1. Forum
  2. USENET
  3. comp.sys.dec

  • Re: Considering the idea of saving up for a DECstation PMAX

    From Dave McGuire@mcguire@lssmuseum.org to comp.sys.dec on Mon Apr 21 22:06:41 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.dec

    On 3/29/25 21:24, TronNerd82 wrote:
    I think it'd be fun to pick up an old PMAX DECstation 3100 and try to
    get it working (though anything DEC put out was built like a tank, so I probably wouldn't have much of any work to do) and try getting a modern operating system on it like NetBSD, perhaps even try porting Slackware
    to it.

    The whole idea is nothing particularly outstanding, but I think old DEC hardware is super cool. Would it be a worthwhile endeavor??

    I think so. I've done a lot with those machines over the years; in
    the 1990s I ran DNS servers, mail servers, etc on them both at home and
    at work. They're great little machines.

    At LSSM we have quite a few of them, though none are yet on exhibit. Sometime this summer we'll put a 3100 and probably a 5000/260 on the
    exhibit floor, in multi-boot configurations with Ultrix and NetBSD.

    I say go for it. They really are nice little machines. Beware of dried-out or leaky capacitors in the power supply.

    -Dave
    --
    Dave McGuire, President/Curator
    Large Scale Systems Museum
    New Kensington, PA
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2