A couple days ago I scored a used ES40 for next to nothing. It had 2GB of RAM, two processors, and one 18GB hard drive (presumably a node in a cluster). So I dragged it home, did the prereq-type reading (here, Encompass, etc), and ordered the latest media kit (8.3).
Suffice it to say that getting the beast going was a bit of a chore, given this is my first such machine. There were various parts in the unit that had been messed with, removed, or replaced with bad ones. In the end I wound up with one processor and 1GB of RAM, and no more errors on the console
I did manage to boot from the hobbyist CD I recieved, but it didn't take long to realize that the hard drive/array was missing from the list of target devices.
After doing some research, it turns out my SCSI controller is a DPT SmartRAID Millennium (PM3755U2. Being ex-government, I'd assume the config in the controller was obliterated as part of the data cleansing process.
Now, if this was an x86 machine I'd just whip out the SmartStart disc and/or hold down the appropriate keys, and get configuring the SCSI controller. But being as it's not, I'm not sure how to proceed.
This controller was OEM, and had Compaq labelling on it. I'm not near the box this morning else I'd give more details, but I do know it had a "spares" number on it (from which I found the real make and model).
I don't know if this Alpha was used with VMS or Tru64 in its past life - I'd assume VMS from the sound of things, but I really don't know.
It wouldn't be the end of the world if I couldn't use this card with OpenVMS, since it is said to work on x86 and Sun machines as well (so I could re-use it elsewhere). But if I had to go with another card, what would be a good bet? Non-RAID would be fine for my purposes.
I may just try experimenting later with some other cards I have laying around (Adaptec non-RAID PCI boards; various Compaq and IBM RAID cards pulled from Intel-based servers), assuming it can do no harm.
malmberg August 04 2022 No more VAX hobbyist licenses. Community licenses for Alpha/IA64/X86_64 VMS Software Inc. Commercial VMS software licenses for VAX available from HPE.
ozboomer July 20 2022 Just re-visiting.. No more hobbyist licenses? Is that from vmssoftware.com, no 'community' licenses?
valdirfranco July 01 2022 No more hobbyist license...sad
mister_wavey February 12 2022 I recall that the disks failed on the public access VMS systems that included Fafner
parwezw January 03 2022 Anyone know what happened to FAFNER.DYNDS.ORG? I had a hobbyist account here but can longer access the site.
gtackett October 27 2021 Make that DECdfs _2.1A_ for Vax
gtackett October 27 2021 I'm looking for DECdfs V2.4A kit for VAX. Asking here just in case anyone is still listening.
MarkRLV September 17 2021 At one time, didn't this web site have a job board? I would love to use my legacy skills one last time in my career.
malmberg January 18 2021 New Hobbyist PAKs for VAX/VMS are no longer available according to reports. Only commercial licenses are reported to be for sale from HPE
dfilip January 16 2021 Can someone please point me to hobbyist license pak? I'm looking for VAX/VMS 7.1, DECnet Phase IV, and UCX/TCPIP ... have the 7.1 media, need the license paks ... thanks!
. Being ex-government, I'd assume the config in the controller was obliterated as part of the data cleansing process.