tk50? This drive definitely has the FH aspect down.
>
> *sigh*
>
> Down,
> not
> across
>
> --Majdi
>
> [1] Currently hopelessly crippled due to a drive failure.
> [2] The problem is that DEC assumed that the VAX knew more about what
was
> going on in this drive than the person feeding it ferrite. Boy
did
> they guess wrong.
> [3] They *CANNOT* get any worse.
> [4] Which are opposed from each other.
> [5] You cannot disassemble one of these drives and not wind up with
> spare parts. They can't be anything important, because the drive
has
> to work to suffer some performance degredation and they don't
work, so
> there is nothing to degrade.
>
> --
> Majdi Abbas <mabbas_at_uiuc.edu> I do not speak for my
employer.
> "Damn, she looked a lot cuter in the bar..." -- Chris Rioux
> (He may be one of my coworkers, but he doesn't speak for them either)
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Wed May 17 2000 - 00:32:08 BST