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blog/2023/12/03-1973.md

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+---
+title: 1973 Plan
+description: "There were two operating system of our interest which was released in the year 1973. Sadly, we do not have a complete copy of ! Unix v4."
+slug: 1973
+authors: legacyinstaller
+tags: [plan, 1970s]
+image: ./img/1973.webp
+keyword: [1973, 1970s, virtualhub]
+---
+
+![Alto OS from 1973](./img/1973.webp)
+
+There were two operating system of our interest which was released in the year 1973. They were:
+
+<!-- truncate -->
+
+- Alto OS
+- ! Unix v4
+
+Alto OS can be used on the [ContrAlto](https://github.com/livingcomputermuseum/ContrAlto) emulator.
+
+Sadly, we do not have a complete copy of Unix v4, but we do have a copy of a [kernel](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_(operating_system)>) that is from between v3 and v4. We can use that kernel with v5 [userland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_space). It can be used on SIMH PDP-11 emulator.
+
+I will cover them soon.
+
+Stay tuned!

blog/2023/12/08-nsys.md

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+---
+title: "How to put the nsys kernel on a disk image of Unix v5?"
+description: "In this post, we will see how you can put the nsys kernel on a disk image of Unix v5."
+slug: how-to-put-the-nsys-kernel-on-a-disk-image-of-unix-v5
+authors: legacyinstaller
+tags: [unix, 1970s]
+image: ./img/nsys.webp
+keyword: [nsys, unix, 1973, 1970s, virtualhub]
+---
+
+![Making the image with nsys](./img/nsys.webp)
+
+In this post, we will see how you can put the `nsys` kernel on a disk image of Unix v5.
+
+<!-- truncate -->
+
+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](https://setup.virtualhub.eu.org/tag/os/). If you really want to use Windows, you can use [WSL](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/) to follow this tutorial.
+
+:::note
+
+You need the SIMH `pdp11` emulator for this tutorial. If you have not already installed it, follow the [VirtualHub Setup tutorial](https://setup.virtualhub.eu.org/simh-pdp11/) on how to do so.
+
+:::
+
+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](https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Distributions/Research/Dennis_v3/modified_nsys.tar.gz)
+- [Unix v5 disk image](https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Distributions/Research/Dennis_v5/v5root.gz)
+
+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:
+
+```bash
+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:
+
+```bash
+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:
+
+```ini
+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:
+
+```bash
+/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:
+
+```bash
+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`.
+
+```bash
+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](/1970s/1973/unix-v4/simh/).