resurrecting a PDP-11/10

From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Mon Feb 24 15:30:01 2003

--- Fred Flintstone <iamvirtual_at_hotmail.com> wrote:
> I have a PDP-11/10 (a.k.a PDP-11/05) which I am attempting to bring back
> to life....
> My question is, what am I looking for in order to load RT-11? Is RT-11
> easier to install via tape, or am I looking for a bootable disk pack?

I have personally only seen RT-11 distributed on disk - RX01 and RK05
for older versions (v4 and older); RX02, RX50 and RL02 for newer
versions (v5.x)

> At this point, I am not looking for specifics, I need to know what is the
> general means to bootstrap RT-11 onto a PDP-11. This exercise is a
> precursor to getting a PDP-11/20 up and running.

Typically, you need the device-specific bootstrap for your bootable
medium (tape, disk, or whatever)... In the case of an RX01, it's
a few dozen instructions. In the case of the RK05, it's very few.
 
> I would also like to know if one of the PDP-11 emulators would assist me
> to learn what I need to do in terms of bootstrapping a system.

Yes. E-11 or SIMH would help you practice what's required. For the
full experience, you'd need a container file with the desired files
in the intended format. the RT-11 distros that are out there for SIMH
are disk image files - 1.6MB (RK05) in the case of v4, and 10MB (RL02)
in the case of v5.3. Not sure what you'd do about a tape for your
TS03.

What disk devices do you have for your 11/10? Just the RK05? One
drive or multiple?

-ethan
Received on Mon Feb 24 2003 - 15:30:01 GMT