Some Background
Years ago, I had run Xenix 286 on computers at home and at work. These systems could all communicate with each other by modems over the phone system. The home system was also connected to several ham radios and could connect using TCP/IP by radio to other ham radio systems around the world. Great fun.
At work, we had a Radio Shack Tandy Model 16 running Xenix. This system ran the company accounting programs. There were two terminals connected to it. Eventually we switched to regular 386 PC’s running DOS programs and retired the Model 16.
Since we were a consulting engineering company, we were involved in AutoCAD from the earliest DOS versions, to Sun 386i workstations, to windows and to the current latest AutoCAD version today.
Recently, I ran across some disk images for Xenix AutoCAD Version 10. I had never known that there was an Xenix version. So I decided to try to set up a Xenix system using these images and see how well AutoCAD worked on an Xenix system.
Since I don’t have any old computer hardware, this would have to be done using a virtual computer. My favorite virtual software is Sun VirtualBox. I have found that it just works, no matter what Operating System I throw at it.
Let the adventure begin.
Part 1 – Creating Virtual Xenix Machines
In Virtual Box I created a new Virtual Machine with 32 MB memory and 125 meg hard drive. Installing Xenix 386 System V 2.3.4 from the floppy images was a breeze. So I now had a working Xenix system.
I downloaded the AutoCAD images and then ran across my first problem. These were 5.25 1.2 mb images. VirtualBox only has a 3.5 1.44 floppy drive. I did try to use suggestions I found on the net to add a 1.2 mb floppy drive to Virtual Box but was never successful in doing so.
I next thought about using DOSBox or other virtual programs that might be able to access the 1.2 images. That’s when I ran across 86Box. 86Box can set up an actual virtual machine based on various computers and accessories. I ended up setting up a 386DX machine with 40 MB hard drive and two floppy drive – 3.5 1.44 and 5.25 1.2. Proceeded to install Xenix 386 on it. I now had a virtual machine that could read either 1.44 or 1.2 floppy images. While 86Box did work, it was extremely slow in reading the floppy images. I’m guessing it was using real time to read them, while VirtualBox read them at high speed. Also, I found no matter what settings (ie, computer, etc) I used on 86Box, Xenix would occasionally do a Kernel Panic and the system would then be corrupted. I never received a Kernel Panic on VirtualBox.
On both the VirtualBox and 86Box, I created a master Xenix machine that only had the base operation system installed. No other Xenix programs were installed. I would then just copy or clone the machine to a new machine for testing purposes. I could then test loading programs into the test machine. When things went wrong, I could just delete the Test Machine and create a new one from the master.
Part 2 – Trying to load AutoCAD
I first tried loading the AutoCAD 1.2 images into the 86Box Xenix machine using the Custom command. That’s when I found that Volume 2 of the Disk Image set was bad – it was missing the first part of the file that contained the disk header. I spent a considerable amount of time searching the internet and ended up downloading the AutoCAD image files from many different locations. But they all had the same bad Volume 2 disk.
After many more hours/days searching the internet, I found a set of Xenix International AutoCAD images that seemed to be complete. There was also a set of PDF manuals. I loaded them into 86Box, they installed fine, but that version requires a parallel port Hardware Lock dongle in order to run. So much for my Xenix AutoCAD.
At this point, I decided to see how many Xenix programs I could find, install and get running. I realized that having a running Xenix machine is not enough. Really needed to have some programs to show the system off with.
Part 3 – Searching for more Xenix programs
The next few days were spent searching the web for disk images on Xenix programs. While I did download quite a few, I found they were really a mishmash of images. The images might be 5.25/360, 5.25/1.2, 3.5/720, and 3.5/1.44. Some images came with the serial/activation keys, but many did not. Some had Readme files that described how to install them but many gave no clue on what to do.
I tried installing some of the programs into 86Box – sometimes successfully but many time have Kernel Panic. At this point, I really wanted all the programs on 1.44 image format so that I could use VirtualBox.
Not sure if this would even work, I decided to try dding a 1.2 image to a 1.44 image. I booted up the 86Box Xeinix machine configured with a 1.44 Drive 0 and 1.2 Drive 1. I loaded a 1.2 image into Drive1 and a blank formatted 1.44 image into Drive 0. I then did a DD to copy the 1.2 image to the 1.44 image:
# dd if=/dev/rfd196ds15 of=/dev/fd0
The dd went fine and it said 1200 copied.
I then loaded the newly created 1.44 disk into VirtualBox and found that it loaded fine. I found that I could dd 360, 720 and 1.2 disk images to 1.44 disks and they all worked great.
Part 4 –Installing Some more Programs
I searched the internet and downloaded every set of Xenix program disk images I could find. For each program that I downloaded, I converted the disks to 1.44 (if they were not already 1.44), and then tried to install them, noting any problems that arose. It’s interesting/frustrating – some programs installed using Custom command, some had to be tar to the root director, some had to be tar to the tmp directory. And a few needed you to untar an install file that would then get executed to untar the program from the disk.
At present, I have been able to install and run the following:
FoxBASE Plus 2.1
Joe 1.0.8 Editor
Lotus 1-2-3 System V v1.0 (Demo & Eval Only – will run for two months)
MS Basic BasCom Compiler 5.70 for 286
MS Basic 286 5.41
MS Multiplan 2.0
MS Word 3.00
MS Word 5.1.1b
Progress 4.2E Database Program (DLC)
SCO Multiview 1.6.0 for Xenix V
VS Cobol
For each of the above, I have created/updated a readme.txt file to describe how to install the programs.
I should probably create a cdrom of the images and files and put it onto Internet Archive for others to use. I’ll have to check on how to do that.
The most fun was seeing the classic DOS Lotus 123 running. I never knew there was a Lotus 123 for Xenix.
It’s been a fun few weeks.
I would still like to find the United States version of Xenix AutoCAD. Hopefully it won't require the Hardware Lock.
Also would like to find the Microsoft Fortran and Pascal compilers for Xenix.
73
Bill WD9EQD
Smithville, NJ
Years ago, I had run Xenix 286 on computers at home and at work. These systems could all communicate with each other by modems over the phone system. The home system was also connected to several ham radios and could connect using TCP/IP by radio to other ham radio systems around the world. Great fun.
At work, we had a Radio Shack Tandy Model 16 running Xenix. This system ran the company accounting programs. There were two terminals connected to it. Eventually we switched to regular 386 PC’s running DOS programs and retired the Model 16.
Since we were a consulting engineering company, we were involved in AutoCAD from the earliest DOS versions, to Sun 386i workstations, to windows and to the current latest AutoCAD version today.
Recently, I ran across some disk images for Xenix AutoCAD Version 10. I had never known that there was an Xenix version. So I decided to try to set up a Xenix system using these images and see how well AutoCAD worked on an Xenix system.
Since I don’t have any old computer hardware, this would have to be done using a virtual computer. My favorite virtual software is Sun VirtualBox. I have found that it just works, no matter what Operating System I throw at it.
Let the adventure begin.
Part 1 – Creating Virtual Xenix Machines
In Virtual Box I created a new Virtual Machine with 32 MB memory and 125 meg hard drive. Installing Xenix 386 System V 2.3.4 from the floppy images was a breeze. So I now had a working Xenix system.
I downloaded the AutoCAD images and then ran across my first problem. These were 5.25 1.2 mb images. VirtualBox only has a 3.5 1.44 floppy drive. I did try to use suggestions I found on the net to add a 1.2 mb floppy drive to Virtual Box but was never successful in doing so.
I next thought about using DOSBox or other virtual programs that might be able to access the 1.2 images. That’s when I ran across 86Box. 86Box can set up an actual virtual machine based on various computers and accessories. I ended up setting up a 386DX machine with 40 MB hard drive and two floppy drive – 3.5 1.44 and 5.25 1.2. Proceeded to install Xenix 386 on it. I now had a virtual machine that could read either 1.44 or 1.2 floppy images. While 86Box did work, it was extremely slow in reading the floppy images. I’m guessing it was using real time to read them, while VirtualBox read them at high speed. Also, I found no matter what settings (ie, computer, etc) I used on 86Box, Xenix would occasionally do a Kernel Panic and the system would then be corrupted. I never received a Kernel Panic on VirtualBox.
On both the VirtualBox and 86Box, I created a master Xenix machine that only had the base operation system installed. No other Xenix programs were installed. I would then just copy or clone the machine to a new machine for testing purposes. I could then test loading programs into the test machine. When things went wrong, I could just delete the Test Machine and create a new one from the master.
Part 2 – Trying to load AutoCAD
I first tried loading the AutoCAD 1.2 images into the 86Box Xenix machine using the Custom command. That’s when I found that Volume 2 of the Disk Image set was bad – it was missing the first part of the file that contained the disk header. I spent a considerable amount of time searching the internet and ended up downloading the AutoCAD image files from many different locations. But they all had the same bad Volume 2 disk.
After many more hours/days searching the internet, I found a set of Xenix International AutoCAD images that seemed to be complete. There was also a set of PDF manuals. I loaded them into 86Box, they installed fine, but that version requires a parallel port Hardware Lock dongle in order to run. So much for my Xenix AutoCAD.
At this point, I decided to see how many Xenix programs I could find, install and get running. I realized that having a running Xenix machine is not enough. Really needed to have some programs to show the system off with.
Part 3 – Searching for more Xenix programs
The next few days were spent searching the web for disk images on Xenix programs. While I did download quite a few, I found they were really a mishmash of images. The images might be 5.25/360, 5.25/1.2, 3.5/720, and 3.5/1.44. Some images came with the serial/activation keys, but many did not. Some had Readme files that described how to install them but many gave no clue on what to do.
I tried installing some of the programs into 86Box – sometimes successfully but many time have Kernel Panic. At this point, I really wanted all the programs on 1.44 image format so that I could use VirtualBox.
Not sure if this would even work, I decided to try dding a 1.2 image to a 1.44 image. I booted up the 86Box Xeinix machine configured with a 1.44 Drive 0 and 1.2 Drive 1. I loaded a 1.2 image into Drive1 and a blank formatted 1.44 image into Drive 0. I then did a DD to copy the 1.2 image to the 1.44 image:
# dd if=/dev/rfd196ds15 of=/dev/fd0
The dd went fine and it said 1200 copied.
I then loaded the newly created 1.44 disk into VirtualBox and found that it loaded fine. I found that I could dd 360, 720 and 1.2 disk images to 1.44 disks and they all worked great.
Part 4 –Installing Some more Programs
I searched the internet and downloaded every set of Xenix program disk images I could find. For each program that I downloaded, I converted the disks to 1.44 (if they were not already 1.44), and then tried to install them, noting any problems that arose. It’s interesting/frustrating – some programs installed using Custom command, some had to be tar to the root director, some had to be tar to the tmp directory. And a few needed you to untar an install file that would then get executed to untar the program from the disk.
At present, I have been able to install and run the following:
FoxBASE Plus 2.1
Joe 1.0.8 Editor
Lotus 1-2-3 System V v1.0 (Demo & Eval Only – will run for two months)
MS Basic BasCom Compiler 5.70 for 286
MS Basic 286 5.41
MS Multiplan 2.0
MS Word 3.00
MS Word 5.1.1b
Progress 4.2E Database Program (DLC)
SCO Multiview 1.6.0 for Xenix V
VS Cobol
For each of the above, I have created/updated a readme.txt file to describe how to install the programs.
I should probably create a cdrom of the images and files and put it onto Internet Archive for others to use. I’ll have to check on how to do that.
The most fun was seeing the classic DOS Lotus 123 running. I never knew there was a Lotus 123 for Xenix.
It’s been a fun few weeks.
I would still like to find the United States version of Xenix AutoCAD. Hopefully it won't require the Hardware Lock.
Also would like to find the Microsoft Fortran and Pascal compilers for Xenix.
73
Bill WD9EQD
Smithville, NJ
