My hard drive failed and when I try to load SCO I get the following error: setup_OSpart: pt_init_disk() failed. It looks like it is not seeing the new hard drive, because I get: .instscript: /dev/hd00: cannot open.
I am loading 3.0 from 3.5 floppies. Tried to load 5.0.4, but can't get the CD drive to be recognized.
Without knowing the exact hardware you are using, the following is only a guess.
Neither of those operating systems support SATA drives in native mode. My guess is that when you replaced the drive, the CMOS setting for the disk controller is now native mode instead of compatible.
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In addition, the maximum disk size for 5.0.4 is only 8gb. I would recommend re-installing the system using Virtual Box,
https://wdb1.sco.com/kb/showta?taid=118463&qid=919756846&sid=1377207550&pgnum=1
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The computer is a IBM 300XL with a western digital caviar 35100 Hard Drive.
The drive is identical to the one being replaced. I think the problem is the hard drive is not formated for unix. I tried using fdisk when I get the Boot: prompt, but doesn't work. So not sure how to format the disk for Unix. Last time I did this was 15 years ago.
You may need a boot diskette for the 5.0.4 cd. I don't remember if the cd is bootable.
If you are getting to the boot prompt then you only need to press enter to start the installation process which will run fdisk and divvy.
I tried, but the CD drive is not recognized.
I also have 3.0 disks that I started to load, but after N2 disk asks to put in the N1 disk again, I get the blue screen with setup_OSpart: pt_init_disk() failed.
When you try 5.0.4, are you booting from the Cd or do you have a boot diskette?
Can you run the cmos setup and confirm that the hard drive the primary device on the primary port?
Check the jumpers on the disk to see if they are set the same as the failed disk, assuming you still have it.
Jumpers are the same as the failed disk. Last time I did this I used the 3.0 disks first then upgrade to 5.0.4 with the CD drive. I tried 5.0.4 from the CD drive and it doesn't recognize it. I start to get hexadecimal addresses on the screen.
Download 5.0.6 from here https://www.tachytelic.net/sco-openserver-installation-isos/
Your 5.0.4 license will work, and your system will boot from the cd,
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I tried booting from the CD with 5.0.6 and I got the following screen:
ET-00:00:00
ID-166
IO-0EF4
BU-004
BL-D45079S
MM-DA0011
SR-DA0004
Is there anyone in the Connecticut area who could work this problem?
My only idea is, check the BIOS settings!
Perhaps SCO requires some old setting?
(A BIOS update can switch a setting.)
Setting: old - new
Partitiontable: MBR - GPT
SATA config: IDE - AHCI
Boot mode: legacy - UEFI
Did you burn the iso to a 740mb cd or a 4.7gb DVD. I do know that 5.0.7 will not boot from a DVD.
If you install Virtual Box on a Windows 7 or newer, or Linux Mint on a recent PC, along with AnyDesk, I can set it up remotely. I am in Ontario.
But I'm wondering "why wouldn't it boot?" - if you keep the filesystem intact e.g. ISO9660/Joliet and not change it to e.g. UDF, then the physical medium shouldn't actually matter - afaik, CDs and DVDs are accessed the same way (in this particular "protocol" regard, not going low-level to how they're built).
I burned a 700 MB CD, but still no go. When I try to boot from floppies SCO3.0 it starts to load the system but it can't open the hard drive. Yet the BIOS sees the hard drive. I did this a number of years ago and when the 3.0 was loaded I upgraded to to 5.0.4. I do have a token ring on the computer that has the tape and CD drives connected.
You may be right. I simply selected the iso and clicked "Burn"; if the default settings are different for each media type then...
The other issue though, is that this computer system was manufactured in 1997 so the drive might not be capable of reading a DVD.
Is there a Firmware revision number on the drive, and is it the same as the failed drive?
Am I to assume that you have a backup of your application on a tape?
Does the tape drive only have a token ring interface?
I am pretty certain that even 5.0.6 does not support a token ring connected boot device, which means that you would have to first install 3.0, which I am presuming is Open Desktop and includes tcp from the diskettes then upgrade.
Even installing 5.0.6 via Virtual Box is problematic, as you will in all likelihood not be able to find a token ring NIC to install in a newer system in order to connect the tape drive and do a restore.
If you can find an internal IDE cd drive, or even a DVD drive, you may be able to install 5.0.6 directly.
@jgt ... I question whether that hardware requires a special driver loaded for even the CD drive? Searching for "IBM 300XL CD driver" it seems that a particular driver was used to get the CD drive to work on SCO. Whether that was loaded by "defbootstr" I don't know. I also don't know where one could download that SCO compatible driver now.
This is interesting, although it's probably not the exact same hardware:
And this (Windows related):
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@dmci, We haven't heard from you for a couple of days. Have you found a solution?
Another thought: assuming that you have some kind of cartridge tape, what format is it, and are SCSI interface drives available, maybe on ebay.
Still can't get SCO to load. I do have SCSI for tape and CD. The hard drive is IDE. I think I need to give a command at the boot: prompt. Last time I did this was like 15 years ago. I loaded the 3.0 and then upgraded to 5.0.4. Since the new hard drives are not formated for UNIX, it must not be seeing them. I can't tell from the manual what command I should use at the boot: to format.