[that_jojo]

Hi guys! I decided to get into VMS recently and procured myself a MicroVAX 3800.

She has ethernet, a dssi controller with two RF71s, and a TK70.

I've managed to get NetBSD installed over the network onto one of the RF71s, and that's plenty of fun, but I'm dying to get VMS on here.

The only problem is that I can only find CD install media images.

My first smart thought was to install to a virtual RF71 in SIMH and then dd that image onto the real drive. Come to find, SIMH doesn't support RF71s.

So that leaves me kind of at a loss. I thought perhaps it would be possible to use the Standalone Backup on an install CD to create a Standalone Backup TK70 image and then dd and boot from that. But I'm too dumb with Standalone Backup to figure out if that's even a possibility.

I assume it's also somehow possible to netboot a VMS install, perhaps using SIMH as a server, but I can't seem to find any doc on that that I've been able to understand.

If there are any kindhearted greybeards out there, I put my fate in your hands. Might you find it in your heart to set an absolute noob on the righteous VMS path?