[SunRescue] Ultrix 4.2a Problem

[User Bobkeys BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak]

> Hi, I have a problem with ultrix that I just got, it was an already
> pre-installed os
> that I got with this decstation 5000/133. On boot up I get an error of
>  "couldnt open character device for /dev/rrz0c" and I dont know how to fix
> it.
> Can anyone help?

Sounds like the mount table is screwed up.  It should mount rz0a/b/d/e/f/etc
and not rrz0c.  Someone screwed up if it is trying to mount rrz0c.  This is
assuming it has really read the boot blocks and has booted a kernel up to the
point of mounting file systems.  If it is a prom msg and you have not
actually gotten to the boot, some of the prom parameters are off, possibly
due to a bad battery, or possibly due to someone misconfiguring them.
Ultrix should normally do that itself, so that should not be a problem.
If you can get it to the prom monitor, try typing a boot sequence of
boot 5/rz0/vmunix.  That should boot it on the 5000 class machines.
If it boots the kernel but then can't mount rz0a, you are in trouble
and will need a reinstall, possibly.  If you can get rz0a mounted, you
should be able to fiddle the fstab to get things correctly mounted and
then go multiuser.  It will require a bit of proficiency in ed.

I am curious, ..... why would someone still want to run Ultrix at this
late date, when NetBSD is so much better.  I would offer that you might
be much happier writing a NetBSD-1.5 boot iso (see the NetBSD archives
for ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/misc/isos/pmaxcd.iso) and running that.
A new release will be out in a day or two, but 1.5 is fine on my servers.
Ultrix, even 4.5, is getting enough behind the times that it is hard to
keep it running if you need things beyond what is normally installed.
But, hey, I still run an Ultrix 3.0 now and then on an old VAXentoy,
since it is light and dainty on an MVII class critter.

That's all that comes to mind.

Good Luck

Bob