Back to booting that MicroVAX...

From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis_at_mcmanis.com>
Date: Wed May 2 22:17:13 2001

Since you have SCSI, your best bet is to get a CD-ROM drive and a copy of
VMS on CD-ROM. Then you can install VMS and any layered products for which
you have PAKs (when you join DECUS they will send you, on request, PAKs for
most layered products)

I suggest if you have a local surplus electronics place or perhaps a PC
repair center that you scrounge around for a Toshiba SCSI CD-ROM drive.
They will often work in this application.

--Chuck

At 10:27 PM 5/2/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Refresher for those who have forgotten:
>
>MicroVAX 3100/20e...I couldn't get it to boot, except into Standalone BACKUP
>mode. When the box boots, it reports that it's finding the tape drive,
>DKA300, and DKB200.
>
>I tried Eric's suggestion, but no luck. My guess is that I need to get
>the OS on TK50 tapes and find out whether the 2nd disk is even alive, but
>I have no idea where to get VMS on tape. I've been playing with intel
>hardware for years, but this is the first time I've ever experimented with
>VMS.
>
>Anyone have any suggestions as to where I could find tapes for this beast?
>I've been lurking for the past week or three, and obviously the folks on
>this list know a LOT more than I do about reviving ancient hardware!
>
>Thanks in advance...
>
>
>
>Peter Kukla
>
>
>
>Eric Dittman electronically enscribed:
> >
> > > After digesting the above output, I tried booting to DKB200. That caused
> > > another disk inside to spin up (definitely louder than the first, but not
> > > necesarily to the point of screaming "I'm dead!"), but there's obviously
> > > a problem:
> > >
> > > >>> BOOT DKB200
> > >
> > >
> > > ?42 NOSUCHFILE
> > > ?06 HLT INST
> > > PC = 00000C66
> >
> > This means there's no boot files on DKB200.
> >
> > You might try to see if VMS was installed
> > using a root directory other than SYS0.
> > Try B/x0000000, where x is from 0 to F.
> > --
> > Eric Dittman
> > dittman_at_dittman.net
> >
>
>
>--
>fruviad| "You've got to be kidding! I'm wet, I'm naked, your sister is
>wearing
>_at_coil / my clothes, and this is all part of some evil plot to rule the world
>com / as a soggy chimp in my birthday suit??" - MoJo JoJo "The Powerpuff
>Girls"
Received on Wed May 02 2001 - 22:17:13 BST