There was only one operating system of our interest, which was released in the year 1974. It was:

• ! Unix v5

It can be used on the SIMH PDP-11 emulator.

I will cover it soon.

Stay tuned!

In this post, we will see how you can put the nsys kernel on a disk image of Unix v5.

This post assumes that you are running a Linux distribution. If you have not installed Linux yet, see our tutorials on how to install Kubuntu, a beginner-friendly distro. If you really want to use Windows, you can use WSL to follow this tutorial.

First, you need to download a Unix v5 disk image and the nsys kernel modified to run with Unix v5 userland.

• Modified nsys kernel archive
• Unix v5 disk image

Extract both archives, and move the file in the folder modified_nsys/conf/ called unix as well as the file called v5root into a new folder. Rename the file called unix to nsys.binary to avoid any confusion. You can do all this with these commands:

gzip -d v5root.gz
tar --one-top-level -xzf modified_nsys.tar.gz
mkdir nsys
cd nsys
cp ../modified_nsys/conf/unix nsys.binary
cp ../v5root v5root

Now, we need to add a buffer to the nsys.binary file. You can run the following command to buffer it with zeroes:

dd if=/dev/zero of=zero bs=1 count=1000
cat zero >> nsys.binary

Now run pdp11. After the emulator has started, run the following commands:

set cpu 11/45
att rk0 v5root
att rk1 nsys.binary
boot rk0

You will get to a @ prompt. Type unix and press enter to boot into Unix v5. Once you get a login: prompt, type root and press enter. Now we need to set up the /dev/ entries of the disks. Run the following commands:

/etc/mknod /dev/rrk0 b 0 0
/etc/mknod /dev/rrk1 b 0 1

Now we will extract the nsys kernel. Run the following files:

dd if=/dev/rrk1 count=50 of=z
dd if=z of=nsys bs=11761 count=2
rm z
sync

Now press Ctrl + e to pause the emulation and then run exit to quit the emulator. Rename the file called v5root to something more appropriate, like nsysroot.

mv v5root nsysroot

That's it. Now you can use the image called nsysroot with the tutorial on how to install ! Unix v4 on SIMH.

There were two operating system of our interest which were released in the year 1973. They were:

• Alto OS
• ! Unix v4

Alto OS can be used on the ContrAlto emulator.

Sadly, we do not have a complete copy of Unix v4, but we do have a copy of a kernel that is from between v3 and v4. We can use that kernel with v5 userland. It can be used on SIMH PDP-11 emulator.

I will cover them soon.

Stay tuned!

There were two operating system of our interest which was released in the year 1971. They were:

• ! Unix v1
• ! OS/8

Sadly, we do not have a complete copy of Unix v1, but we do have a copy with v1 kernel and v2 userland. It can be used on SIMH PDP-11 emulator.

OS/8 can be used on SIMH PDP-8 emulator.

I will cover them soon.

Stay tuned!

This post assumes that you are running a Linux distribution. If you have not installed Linux yet, see our tutorials on how to install Kubuntu, a beginner-friendly distro. If you really want to use Windows, you can use WSL to follow this tutorial.

First, we need to install some tools and dependencies to build it. On Ubuntu/Debian based distros, run the following command:

sudo apt install git make perl gcc libdatetime-perl

On Fedora and related distros, run:

sudo dnf install git make perl gcc perl-DateTime

On openSUSE and related distros, run:

sudo zypper in git make perl gcc perl-DateTime

On Arch based distros, run:

sudo pacman -S git make perl gcc perl-datetime

Now, move to the Downloads folder and clone the pdp7-unix repository:

cd ~/Downloads
git clone https://github.com/DoctorWkt/pdp7-unix.git

Move to the pdp7-unix folder:

cd pdp7-unix

Run the following command to start making the images:

make binaries

After the command has completed, you will find files called boot.rim and image.fs in the binaries folder. Copy them somewhere and use them when asked in the tutorial on how to use ! PDP 7 Unix on SIMH.

There were four operating system of our interest which were released in the year 1970. They were:

• ! PDP7 Unix
• ! CAPS-11
• ! ADSS-15
• ! DOS-15

All of them can be installed on one of the SIMH emulators.

I will cover them soon.

Stay tuned!

In this post, we will see some Mainframe operating systems which were released in the 1970s and can be run on an emulator.

1970​

TOPS-10​

In the year 1970, an operating system called TOPS-10 (pictured above) was released for the DEC PDP-10 mainframe computer. You can follow the instructions here to install it. You can download manuals from bitsavers.

1972​

OS/VS1​

OS/VS1 was an operating system for IBM System/370 mainframes. You can run it in an emulator using the instructions from this GitHub repository. The manuals are available from this website.

VM/370​

Another operating system for IBM System/370 and related mainframes in VM/370. You can run it on Hercules emulator by following these instructions. Manuals are available from bitsavers.

1974​

MVS​

MVS (Multiple Virtual Storage) was yet another operating system for IBM System/370 and related mainframes. The instruction on how to install it are available from this page. Manuals are available from bitsavers.

1975​

NOS​

NOS (Network Operating System) was an operating system which ran on the CDC 6000 series of mainframe computers and their successors. You can install it in an emulator from these instructions. Manuals are available from bitsavers.

1976​

TOPS-20​

TOPS-20 was an operating system for PDP-10 and other DEC's 36-bit mainframe computers. Instructions to install it on SIMH are available from here. Manuals are available from bitsavers.

That's it. Of course there are many more Operating Systems which I have not covered, but these are all of them which I was able to find and run in emulators. If you know of more, please let me know in the comment section.

Stay tuned!

1970s were the age in which microcomputers evolved, but the majority of operating systems we are going to cover are still minicomputer ones. This decade saw the rise of many historic operating systems including Unix, Alto OS (pictured above), Apple DOS and CP/M.

We will cover them and a lot more soon.

Stay tuned!

There was one operating system of our interest which was released in the year 1968. It was ! TSS/8. It can be installed on SIMH ! PDP-8 emulator.

I will cover it soon.

Stay tuned!

In this post, we will see some Mainframe operating systems which were released in the 1960s and can be run on an emulator.

1960​

IBSys​

In the year 1960, an operating system called IBSys was released for the IBM 7094 mainframe computer. It was a very crude operating system. You can download a kit for running it using the SIMH emulator here. The kit is made for Windows only. It needs to be heavily modified to run on Linux. You can download manuals from bitsavers.

1961​

Leo III​

Leo III was a computer, actually, but the operating system that ran on it had no name. So, we will refer to it as Leo III.

You can download a demo from here. Follow the instructions in the readme.htm file inside the archive, and you should be up and running.

1966​

DOS/360​

DOS/360 was an operating system for IBM System/360, System/370 and later mainframe computers. Very detailed instructions on how to run it in an emulator are available here.

You can download the manuals from bitsavers.

OS/360​

OS/360 was also an operating system for IBM System/360. You can run it using the instructions from here. Manuals are available from bitsavers.

1967​

MTS​

MTS (Michigan Terminal System) was an operating system developed for the IBM System/360 and compatible mainframes at the University of Michigan. You can run it in an emulator using instructions here. Manuals are available from bitsavers.

ITS​

ITS (Incompatible Timesharing System) was an operating system for PDP-6 and PDP-10 mainframe computers. It can be run on the SIMH emulator by following the instructions here. You can read more about it on the Computer History Wiki.

1969​

Multics​

Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service) was an influential early time-sharing operating system for the GE-645 mainframes and the Honeywell 6180 series machines. It can be run in an emulator using the instructions here. You can download manuals from bitsavers.

George 3​

George 3 was an operating system for the ICL 1900 series of mainframes. It can be run in an emulator by following the instructions here.

That's it. Of course there are many more Operating Systems which I have not covered, but these are all of them which I was able to find and run in emulators. If you know of more, please let me know in the comment section.

Stay tuned!

There were two operating systems of our interest which were released in the year 1965. They are ! DECSys-7 and ! 4K DMS. Both of them can be installed on SIMH emulators. ! DECSys-7 can be used on ! PDP-7 emulator and ! 4K DMS on ! PDP-8 emulator.

I will cover them soon.

Stay tuned!

After a lot of research, I have decided to start from the 1960s instead of the 80s. No personal/microcomputer was there in the 60s, hence no personal operating system. There were mainframe operating systems and some minicomputer operating systems.

We will not cover Mainframe operating systems here at VirtualHub. We will cover Mini Computer operating systems. They will be prefixed with a "!" to denote that they are not a personal/microcomputer operating system. There are not many such operating systems. Actually, there are only 3, which I have identified to run on an emulator.

I will cover some mainframe operating systems here in this blog, which I have successfully run on an emulator using instructions elsewhere. Those posts will have screenshots of the operating systems as well as links to the instructions on how to install them.

That's it.

Stay tuned!

Cover Image from en:User:Toresbe, CC SA 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the last few days, we have installed and configured Kubuntu. If you have not seen the tutorials yet, here are the links:

• How to create a Kubuntu installation media?
• How to install Kubuntu 22.04?
• What to do after installing Kubuntu?

The videos:

• How to create a Kubuntu installation media?
• How to install Kubuntu 22.04?
• What to do after installing Kubuntu?

Now we will start installing old operating systems. Starting from 1981, I have created a list of OS and software I will install which were released in that year. For year 1981, here is the list:

I plan to complete all these tutorials by the end of November, but it may take more time. So, the first tutorial on VirtualHub will be on how to install 86-DOS on the Altair-Z80 emulator, but first there will be a tutorial on VirtualHub Setup on how to install Altair-Z80 on Kubuntu and other Linux distributions.

Stay tuned!

Hello and Welcome to the new VirtualHub Blog experience! This new experience is a part of something big - a complete overhaul of VirtualHub. To tell the story of this new VirtualHub, I need to tell you some history first. Once upon a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in India, and I was trapped in my home due to lockdown, I was exploring the internet and saw something new - a tutorial to install Windows 3.1 on VirtualBox. This awakened my interest in old software.

Legacy OS​

I decided to start my own blog and started with Blogger like any other novice. The blog is still available at https://tutorialsonlegacyos.blogspot.com, but some of the older posts now redirect to the Legacy Installer site (See below for more info).

Legacy Installer​

But like everyone, I soon grew tired of Blogger's limits. I started a new website this time using WordPress. It is available at https://legacyinstaller.pcriot.com.

VirtualHub​

Old VirtualHub​

But again, I found WordPress too slow for my liking. I started to search for alternatives and found Publii. The site I created using it is now available at https://old.virtualhub.eu.org. It was fast in writing and editing and the website also was very fast, but the building step took a long time even with only 30 posts, and it was nowhere close to my purpose.

Also, this version of VirtualHub was to complement the Legacy Installer website and not replace it. To know more about what I planned, see its About page.

NeoVirtualHub​

The next alternative: Jekyll. It was fast. It built fast. I found a theme that met my expectations. So, I started to port the VirtualHub website to Jekyll. You can view my work here - https://neo.virtualhub.eu.org.

Then this happened - A fresh start. It was not a success, but I got a new idea.

The New VirtualHub experience​

I am happy to announce the new bunch of VirtualHub sites that complement each other. They are built using Jekyll and Hugo, and they are fast. These are the websites:

• VirtualHub - A hub of tutorials on installing old OS.
• VirtualHub Setup - Set up your system for VirtualHub.
• VirtualHub Screenshots - Screenshots of old Software.
• VirtualHub DOSBox-X - Installing old software on DOSBox-X.
• VirtualHub Blog - The story about VirtualHub.

Surprised to see the last one? I told you in the beginning, this redesign is a part of something big. Now, this blog is powered by Hugo instead of Jekyll.

This is not all. I have also created YouTube channels for VirtualHub and VirtualHub Setup. The YouTube channels for VirtualHub Screencasts and VirtualHub DOSBox-X will come soon.

• VirtualHub YouTube Channel
• VirtualHub Setup YouTube Channel

Now every tutorial will be accompanied by a video.

I will use Storj to deliver large files to you.

Stay tuned for more stories about VirtualHub!

Do not worry! I am not going to start the VirtualHub website from scratch once again. Instead, this post is about the Operating System I use. I plan to start blogging about everything I do related to VirtualHub from the start, from installing the operating system.

I plan to install a total of 5 operating systems:

• Ubuntu 18.04 (Default Gnome edition)
• Ubuntu 20.04 (Default Gnome edition)
• Ubuntu 22.04 (Default Gnome edition)
• Debian Testing (with KDE)
• Fedora Workstation (Default Gnome edition)

I will update Ubuntu 22.04 and Kubuntu 22.04 to 22.10 when the update comes. I will post about all of these - how I install them, configure them, and make them usable.

Furthermore, I am going to use Ubuntu 22.04 as my main operating system, while using others to create tutorials occasionally.

I have been thinking about doing this for a long time. I will also probably upload videos on YouTube, but no promise. Here is a picture for you:

Stay tuned!

As promised in the previous post, today I am going to tell you why I did not choose your favorite theme for VirtualHub.

So basically I wanted a few features to be present in the template:

• Free
• Actively Maintained
• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Search
• Good Syntax Highlighting
• Lightweight Commenting System
• SEO & Performance Optimization
• Good Documentation
• Atom Feeds (Optional)
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

So, Here are my findings on testing several sites:

GitHub.com #jekyll-theme repos​

Minimal Mistakes​

• GitHub: https://github.com/mmistakes/minimal-mistakes
• Demo: https://mmistakes.github.io/minimal-mistakes/

This is the first theme that comes on GitHub after searching jekyll-theme but it is not so good according to me. Simply put, it is not good-looking. The features not present on this site are:

• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Lightweight Commenting System
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

Hux Blog​

• GitHub: https://github.com/Huxpro/huxpro.github.io
• Demo: http://huangxuan.me/

The Demo is in Chinese and does not use SSL. I know most of the themes are made by Chinese developers, but most of them have a demo in English. I simply dismissed this theme due to this fact. The features not present on this site are:

• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Search
• Good Syntax Highlighting (?)
• Good Documentation
• Lightweight Commenting System (?)
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

Just the Docs​

• GitHub: https://github.com/just-the-docs/just-the-docs
• Demo: https://just-the-docs.github.io/just-the-docs/

A good theme for what it is, but I needed a blogging theme and not a documentation theme, so I did not choose it. I will probably use it, but for some other project. The features not present in this theme:

• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Lightweight Commenting System^*
• Atom Feeds (Optional)^*
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)^*
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)^*

^*Not needed, since it is not a blog theme.

Beautiful Jekyll​

• GitHub: https://github.com/daattali/beautiful-jekyll
• Demo: https://beautifuljekyll.com/

Not a completely free theme. Also, too simple for my taste. It lacks the following features:

• Free (Not completely)
• Dark/Light Theme Mode (Not in the free version)
• Lightweight Commenting System
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

al-folio​

• GitHub: https://github.com/alshedivat/al-folio
• Demo: https://alshedivat.github.io/al-folio/

Overall a good theme. But I did not like the default look much. I think it is better suited for one of my other projects. It lacks the following features:

• Lightweight Commenting System
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

Hyde​

• GitHub: https://github.com/poole/hyde
• Demo: https://hyde.getpoole.com/

Not suited for my purpose. Missing features are:

• Actively Maintained
• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Search
• Good Syntax Highlighting
• Lightweight Commenting System
• SEO & Performance Optimization (?)
• Atom Feeds (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

Lanyon​

• GitHub: https://github.com/poole/lanyon
• Demo: https://lanyon.getpoole.com/

A good theme for what it is. It is the theme powering this blog, but it was not suited for VirtualHub since it lacked the following features:

• Actively Maintained
• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Search
• Good Syntax Highlighting
• Lightweight Commenting System
• Atom Feeds (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

Poole​

• GitHub: https://github.com/poole/poole
• Demo: https://demo.getpoole.com/

Too simple for anything. Lanyon and Hyde are based on it, so I think it is a good base theme to create other themes. It lacks the following features:

• Actively Maintained
• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Search
• Good Syntax Highlighting
• Lightweight Commenting System
• SEO & Performance Optimization (?)
• Atom Feeds (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

TeXt Theme​

• GitHub: https://github.com/kitian616/jekyll-TeXt-theme
• Demo: https://tianqi.name/jekyll-TeXt-theme/test/

A good theme and a good candidate for the VirtualHub website, but it lacks the following features:

• Dark/Light Theme Mode^*
• Lightweight Commenting System
• SEO & Performance Optimization
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)

jamstackthemes.dev​

devlopr-jekyll​

• GitHub: https://github.com/sujaykundu777/devlopr-jekyll
• Demo: https://devlopr.netlify.app/

A good theme but lacks the following features:

• Dark/Light Theme Mode (Only Dark Mode)
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)
• Cards Layout (Optional)

jekyllthemes.org​

Kross Jekyll​

• GitHub: https://github.com/themefisher/kross-jekyll
• Demo: https://demo.themefisher.com/kross/

The first theme I considered using on VirtualHub. A bit like the WordPress theme I use on Legacy Installer Website. It lacks the following features:

• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Search
• Good Syntax Highlighting (?)
• Atom Feeds (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)

jekyllthemes.io​

Mediumish​

• GitHub: https://github.com/wowthemesnet/mediumish-theme-jekyll
• Demo: https://wowthemesnet.github.io/mediumish-theme-jekyll/

One of the best themes I have ever seen. Inspired by Medium. I would have used it for VirtualHub had it been actively maintained. Sadly, it does not work with the latest version of Jekyll and throws many warnings even on v2.7. It also lacks the following features:

• Actively Maintained
• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)

Mundana​

• GitHub: https://github.com/wowthemesnet/mundana-theme-jekyll
• Demo: https://wowthemesnet.github.io/mundana-theme-jekyll/index.html

Another Medium inspired theme. It lacks the following features:

• Actively Maintained
• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Good Syntax Highlighting
• Atom Feeds (Optional)
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)

Affiliates​

• GitHub: https://github.com/wowthemesnet/affiliates-jekyll-theme
• Demo: https://wowthemesnet.github.io/affiliates-jekyll-theme/

I am going to use this theme for a project I have been thinking about for a long time. I will announce two new projects in the next post, and one of them will use this theme. The theme lacks the following features required for VirtualHub:

• Actively Maintained
• Dark/Light Theme Mode
• Search
• Good Syntax Highlighting
• Lightweight Commenting System
• Auto-generated Related Posts (Optional)
• Table of Contents (Optional)
• Hierarchical Categories (Optional)
• PWA (Optional)

Conclusion​

That's it. These are the themes I considered using for VirtualHub, but the winner is none of them. It is:

Chirpy Starter​

• GitHub: https://github.com/cotes2020/chirpy-starter/
• Demo: https://chirpy.cotes.page/

It is not the perfect theme, but it is good enough for my needs. The only feature it does not include is:

• Cards Layout (Optional)

So, that's that. Remember, these are only the themes I considered using for VirtualHub. There are countless other themes on the internet. If you find a good one matching at least most of the features I need, then please comment below.

A word to the author of the themes about which I wrote: I have no hard feelings against you. You are doing good work and should keep up. If you implement the features I want in your theme, I think everyone would benefit. If not, then no problem.

Remember, I am going to announce two new projects in the next post, So,

Stay tuned!

A preview of the new VirtualHub website powered by Jekyll is now available. You can see it in action on https://neo.virtualhub.eu.org/!

So, after testing WordPress, CloudCannon and Publli, I have started using Jekyll. As I have told you in the previous post, this blog is created using it.

A bit about this Blog​

This blog is a testing ground for me to check how well Jekyll performs according to my needs. Till now, it has performed exceptionally well. So, how did I create this blog?

The first thing I would like to tell you is that I am using Ubuntu (Default GNOME edition) now. So, I tried to search for how to install Jekyll on Ubuntu. Jekyll is built using Ruby, so I needed to install Ruby first. Ruby came in the form of a snap, so I installed it. Why did I install the snap and not the regular DEB version? I was not sure if Jekyll would be interesting enough for me. Snaps are much easier to remove and purge from the system than DEB packages. So, I installed Ruby using snap.

But, the snap package did not work for me. It spilled an error when I tried to install Jekyll. I did not try to troubleshoot it. I did not want to invest too much time into Jekyll. So I then installed the DEB package. The installation went smoothly. I followed the instructions from the official Jekyll website and all went well. I installed Jekyll successfully.

Then came the next phase - searching for an appropriate theme. I searched on various websites and tested several themes, but none of the themes pleased me. If I found a theme that I liked, I found that it was abandoned and did not work now. At last, I came to this theme: https://lanyon.getpoole.com/

This theme was not at all perfect for VirtualHub, but it gave me a new idea - the idea of this blog. So, I created this blog and after some time decided that Jekyll was useful enough to try to port VirtualHub into.

Neo.VirtualHub​

Once again, I started to search for a theme suitable for the VirtualHub website. I tested a lot more themes. I then decided on https://chirpy.cotes.page/. This theme has most of the features I needed including search, Dark Mode/Light Mode preference for viewers, Categories, and Tags Support. It just lacked one thing: the layout I wanted:

But, I decided to live with that. I decided to use giscus for the commenting system. I played with staticman but decided not to use it.

That's all for today! In the next post, I will tell you why I did not choose insert_your_favorite_theme_here.

Stay tuned!

Now I am trying Jekyll. This blog is generated using it. Stay tuned, and you can access an early insight into the VirtualHub website powered by Jekyll.

I will continue posting different stories about what I am planning to do with the VirtualHub and Legacy Installer sites and other projects that I think of.

Stay tuned!