MFM ST506/412 Hard Drive Diagnostic Tool

One Backup Tape Found!...well, not really...

When we first received this tape from the former owner & user of our MightyFrame, we were just all too sure that it was for the MightyFrame.  But, as it turns out, it is most likely for a completely different system, from 5 years earlier than the MightyFrame...A Point 4 Mark ? series machine.  We'll probably restore one of these systems, too.  We just love this obscure stuff...

Still, it brought up interesting discussions, which are worth documenting for our MightyFrame restoration projects.

A note from the original owner and user of our "MightyFrame One", as we call it:

MightyFrame Boot ROM Analysis

We are honored to have the collaboration efforts of Tom Trebisky supporting us on this project.  See his page dedicated to our MightyFrame boot ROM project.

Here's the full & long story:

writing a utility to handle the peculiarities of the Convergent mods to the SysV filesystem

Chuck(G) mentions this in this vintage-computer.com post.

If ChuckG can come up with a way for a PC to read 7300 disks....

And  Chuck(G) on AT&T Unix PC (7300/2B1) floppy reading 

     

CommVEx 2014 ideas

Thanks to EVERYONE who came by my UNIX technology this weekend, and lent your knowledge of this vintage technology.  These are my random notes, to be organized soon:

Writing MightyFrame Device Drivers - Manual

A million thanks to Al Kossow at bitsavers.org for providing us with a PDF of our first MightyFrame manual!

Writing MightyFrame Device Drivers - March 1986

Al also provided our first MightyFrame system overview brochure, as well as CTIX overview brochures...all a first for us to ever see!

Reconstructing an AT&T 7300

Several kind folks on comp.sys.3b1 and the MARCH Yahoo Group have suggested that, in order for us to gain a better understanding of the workings of the rare and elusive MightyFrame, that we should get familiar with the AT&T 7300 / 3b1.  

Many say that this machine, manufactured by Convergent Technologies for AT&T, is "functionally equivalent to the MiniFrame".  Even though the MiniFrame and the MightyFrame have significant differences, this certainly seems like a great next step for us.

So, thus begins our journey....

MightyFrame Boot Screens

Our next step in restoring one of our Convergent Technologies MightyFrame Machines is to get one of them to boot to a working operating system.  These systems were designed to run CTIX, a Convergent branded version of UNIX, so far as we have learned.

See our search for the CTIX install OS QIC tape.

Meanwhile, for those of you who may be familiar with the AT&T 7300 / 3b1, we welcome your input reviewing our screen shorts of our attempts to boot both of our MightyFrames.

Maxtor XT-2190 MFM Hard Drive Reading

In an effort to read data from one of these MightyFrames, we are setting up other machines to read these hard drives:

Pinousts for the Maxtor XT-2190

Maxtor XT-1000/2000 Product Specificication and OEM Manual

Details about this on Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists (MARCH)
Thread One and Thread Two

And on vintage-computer.com

WANTED: Mightyframe CTIX Install tapes

 ( on QIC-24 3M DC 600A cartridges or equivalent )

Photo Courtesy Michael Herzog - Many Thanks!

If you have anything that remotely resembles this, please contact us at MightyFrameCT@Gmail.com 

It would be fantastic to find CTIX and/or MightyFrame manuals also.  

Here's what Google turns up today:

http://www.worldcat.org/title/ctix-operating-system-manual/oclc/11036790

-----------------------------------------------

We have also posted this request at the vintage-computer.com forum

...and on Unix.com at bit.ly/1nAWF5J 

...and on Dev Shed Forums bit.ly/1hFy9eQ and bit.ly/1sAixAk

...and on Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists (MARCH)  

...and post on old-computers.com when registration complete (or not...)

...and on Reddit UNIX

Adding an Archive 5945L Tape Drive

View our re-created MightyFrame here

We just received an Archive 5945L Tape Drive and hooked it up to our MightyFrame.

Re: Convergent Technologies Mightyframe anyone?

It seems that the most recent conversation about this system is found here:  
http://bit.ly/1i8DTiY


I am hoping to get in contact with Larry Marsden, who back in 2012 said that he had "boxes of old Convergent tapes in my basement from a Cdn support centre".  That would be really helpful for our project:   
http://bit.ly/1mGcpl7 or http://bit.ly/1mVBfQU



There are older conversations that I found when searching on mightyframe: 
http://bit.ly/1gao9uo

And similary on miniframe:   http://bit.ly/1dS8sJ0


There seem to be more recent discussions on the OS, CTIX, found here:  
http://bit.ly/JVZa2R


AND, it appears that there may be a popular alternate spelling:   Mitiframe
http://bit.ly/1jeBQxi


Other than that, it seems that all of the related recent discussion on vintage-computer.com were initiated by us (firebirdta84):  http://bit.ly/1gLE0ny


Tom Trebisky dedicates a page to the MiniFrame:
http://cholla.mmto.org/computers/miniframe/index.html

And here is the only pictures I can find of a MiniFrame.  How's your German?
http://niki.hammler.info/wiki/Convergent_Systems_MiniFrame
Now in English: http://bit.ly/K9DkJw
And it contains a "review" of this machine from November 14, 1986:  http://bit.ly/1cIHu5b

This page links to a conversation I don't quite understand, but with better pictures.  Is that a floppy drive I see?
http://www.stiftingtal.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1036
Now in English:  http://bit.ly/2bkrHRp

An interesting "paper" that R. D. Davis published on the MiniFrame back in 1996, with some tidbits about the MightyFrame, is here:
http://www.textfiles.com/bitsavers/pdf/convergent/miniframe/miniframe-v0.003.faq

Computerworld March 10, 1986, page 39:
"Convergent's Mightyframe/JWS, Aida's CAE workstation debut"
http://bit.ly/1zgvW4K

Then there's articles that may or may not add value:
Data Processing - Volume 28, Issue 2, March 1986, Pages 107 (or is it page #107 only?)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0011684X86901231

And an excellent, older, compiled "article":

The Evolving Convergent Technologies "Miniframe" FAQ

Now expanded to include information about the "Mightyframe"