October 12, 2014

UMODEM - more than just an obsolete file transfer protocol...

OK, well not really...BUT...since this is the only relevant protocol to transfer files that I can find on the UNIX PC, I'm going to figure out how to get it to run on a modern linux machine.  The FTP protocol that we all know and love today, and still use, seems nowhere to be found on the UNIX PC.

October 5, 2014

WDXT-GEN2 PLUS Winchester Disk Controller Board

INSTALLATION GUIDE

I am attempting to install this MFM controller card on an 
ASUS P5A ACPI BIOS Revision 1006 
which first announces as 
Voodoo3 2000 BIOS - Version 1.00.01-SD
(hardware vintage 1999-2000).  
This is successfully booting to an early version of Ubuntu from a Quantum Bigfoot ISA 12Gb Hard Drive.  I want the MFM Drives on the WDXT-GEN2 PLUS to be secondary drives.  This WDXT-GEN2 PLUS controller board is apparently factory defaulted to be the primary drive for any machine in which it is installed.  That appears to be the case here as well, because the machine will not boot with the controller card inserted, but will boot fine witout the card inserted.

October 3, 2014

Networking UNIX PC with linux on Xubuntu

The guys at this Meetup Group tonight really helped me out...
They got my modern Xubuntu machine to talk to my UNIX PC over its COM port.