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How to prepare the alternate disk on OpenVMS Alpha (TM) Version V6.2-1H3?

 
tmsff
Occasional Visitor

How to prepare the alternate disk on OpenVMS Alpha (TM) Version V6.2-1H3?

I can use " @SYS$SYSTEM:AXPVMS$PCSI_INSTALL_MIN.COM  [backup-disk] " to make the alternate bootup disk and use "

>>> BOOT -FLAGS E,0 [backup-disk]" to boot the machine on Version V7.2-1 onward successfully. 

 

But I failed to use same method on the Version V6.2:

1, " @SYS$SYSTEM:AXPVMS$PCSI_INSTALL_MIN.COM  [backup-disk] " this command works and no error output.

2, ">>> BOOT -FLAGS E,0 [backup-disk]" doesn't work.

 

 

Anyone one has experience on preparing the alternate disk on Version V6.2? Anyone can help me on this issue?

Thanks.

3 REPLIES 3
abrsvc
Respected Contributor

Re: How to prepare the alternate disk on OpenVMS Alpha (TM) Version V6.2-1H3?

What you are doing here is creating another "root" for the backup system. I would check the other root and be sure that the crtucture is complete. The "E" in the boot command means ytou are using root SYSE.

As an aside:
I am assuming that this is an Alpha of some sort, but no hardware information was provided. A description of the environment would be helpful here. Please include the CPU,Memory, and Disks.

Thanks,
Dan
Hoff
Honored Contributor

Re: How to prepare the alternate disk on OpenVMS Alpha (TM) Version V6.2-1H3?

Please expunge the phrase "doesn't work" from your problem-reporting vocabulary.  When you are looking for assistance with, well, anything, we need specific details.  Messages.  Codes.  Diagnostics.  Settings.  Relevant details.  In this case, the boot-time error messages generated when the bootstrap fails.  And also in this case, the identity of the particular Alpha system.

 

How to ask a technical question - it's harder than it looks, and it does require an investment of your time to get the fastest answer.

 

As a guess, your (unspecified) Alpha is simply too "new" for the V6.2 software release.  

 

Here are the minimum OpenVMS versions.

 

Why you're attempting to downgrade is also an open question.  This is part of the background for the questionl with background, we might be able to suggest alternatives that might provide a different or better approach to the problem.  For instance, OpenVMS Alpha V8.4 is supported on most any of the Alpha systems (given memory and disk storage), and only a few Alpha boxes have ever fallen off of support.   (And those Alpha systems that have fallen off of support can have other issues.)

 

The easiest approach to build a backup environment can be to clone your whole system disk.  Boot the distribution media, and perform a BACKUP /IMAGE disk to disk of your existing system disk.  This also gets you a backup of your system disk, obviously.

John Gillings
Honored Contributor

Re: How to prepare the alternate disk on OpenVMS Alpha (TM) Version V6.2-1H3?

Remember, the only reason you want or need a minimum system is to perform a backup or restore of your system disk.

 

BACKUP is just a utility for shovelling bits, it doesn't know or care what version it's saving or restoring. It's in your interests to use the latest version of BACKUP, regardless of the version you're running. The latest version will have the fewest bugs and the best performance. 

 

You can always boot from any distribution media, the version is irrelevant.

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