The collected works of robespierre - Page 16

johnnym wrote: I wonder why SGI never thought about external enclosures for single CDROM and disk drives that match the design of the base machine (i.e. CDROM for Octane, etc.).

They did: The Indy had the Challenge Vault S, the Indigo2 had the Challenge Vault M, and the O200 had the Origin Vault.

I can see there was one previous post about this system, although the poster didn't actually have one: viewtopic.php?t=16727826

I wish I had more information about the IVAS, it looks very interesting. About your error message "Cannot open system":
The script is trying to access the file /usr/sysgen/system (it is not a variable). This file existed in that location in an earlier version of Irix (4 or 5, I don't remember). In Irix 6.5, it does not exist and so you get the error. The equivalent file is /var/sysgen/system/irix.sm, but I can't say for certain that the lines the script is trying to add will work.
The second error, from S84ivas (an rc script) is that the program /usr/etc/ivas/ivasdl could not be executed. It could be a permissions problem (the wrong owner or missing +x perm) or an incompatible executable. Irix 5.3 was able to use COFF binaries, but Irix 6.5 cannot. If you run "file /usr/etc/ivas/ivasdl" it will tell you if it is COFF or ELF.

I think going back to Irix 5.3 is your best option. It is conceivably possible to convert a COFF binary to ELF, (there is a program called cof2elf), but it is not for the fainthearted (besides a different container format, there are memory layout changes and you basically have to disassemble and patch all of the code)

I've seen that game before...

All IRIX disks are required to have multiple partitions. The partition numbered 8 is the disklabel and contains the boot loader program (sash). Without it, you cannot boot IRIX from the disk.

The devices used should be
They are case and spelling sensitive. What you wrote won't work.

LarBob wrote: Apple machines at type of posting:

• Macintosh SE (800k SuperDrive)

The SuperDrive was the 1.4MB floppy drive. 800KB was the model in the 512KE, the Plus, and the basic SE, as well as Mac IIs without the drive upgrade.

That script doesn't really clone disks. It doesn't set up the disklabel on the target disk, you are required to do that yourself.
If you didn't partition the target disk before running the script nothing will work.

ide doesn't need to be in the volume header, since it can be loaded from the filesystem with sash. It's used rarely enough that the additional steps aren't a problem (need to enter the command prompt and type "boot usr/stand/ide" instead of just clicking "diagnostics")

I was struggling to fit "Eric Raymond" into the history of Colossal Cave, but after a few moments I realized it is just another instance of his penchant for attaching his name to a nullity and then hyping it relentlessly.

vishnu wrote: I remember playing Zork on 5.25 inch floppies back around that same time period... :)

Sure. The disks for the PC weren't really DOS—they were a non-FAT format to stymie piracy (you could make backup disks but there were no "files"). There were some tools on the BBSs of those days to convert the data on Zork disks into regular files and run them.

The one thing you absolutely cannot do is reuse lab equipment that has been in contact with potentially toxic compounds. This means you need a segregated set of glassware, stir bars, etc for a pharmaceutical lab.

The CDROM sled is definitely a custom part only for the Indigo2. But the OP should specify if he means the sled, or the tray that it plugs into.

vishnu wrote: I remember buying (what I think was) the final release of Zork, it came on multiple disks but it was so long ago I can't even remember if they were 5.25 floppies, 3.5 floppies or CDs. I bought it but I never played it, I think I was too busy playing Descent 1 at the time... :P

Infocom was taken over by Activision shortly after the release of Zork Zero, which was the fifth Zork title from them (not including free demos; there was also a brief series of weird "interactive comic books" from Infocom, which are very rare today). Zork Zero runs on an advanced Z-machine with multiple windows, graphics, and mouse support, all used for the incredibly frustrating Double Fanucci minigame. Activision continued making Zork titles, in the manner of FMV point-and-click adventures and not text-driven like the originals. They released "Return to Zork", "Zork Nemesis", and "Zork: Grand Inquisitor", which have some of the flavor of the G.U.E. setting but substitute hammy FMV for the originals' wry wit. There was a sixth Z-machine Zork game released for free by Blank and Lebling as a promotion of sorts for Grand Inquisitor: it's shorter than the original games but still very good.

Zork Zero came on regular DOS floppies with (very sparse) EGA graphics. A couple years later Activision re-packaged almost all of the Z-machine games into boxed sets on floppies or CD-ROMs. They are the easiest way to legitimately own all the games, but the special box designs and "feelies" aren't there, and the manuals and hint booklets are pretty crude photocopies instead of the high quality originals. At least the maps are well-printed as they were originally. These box sets were still available until 1994, I think.

t-rexky wrote: Well, absolutely not true. The early SMD electrolytic capacitors are absolutely notorious for failing. NeXT used two alternate suppliers for theirs with one holding up reasonably well while the others leak like faucets. There is a large supply of new old stock NeXT sound boards and many of them are damaged because of leaked electrolyte. These are boards that have never been powered up since they left the factory.

Thanks for your perspective, I appreciate it. My NeXT mono slab (72-pin SIMMs) shows no signs of leakage around its SMD capacitors. I was not aware that they had other models that suffered from that problem, but I'm not surprised.
Since posting the comment you quoted, I've seen other types of equipment from the '80s that also have the problem. Even super-expensive gear from HP and Tektronix can be affected. It seems that the industry generally was still learning about the damage to the capacitors' seals caused by certain types of post-reflow cleaning. The fact that the SMDs are in close contact with the board and so are harder to clean, dry, and inspect also played a factor. Today many series advertise a "solvent resistance feature" to protect the seal from the cleaning process.

List price tells you nothing—you can find countless muppets shilling things for inflated prices.
What an item is worth is what someone is willing to pay, not a cent more. The history of mono stations for pickup only in California shows that the first listing you cite is overpriced by a factor of 10.

(You should also do readers a favor and remove the tracking tags from your links.)

necron2600 wrote: Last decade's 200$ NeXTstation is now the new 800$ NeXTstation (but I did buy mine from BlackHole last decade for 800$).

A Color Nitro, at that price I hope. BlackHole is selling mono stations for $85 right now!
When prices on eBay are wildly out of control, the first suspect is a shill transaction. See below.

necron2600 wrote: Ebay does not seem to record the actual sale price but instead shows the inflated price as what it sold at.

This is an underhanded strategy by eBay to corrupt the market through unequal information. They also do not show any information about the buyer for such listings, as is available for auctions (where the buyer's identity is concealed, but it shows their feedback and recent purchase categories). This information can reveal shill bidders, so concealing it is simply a way to encourage shill transactions.

The full set was only produced for 6.5. Point releases came as overlays, with quarterly updated Applications CDs.

Indeed, old Unix hands know that 'write(1)' is the command for scribbling onto other user's terminals, and a great way to annoy people.

write kbdbabel_a5000_ps2_8051.bin on an empty 27C256 or AT89C2051

The AT89C2051 is a microcontroller that uses parallel programming. So it also needs a device programmer with a socket, like the 27C256 EPROM does.

Are you kidding? Even most OSHW doesn't include all that.

multiple links are used for higher fidelity signals. 4:4:4:4 requires two links, for example. That was before 3GHz-SDI was available, which can do 4:4:4:4 over a single link.

be careful about getting any water or alcohol around the keyboard and touchpad. They seem to be very sensitive to contaminants.

Agreed on both points. It also looks like the machine has the SDT-9000 DDS3 drive.

What do you make of this Tandy 100:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-RADIO-S ... 2747974546

(everything in an eBay link after the item number is for tracking, and has been deleted as a courtesy to the readers.)

My best guess is that the external battery/ROM bank is what is actually so valuable. Tandy 100s have gone up in price, but still sell in the $50 range every day of the week.

Dalplex wrote: Tried everything but just no luck until found a ceramic capacitor on the graphic card is cracked. May be not the reason but took it out.

[image was posted lower down]

No. There is a + mark on the silkscreen, and ceramic capacitors are never polarized. That was a tantalum capacitor that did auto da fé. It should be cleaned because the soot in the area can short out the power rails, which may be causing your problem.

ClassicHasClass wrote: You could use a 1GHz TiBook. Those will still run 9.2.2. I have an 867MHz and a 1GHz TiBook, and they're great mobile OS 9 workstations.

That's the most powerful laptop that can boot OS 9. (The best desktop capable of booting OS 9 is the G4 1.25 GHz MDD.)
But all PowerPC macs can run the Classic environment in OS X 10.4.11.
The vast majority of programs work in Classic; the only one I remember that benefitted from booting OS 9 was SuperCollider 2/3.

Interesting! Have you tried SuperCollider 2? I think 3.4 was a total rewrite and wasn't the same codebase as 2/3.0alpha.
I just remembered that another program that didn't like Classic was TC Spark. And certain graphics applications had funky display redraw issues (Illustrator, etc). It can certainly be advantageous to be able to boot into OS 9.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/zenit ... ntroducing

A new oscillator design for mechanical watches (after 400 years).