🚀 go-pugleaf

>PDP-11 Trainee Guru wrote:

> I need 5.25" HD to suit PC systems - I will even pay for unused ones.
>
> I need 5.25" SSQD to suit DEC systems - I will even pay for unused ones.
>
> For DEC users they are RX33 and RX50 types.

Jerome Fine replies:

If you are willing to spend some time and do the format yourself,
there is a program "PUTR" at:

http://www.dbit.com/pub/putr/

which will do the format providing you have the correct media.

You are correct that the RX33 uses the identical media and
format as the 5.25" HD PC floppy - if it works on the PC
with a 1.2 MByte floppy drive, it will work on the RX33
in the DEC environment.

For the RX50, you will find that you NEED the 5.25" DSDD
floppy (360 KBytes for a PC).  The media is very different
between the two types (RX33 and RX50).  But the format
MUST be done on a 5.25" HD 1.2 MByte floppy on the
PC for the RX50 format.  There were a number of posts
a while back on alt.sys.pdp11 as to why this is necessary.

If you do not have the time (or can't find a PC with a
5.25" HD 1.2 MByte floppy), then you are doomed to
buy the RX50 from DEC.

Incidentally, when I use the word:  "FORMAT", that
refers to the physical low level format required by
the hardware in a DEC environment which is quite
separate from the:  "INITIALIZE  DU0:"  command
which sets up the directory structure in the DEC
environment, as opposed to in the PC environment
in which the "format" command does both or
a "format B: /q" which is only the "initialize".

Sincerely yours,

Jerome Fine
RT-11/TSX-PLUS  User/Addict
Year 2000 Solutions for All RT-11 Applications
(Sources not always required)