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

[Thomas DeBellis]

That's fine; great actually.  I didn't want to get into decoding the 
data between the file marks so much as I wanted to pull the DUMPER 
savesets, being very interested in the UETP stuff.

I am very hesitant to speak to MTBOOT.  I believe we only built our 
first KL with MTBOOT.  The other five machines got built directly from 
disk; that is, we used CHECKD to create the PS: (or BS:) structure and 
then copied over what we needed, changing appropriate configuration 
files, etc.

What I do remember was a foolish mistake we made in understanding 
MTBOOT.  One time when a PS: went down, we speculated that we might be 
able to be boot from tape and then use that monitor to join the cluster 
and allow sign-ons to the login structure.  So we did that, but we still 
couldn't do much of anything because there was no swap space to be had 
anywhere.  A bunch of other things didn't work, either (like the 
configuration settings!).  Oh well, the monitor person wasn't around for 
that one.

I think we could have probably eventually gotten close to what we 
wanted, but that would have had a fair amount of exclusive use for 
booting, testing, etc.  That kind of time wasn't there to be had.


I skipped all the DLUSER stuff to get right to the save sets.  I had 
assumed that I hadn't set the record size to the right thing or 
something.  It would be in the system manager document as I recall, but 
again, I just wanted the date.

On 12/25/21 3:21 PM, R. Voorhorst wrote:
>
> I do not see that problem and I posted it here somewhat earlier:
>
> Swbx04> att -f tu0 simh g:\temp\bb-d867e-bm_tops20_v41_2020_instl.tap-1
>
> Swbx04> b tu0
>
> And on console:
>
> MTBOOT>
>
> The first must be MTBOOT else you cannot load de monitor with /L and 
> ?G143, so no skipping filemarks are needed as the monitor is the first 
> file.
>
> Mark well, it is format simh=tps!
>
> The tap-1 extension is because 7-Zip found another file .tap was 
> already there (the old one).
>
> However I could not run dumper from the tape when trying it in install 
> mode, so after DLUSER I got no further, but I did not test that any 
> further for lack of need.
>
> 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 20:47
> *To:* hecnet at Update.UU.SE
> *Subject:* Re: [HECnet] SIMH TOPS-20 question --> recipe for handling 
> Tops20 install tapes
>
> Try skipping forwarding one or two file marks.  There was some kind of 
> stuff at the beginning of the tape that I didn't recognize.  The 
> monitor was after two file marks.  So do a rewind then skip forward 
> one file mark and maybe mtboot will be there.
>
> On 12/25/21 2:20 PM, Paul Koning wrote:
>
>
>
>         On Dec 25, 2021, at 5:29 AM, R. Voorhorst
>         <R.Voorhorst at swabhawat.com> 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
>
>     I found that SIMH is happy attaching it with -f tpc -- previously
>     I had misread the messages printed by that command and thought it
>     had an error.
>
>     So according to the installation manual, that tape is the
>     "install" tape and is supposed to be bootable.  But if I mount it
>     and issue "boot tu0", nothing happens.  When I stop simh it tells
>     me PC is 0.
>
>     paul
>
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