@alrj@hostux.social
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

alrj

@alrj@hostux.social

Linux sysadmin, {retro|homebrew}computing enthusiast, woodworker

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

alrj, to VintageOSes
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

In rebuilding this 486 computer, I had to make an incredibly difficult decision. And this is something that only I could decide...

Do I install 6.22 in English from genuine original floppy disks?

Or do I install the the French version like I had back in those days, but from downloaded images?

It took me days to make my mind, but in the end I've opted for the French version. Nostalgia won against the urge to use original medias 😄

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

On this topic, does anyone have good quality scans of the labels of the four 3.5" installation floppies of the French version of #MSDOS 6.22?
I figure I might as well pretend I still have the originals...

Une bonne âme aurait-elle des scans de bonne qualité des étiquettes des quatre disquettes 3.5" d'installation de #MSDOS 6.22 en français ?
C'est pour faire semblant de ne jamais les avoir jetées...

#retrocomputing

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

In the end, I followed @cafeinux's suggestion and redrew the labels from scratch in LibreOffice Draw.
And although all three disks are not exactly identical, I'm extremely satisfied with the result!

#retrocomputing

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@solimanhindy @cafeinux Awesome, I love it!

IBM PC-DOS 3.30 in French is missing from archive.org. Would you by any chance still have a computer with a floppy drive to take an image of it?

alrj, to retrocomputing
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

I made an SMD-10 to PS/2 adapter for the #HP 715/64-80-100 and I have four extra PCBs.

They are free to anyone in need (PCB only, shipping fees may apply, sent from Belgium).

More info:
https://www.alrj.org/a-ps2-adapter-box-for-the-hp-71580.html

Warning: the HIL connection is 100% untested, I'm not even sure the footprint for the connector is correct!

#retrocomputing

solimanhindy, to random French
@solimanhindy@mastodon.lovetux.net avatar

#scbhlam par ici. Santé !

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@solimanhindy Peltier, c'est pour être sûr qu'il soit bien frais ? 😁
Santé !

alrj, to retrocomputing
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

Desperately trying to find a few AT-style nylon motherboard standoffs, the ones with the little peg that slots into a keyhole in the back plate of the case.

pccables.com has them, but I'm definitely not ready to pay $50 for 100 pieces delivered plus European customs and VAT!

I can only find flat bottom ones on aliexpress, no luck on digikey or mouser either.

Does anyone know where to find some with reasonable shipping rates to Belgium?

#retrocomputing

solimanhindy, to random
@solimanhindy@mastodon.lovetux.net avatar

C’est l’heure de l’apéro ! Bon début de week end. #scbhlam

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@solimanhindy J'arrive !

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@alarig @solimanhindy @kleph @brudibrau @acontios Ici ça papote, ça papote, ... Le verre se retrouve vide et il faut y remédier

alrj, to Sony
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

Today March 31st is #WorldBackupDay... But not only!

DDS was developed by #HP and #Sony at the end of the 1980s, based on the DAT format. It was primarily used for backup storage.

The DG90P pictured here is a DDS-1 tape that can store 1.3GB (up to 2GB compressed). In 1990, the usual hard drive capacity in a personal computer was less than 100 MB.

#retrocomputing

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

So, what better day than today to check if the tape drive is working, then make a backup of the #HP 715?

HP-UX comes with an integrated backup tool called #fbackup. This is a command line utility but SAM, the System Administration Manager, has a graphical interface to help prepare, then start an interactive backup session.

And since no backup is valid unless the restore procedure has been tested, let's restore a file from our freshly made tape.

Success!

#WorldBackupDay #retrocomputing

HP monitor showing a CDE session on HP-UX 10.20. In the background, the System Administration Manager (SAM), is open on the Backup and Restore page. The "Interactive Backup" window is opened with the tape drive selected, and partially over it is the interactive backup configuration window, ready to start a new backup of the system.
HP-UX fbackup wizard, preparing a restore session for a file that has been inadvertently deleted.

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

If you didn't know, #HPUX also comes with this pretty nifty tool called Ignite-UX. Although not included in the default "Core OS" installation, it can easily be added from the Application Software CD-ROM.

Ignite-UX can create a bootable recovery media that integrate the entire HP-UX installer. It's like creating a new installation media, but with the content of your already configured system.

Fantastic for disaster recovery!

#WorldBackupDay #retrocomputing

Installation of Ignite-UX in progress
Boot menu of the HP 715 firmware showing that the tape currently in the tape drive does contain an ISL (Initial System Loader).
The Ignite-UX installer successfully started from the tape and showing it's initial menu on screen. From there, the whole install process can be customized. It can be used to re-image the same station after a disk crash, or to clone it on similar hardware. Partitions (LVM volumes, actually) can also be adjusted to better suit a different disk drive, if needed.

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@melroy I've never installed Solaris, I have no idea what the installer looks like 😅

On the other hand, the Common Desktop Environment was an initiative by #HP, #IBM, #Sun and #USL so I would indeed expect Solaris to look a lot like HP-UX, once the graphical interface is started.

alrj, to retrocomputing
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

Just look at this beauty, latest to arrive here. An #HP 700/96 serial console, with the original keyboard.

The "page white" monitor is just fantastic.

The keyboard cable is in bad condition near the connectors, and it has a few keys that need persuasion to register keypress. The beeping helps, in this case 😅
#retrocomputing

The screen of the serial terminal HP 700/96, showing the Soekris comBIOS help menu.
Better view of the keyboard of the HP 700/96 serial terminal

alrj, to retrocomputing
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

Here is a wider view of the HP 715/80, running HP-UX 10.20, showing CDE, the Common Desktop Environment.

The keyboard and mouse may not be original to the station, but at least there are no windows keys, and the mouse has a ball. They both need a good cleaning, though!

Now, I should really make a nice PCB for the PS/2 adapter and fit it in a box.

#retrocomputing

Close-up the the HP 715/80 keyboard and mouse. Note that there are no Windows keys.
The back of the HP 715/80

alrj, to retrocomputing
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

Got my 10 pin modular jacks in the mail this week and finally found some time this afternoon to try and make a PS/2 adapter for the HP 715/80. As I suspected, the connector is non-standard and the plug needs to be trimmed out a bit.

It didn't work on first try because I had two wires swapped, but that was a quick fix and I was then rewarded with the boot sequence!

#retrocomputing

Close-up of the 10P10C connector with a bit shaved off on the left, to fit in the computer's connector.
An HP monitor showing the boot sequence of HP-UX 10.20

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

Now that the local graphics console is working, I could log into the CDE desktop
#retrocomputing

Some windows opened in CDE. The standard color theme is very soft, with pastel colors

alrj, to retrocomputing
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

I've salvaged this old HP 715/80 from work and I'm trying to get it fully working again. The main issue is that this machine does not have PS/2 connectors, but an HP HIL one.

I managed to boot it to the serial console but I'd really like to get it to the desktop!

Seeing the price of HIL to PS/2 adapters, I must build mine: http://www.dalton.ax/hpkbd/hil/ Do you know where I can get the right connector (AMP 15-1761184-1)? Would 5-1761184-1 work or is it keyed differently?

#retrocomputing #electronics

The back of the HP 715/80. Two fans exhausts are visible. Underneath, from left to right: A single-ended SCSI port, A DB25 parallel printer port, An HP HIL port, Two DE9 serial ports, An AUI networking connector, And a VGA output.
The HP 715/80 simply refuses to boot in graphics mode if no keyboard is found.

alrj, to animals
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

Sally totally approves the new #fosdem hoodie design.
#catsofmastodon

alarig, to random French
@alarig@hostux.social avatar

Just arrived at Bruxelles, see you at #FOSDEM tomorrow!

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@alarig @solimanhindy ETA 20:10 for us.
Not counting the time to find a parking spot 😅

amoroso, to VintageOSes
@amoroso@fosstodon.org avatar

I didn't realize it at the time but the release of the DEC Rainbow 100 was a big deal back then.

This post explains why and sheds some light on this little known PC, such as the seemingly reasonable design decisions and the market forces that doomed the machine.

https://dfarq.homeip.net/dec-rainbow-100

#dec #cpm #retrocomputing

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@amoroso Back in 1991, when I was 12, my dad came back home one day with an old computer: it was a Rainbow 100.
It didn't even have MS-DOS floppies, only CP/M. And no color, just the monochrome amber display. But it had a 10MB hard disk (2 x 5 actually) and the printer.
Wordstar made me discover word processing, Multiplan told me how computers could help manage numbers. And dBase2 got me into programming.

The DEC Rainbow 100 was a marvelous playground that made me love computers.

alrj, to python
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

I've completed "The Floor Will Be Lava" - Day 16 - Advent of Code 2023 #AdventOfCode https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/16 in #python

Today was an easy ride. The only real hurdles were two typos that changed the meaning of the code while still being valid syntax: one missing minus sign and a misplaced parenthesis.

alrj, to asm
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

When I was pondering whether to add some special challenge to the #adventofcode this year, I was more thinking about doing it on a #retrocomputer like my 486, or solving some puzzles in #asm.
Not doing them completely ill with high fever.

alrj, to random
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

I've completed "Trebuchet?!" - Day 1 - Advent of Code 2023 #AdventOfCode https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/1

Solved in python using regular expressions, and it was a nice opportunity to use a lookahead.

solimanhindy, to webdev French
@solimanhindy@mastodon.lovetux.net avatar

Tu es vieux à quel point ?
Quand j’ai commencé le #HTML le CSS n’existait pas encore. #qotd

alrj,
@alrj@hostux.social avatar

@solimanhindy La RAM de mon téléphone est plus grande que les disques durs de mes cinq premiers ordinateurs... mis ensemble.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • anitta
  • InstantRegret
  • mdbf
  • ngwrru68w68
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • khanakhh
  • osvaldo12
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • Durango
  • kavyap
  • DreamBathrooms
  • JUstTest
  • tacticalgear
  • ethstaker
  • modclub
  • cisconetworking
  • tester
  • GTA5RPClips
  • cubers
  • everett
  • megavids
  • provamag3
  • normalnudes
  • Leos
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •