3 ms·

Ok.. The problem I've haven been trying to obtain a copy of VMS to try out this very setup. I have tons of old VMS programs I created in college back in '89 I w

by cowmix 7y ago

Ok.. The problem I've haven been trying to obtain a copy of VMS to try out this very setup. I have tons of old VMS programs I created in college back in '89 I would love to execute again.. In theory you can get a hobbyist free copy of VMS via this site, but no one has responded to me from it. The instructions on how to get the license and binaries are not very clear: http://www.openvmshobbyist.com/news.php http://www.openvmshobbyist.com/news.php

icedchai 7y ago
You can find links to VMS installation images with a Google search, for both VAX and Alpha. You can also find links to a license key generator if you search for "VMS Liberation Front" This gives you keys for VMS and all layered products. I am only advocating this until you get a "legit" Hobbyist license, of course.
ch_123 7y ago
Try this: https://www.hpe.com/h41268/live/index_e.aspx?qid=24548 https://www.hpe.com/h41268/live/index_e.aspx?qid=24548 Make sure to fill out all the fields, even the ones which are not marked as mandatory - apparently if the form is not fully filled out, it gets ignored.
inetsee 7y ago
The page for getting a hobbyist license is really unclear. I finally found 2 links on the page which mentioned the hobbyist license. One link brings up a warning, and if I say go ahead anyway, I get a file not found message. The other link does bring up a signup page, but one of the things it asks for is the name of a "participating chapter" and a "membership number". Can anybody explain what this is? Do I have to sign up for a membership in some obscure organization to get a license?
- inetsee 7y ago
  Did some searching (should have done it before I posted). The "obscure organization" is actually an HP Enterprise User Community, and you can get a free membership by signing up here: http://www.connect-community.org/ http://www.connect-community.org/
ChuckMcM 7y ago
Lots of good info in these comments, the problem with the hobbyist license is that it has gone through about 5 corporate reshuffling/iterations and it leaves each one a bit more damaged.
- ch_123 7y ago
  The most recent iteration involves a package of an Alpha image + a Windows based emulator: https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/ https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/ It is trivial to run it with a Linux based emulator (if you have access to one, and they are not cheap/easy to do so) and it can probably be transferred to hardware with some creativity. However, the image comes bundled with licenses which expire after 6 months, and require you to download a new image...
  - ChuckMcM 7y ago
    As a collector of fine VAXen :-) I often watched Ebay for people selling "Condist" (Consolidated Distribution) sets. These were packets of CDs that contained the then current version of VMS and all of the layered products that DEC sold at the time. Often when buying a surplus VAX from the original owner they included the various authorization codes that they got with the system. Those generally would never expire and follow the system around.
  - icedchai 7y ago
    an Alpha Emulator for Linux x86-64 is out there. This is a good guide: https://astr0baby.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/installing-openvms-v8-4-2-on-alphavm-pt-1/ https://astr0baby.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/installing-openvm...
    - ch_123 7y ago
      The guy (technically company, but as far as I know, it's one guy) discontinued the free availability of that emulator since it was eating into his commercial business, as such, I would be reluctant to recommend to link people to old copies of it. On the other hand, I have that software set up on a machine from a time before his change of policy, and I've been able to use that machine to run this new Hobbyist package under Linux.
netrap 7y ago
Check this out: https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/ https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/
Theodores 7y ago
I foolishly thought that there would always be 12" reel to reel tapes around. I guess you were smart and got your programs onto QIC tapes or something else futureproof? Floppy disks? I had lots of imagery I wanted to keep so that option was ruled out. But when there is a big room with an operator and tape machines as big as washing machines and racks of tapes it is hard to imagine it will all be absolutely gone one day, particularly if that kit is used daily and extremely valuable. But it all ended up in the trash. For me the VAX was a different tool, we had a hardware version of 'Photoshop' with every pixel having many logic boards so everything in image processing was instant. On its own without the fairly custom hardware and the networking environment the VAX would have been useless to me, like having just the dashboard of a car with no motor or wheels. So it would have been the images and not the code I would have wanted from then.

by cowmix 7y ago

icedchai 7y ago

You can find links to VMS installation images with a Google search, for both VAX and Alpha. You can also find links to a license key generator if you search for "VMS Liberation Front" This gives you keys for VMS and all layered products. I am only advocating this until you get a "legit" Hobbyist license, of course.

ch_123 7y ago

Try this: https://www.hpe.com/h41268/live/index_e.aspx?qid=24548 https://www.hpe.com/h41268/live/index_e.aspx?qid=24548 Make sure to fill out all the fields, even the ones which are not marked as mandatory - apparently if the form is not fully filled out, it gets ignored.

inetsee 7y ago

The page for getting a hobbyist license is really unclear. I finally found 2 links on the page which mentioned the hobbyist license. One link brings up a warning, and if I say go ahead anyway, I get a file not found message. The other link does bring up a signup page, but one of the things it asks for is the name of a "participating chapter" and a "membership number". Can anybody explain what this is? Do I have to sign up for a membership in some obscure organization to get a license?

inetsee 7y ago
Did some searching (should have done it before I posted). The "obscure organization" is actually an HP Enterprise User Community, and you can get a free membership by signing up here: http://www.connect-community.org/ http://www.connect-community.org/

ChuckMcM 7y ago

Lots of good info in these comments, the problem with the hobbyist license is that it has gone through about 5 corporate reshuffling/iterations and it leaves each one a bit more damaged.

ch_123 7y ago
The most recent iteration involves a package of an Alpha image + a Windows based emulator: https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/ https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/ It is trivial to run it with a Linux based emulator (if you have access to one, and they are not cheap/easy to do so) and it can probably be transferred to hardware with some creativity. However, the image comes bundled with licenses which expire after 6 months, and require you to download a new image...
- ChuckMcM 7y ago
  As a collector of fine VAXen :-) I often watched Ebay for people selling "Condist" (Consolidated Distribution) sets. These were packets of CDs that contained the then current version of VMS and all of the layered products that DEC sold at the time. Often when buying a surplus VAX from the original owner they included the various authorization codes that they got with the system. Those generally would never expire and follow the system around.
- icedchai 7y ago
  an Alpha Emulator for Linux x86-64 is out there. This is a good guide: https://astr0baby.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/installing-openvms-v8-4-2-on-alphavm-pt-1/ https://astr0baby.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/installing-openvm...
  - ch_123 7y ago
    The guy (technically company, but as far as I know, it's one guy) discontinued the free availability of that emulator since it was eating into his commercial business, as such, I would be reluctant to recommend to link people to old copies of it. On the other hand, I have that software set up on a machine from a time before his change of policy, and I've been able to use that machine to run this new Hobbyist package under Linux.

netrap 7y ago

Check this out: https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/ https://training.vmssoftware.com/hobbyist/

Theodores 7y ago

I foolishly thought that there would always be 12" reel to reel tapes around. I guess you were smart and got your programs onto QIC tapes or something else futureproof? Floppy disks? I had lots of imagery I wanted to keep so that option was ruled out. But when there is a big room with an operator and tape machines as big as washing machines and racks of tapes it is hard to imagine it will all be absolutely gone one day, particularly if that kit is used daily and extremely valuable. But it all ended up in the trash. For me the VAX was a different tool, we had a hardware version of 'Photoshop' with every pixel having many logic boards so everything in image processing was instant. On its own without the fairly custom hardware and the networking environment the VAX would have been useless to me, like having just the dashboard of a car with no motor or wheels. So it would have been the images and not the code I would have wanted from then.