On Fri, Jan 3, 2020 at 8:39 PM Chris Hanson via cctalk <[email protected]> wrote: > > I have an IBM RS/6000 POWERstation 320 (original 7012-320) with plenty of RAM > and SCSI storage. I’d like to install AIX 3.2.5 on it. > > The CD images appear to be ISO-9660 format, containing piles of “AIX > backup/restore format file” archives; the floppy images are also identified > as being that format (no filesystems, just archive content). I’ve seen some > stuff online that talks about installing from tape using DAT, so it seems > like in theory I should be able to just push the CD contents to a tape and go. > > Can I use the 3.2.0 boot floppy images with a couple of DDS-1 tapes > containing the files from the 3.2.5 CDs to directly install AIX 3.2.5? In > what order should the files be put on the tapes? Or do I really need to do a > complete install of 3.2.0 first? > > Another important question: Will I need some sort of key to use the included > AIXwindows and xlc, or should this stuff just work? > > Finally, is there a complete set of post-release patches for AIX 3.2.5 online > somewhere? I know 3.2.5 itself was primarily a patch roll-up release, I > assume that with Y2K remediation and other bug fixes in the mid- and > late-2000s there were a few additional patches released over time. >
When I had 7012-320 systems over 10 years ago I installed AIX 3.2.5 from a set of 6 DC6150 QIC tape images that I got from R. Stricklin ( http://www.typewritten.org/Software/ ). I don't remember needing to use any boot floppies. As far as I can remember I just booted directly from the first AIX 3.2.5 installation tape in an external QIC drive. I vaguely remember getting a bunch of update patches for AIX 3.2.5. Not sure whether I ever bothered trying to install them. I also don't remember if I got those patches directly from R. Stricklin, or if he pointed me to some archive site, maybe somewhere at MIT, where I downloaded them at the time. I had some form of X11 running at the time without any issues that I can remember to get it going. Don't remember if that was the native AIXwindows. Pretty sure I got to experience everyone's favorite the SMIT "Running Man". All too long ago now for systems that I never really used much between the time I collected them and the time I recycled them.
