[HECnet] SIMH TOPS-20 question --> recipe for handling Tops20 install tapes

Sat Dec 25 09:24:09 PST 2021

You are, of course, correct.  I was assuming he would pull them as 
binaries with some other machine with Phase IV connectivity and then put 
them on his local 4.1 20.  There are a number of ways to do that; even 
Kermit would work.  In addition, it may be of interest to review some of 
the text files.

Yes, that print works fine, yet I found it ultimately deceiving. When 
you actually try to restore, there is some kind of garbage that you have 
to get past on the tape, even is you do the skip (which I, of course, 
did).  I didn't want to get into the machinations that I had to get into 
to get everything clean.  You also don't want to do a straight restore, 
you want to create separate directories and then do a /NOTAPE so DUMPER 
doesn't do CRDIR%'s, which you should do with capabilities off.

By the way, did you not assign the magtape??  I don't recall whether it 
will just let you use it; whether MOUNTR puts it under the control of 
the allocator or not.  For me, it's easier to label the tape as FOO or 
something and then mount it write-locked as an unlabeled tape.

I wanted to minimize the Tops-20 stuff.  I mean, once you get into this, 
you wind up /really/ getting into it...  The files are on VENTI2:: if he 
(or anyone else) wants them, otherwise I'm sure he'll either ask or 
figure something else out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
On 12/25/21 5:29 AM, R. Voorhorst wrote:
>
> I think Paul cannot get these files loaded on his Tops20 V4.1 system 
> from hecnet, being barred by lacking decnet and/or Kermit functionality.
>
> In the end (!) the tape recipe works as follows:
>
> Get a FRESH  copy of tape BB-D867E-BM_TOPS20_V41_2020_INSTL.TAP-1 
> (after unzip) from Pdp10 archive into a host directory.
>
> In simh when the monitor Tops20 V4.1 has been fired up or before:
>
> ATT –F TU0 SIMH G:\TEMP\BB-D867E-BM_TOPS20_V41_2020_INSTL.TAP-1        
> or your favorite location
>
> Then in Tops20:
>
> ENA CAP
>
> R OPR
>
> SET TAPE MTA0: UNAV  This may already have been set
>
> ^Z
>
> EXIT
>
> Then in command prompt:
>
> REWIND MTA0:                 to be safe
>
> SKIP MTA0: 7 FILES          files is necessary else you get some 
> special problems! This bypasses the initial files on the tape
>
> R DUMPR
>
> TAPE MTA0:
>
> PRINT TTY:                          gives you the contents of the savesets
>
> EXIT
>
> With modified former commands (RESTORE) in DUMPR you can also retrieve 
> the files necessary.
>
> $rew mta0:
>
> $skip mta0: 7 fILES
>
> $r dumper
>
> DUMPER>tape mta0:
>
> DUMPER>print tty:
>
> ^L
>
> DUMPER tape # 1, "SYSTEM files for TOPS-20 V4.1", Thursday,  7-Apr-83 1221
>
> file                                                   last 
> write          size (pages)        checksum
>
> DDB for PS:<NEW-SYSTEM>
>
> PS:<NEW-SYSTEM>2020-ARPA-MONMED.EXE.1 5-Apr-83 1928       321
>
> PS:<NEW-SYSTEM>2020-ARPA-MONSML.EXE.1 5-Apr-83 1924       321
>
> PS:<NEW-SYSTEM>2020-MONMED.EXE.1 5-Apr-83 1837       326
>
> ETC.
>
> Reindert
>
> *From:*owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE [mailto:owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE] 
> *On Behalf Of *Thomas DeBellis
> *Sent:* Saturday, 25 December, 2021 04:11
> *To:* hecnet at Update.UU.SE
> *Subject:* Re: [HECnet] SIMH TOPS-20 question
>
> OK, that's done: you can look at the following on VENTI2: via 
> anonymous FAL
>
>     T41SUB: => TOMMYT:<OINKY.T2041.NEW-SUBSYS>    SYSTEM files for
>     TOPS-20 V4.1,  7-Apr-83 1221
>
>     T41SYS: => TOMMYT:<OINKY.T2041.NEW-SYSTEM>    SUBSYS files for
>     TOPS-20 V4.1,  7-Apr-83 1223
>
>     T41UET: => TOMMYT:<OINKY.T2041.UETP-LIB>      UETP files for
>     TOPS-20 V4.1,  7-Apr-83 1226
>
> So NFT does what you think it would, viz:
>
>     NFT>dirECTORY (OF REMOTE FILES) venti2::T41SUB:*.*.*
>
>     Access information for node VENTI2::/ACCOUNT:
>
>     User:
>
>     Password:
>
>     [Fork NFT opening DCN:VENTI2-FAL for reading, writing]
>
>       VENTI2::TOMMYT:<OINKY.T2041.NEW-SUBSYS>
>
>     ACTGEN.EXE.1;P424242            11 5632(36)   20-Dec-1982 11:52:47
>
>     ACTGEN.HLP.1;P424242             1 612(7)     11-Aug-1977 15:44:36
>
>     ACTSYM.UNV.1;P424242            20 10104(36)  15-Apr-1982 04:23:27
>
>         .
>         .
>         .
>
> This is, of course, built into DCL for VMS and RSX.  There are hooks 
> for it in Tops-20, but they don't appear to have done it.
>
> I also put a 'directory' of the tape in the top level anonymous 
> directory so you can grab it, viz:
>
>     NFT>dir venti2::TOPS-20-4-1-INSTALLATION.TXT
>
>     [Fork NFT opening DCN:VENTI2-FAL for reading, writing]
>
>        VENTI2::TOMMYT:<OINKY>
>
>     TOPS-20-4-1-INSTALLATION.TXT.1   8 18538(7)   24-Dec-2021 21:49:35
>
> The non-ARPA monitors appear to have DECnet (I.E., NODE% points to 
> NSPSRV, not STG), so maybe you can find something useful.  However, I 
> did not see some expected DECnet utilities (like FAL and NFT), so I 
> would assume there is a secondary installation tape for that.
>
> This is some really old code; it appears to predate Multinet, or maybe 
> the KS didn't have enough memory to handle both ARPA and DECnet.  I'd 
> have to find source someplace.
>
> The UETP files are of interest to me for testing purposes.
>
> On 12/24/21 8:29 PM, Paul Koning wrote:
>
>     Ok, thanks.
>
>     As you may notice, I'm really rather ignorant about TOPS-20.  I've
>     never used it before, and only just barely touched it in recent weeks.
>
>     paul
>
>
>
>         On Dec 24, 2021, at 6:21 PM, Thomas DeBellis
>         <tommytimesharing at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>         Let me know how you make out with that.  If worse comes to
>         worst, let me know and I will grab the tape, restore the files
>         and give you an ANONYMOUS FAL pointer to grab them.
>
>         On 12/24/21 5:48 PM, Thomas DeBellis wrote:
>
>             That would only work for a Tops-20 labeled or ANSI labeled
>             tape.
>
>             You want to run DUMPER, then
>
>                     tape mt0:
>                     rewind
>                     print tty:
>
>             The tapes are not in TPC format, they are in TPS format
>             (if the extention is .TAP, .TPS or TPE)
>
>             On 12/24/21 4:46 PM, Paul Koning wrote:
>
>                     On Dec 24, 2021, at 3:17 PM, Peter Lothberg<roll at stupi.com>  <mailto:roll at stupi.com>  wrote:
>
>                     Take MRC's "Panda distribution" if you just want
>
>                     it up and runnning.  I'ts somwhere on trailing edge..
>
>                     -P
>
>                 What I'm trying to do is fill out the missing bits of the TOPS-20 4.1 DECnet Phase II system I have.  I think tape image BB-D867E-BM.tap is the relevant kit.
>
>                 When I attached it in TPC format I get some messages that look scary but perhaps they are just confusing.  I don't know how to ask TOPS-20 what it sees on the tape, though.  "dir mt0:" complains that someone else owns the tape.
>
>                         paul
>
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