OSIRIS Operating System Archive
30 Oct 2017
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The standard operating system in the late 70's for Intel Intellec MDS800 or MDS888 Development System computers was ISIS and ISIS-II.
Same for some future models including Series-II. CP/M would also run on these systems.
The OS on an MDS888 I'm restoring uses something called OSIRIS V3.0 and was possibly an unreleased interim version of ISIS
or maybe a customized version for use with a hard disk, by Intel or a 3rd party.
This page serves as an archive to preserve this software
and to explore with other vintage computer preservationists.
Hardware Overview
The system is comprised of these components:
- MDS888 computer with 64K RAM
- MDSDDR dual double-density 8" floppy drive subsystem (SBC202)
- UPP-101 PROM programmer
- External hard disk subsystem. Radio Switch #525 with ST-225 20mb drive
- 8080, 8049 ICE systems
- For more details, see the MDS888 page.
Floppy Disk
One 8" SSDD floppy disk came with my system and it is labelled OSIMAN.300 System Mgr Disk.
Here is a directory listing as a text file.
-dir 4 i
Date: 28-JUL-92
Directory of :F4:OSIMAN.300
Name .Ext Blks Length Attr Name .Ext Blks Length Attr
ISIS .DIR 26 3200 IF ISIS .MAP 5 512 IF
ISIS .T0 24 2944 IF ISIS .LAB 54 6784 IF
ISIS .BIN 92 11470 SIF ISIS .CLI 41 4996 SIF
ASSIGN 33 4072 WSI BACKUP 73 9001 WSI
BYE 13 1531 WSI CHKDSK 54 6701 WSI
DATE 19 2227 WSI DIR 46 5747 WSI
IPART 57 7086 WSI IWDISK 43 5304 WSI
PASS 5 386 WSI RELABL 33 4024 WSI
REMOVE 22 2562 WSI RESTOR 63 7840 WSI
SYSLBL 31 3727 WSI WDIAG 89 11019 WSI
WDIR 32 3956 WSI DELETE 39 4794
HELLO 27 3224 PATCH 57 7047
INIDSK.CMD 16 1837 CPYSYS.CMD 3 239
RECOVR.CMD 4 267 STARTS.CMD 6 629
OSIRIS.LIB 9 918 RUN .MAC 2 9
SPOOL .QUE 28 3456 S00401.BAD 2 122
IBMCOM 25 3071
1073
1073/ 4004 Blocks Used
Here are the floppy files in a zip.
WDIR
At bootup, the START.CMD submit/batch file runs and assigns the drives then displays a WDIR
showing the partitions.
Here is a Directory listing
OSIRIS V 3.00
-ASSIGN #1 TO 1
:W0#01: assigned to :F1:
-WDIR
Date: 28-JUL-92
Partition Directory of :W0:
# Label Trks Type
0 SYSTEM.DSK 152 M :F0:
1 APR86 .LIB 152 M :F1:
2 CONTRA.VES 152 M
3 HEI582.SYS 152 M
4 HEI516.SYS 152 M
5 NEW522.SYS 152 M
6 HEI530.SYS 152 M
7 JN1631.SYS 152 M
8 JN1395.SYS 152 M
10 TEMP .HEX 152 M
11 JN1560.SYS 152 M
12 JN1601.SYS 76 D
13 ABDEEN.SYS 76 D
14 JN1610.SYS 76 D
15 DRV516.525 76 D
16 HEI522.BAK 76 D
17 KINCH .SYS 76 D
18 SCLINE.SYS 38 S
20 AG522 .625 38 S
21 DEMO .522 38 S
-;
-;DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE DATE
SYSTEM.DSK
After bootup and the automatic assign's, :F0: is the first partition on the hard disk named SYSTEM.DSK.
Here is a directory listing as a text file.
-dir i
Date: 28-JUL-92
Directory of :F0:SYSTEM.DSK
Name .Ext Blks Length Attr Name .Ext Blks Length Attr
ISIS .DIR 53 6656 IF ISIS .MAP 30 3712 IF
ISIS .T0 24 2944 IF ISIS .CLI 41 4996 SIF
ISIS .CON 2 128 IF ISIS .DES 28 3456 IF
ISIS .BIN 92 11470 SIF ISIS .LAB 2 128 IF
SPOOL .QUE 28 3456 A RUN .MAC 2 9 A
COMPAQ.TST 4 338 COPY 70 8582 W A
ASSIGN 33 4072 WSI A BACKUP 73 9001 WSI A
BYE 13 1531 WSI A ATTRIB 40 4879 WSI A
DATE 19 2227 WSI A DIR 46 5747 WSI A
HELLO 27 3224 W A IPART 57 7086 WSI A
PASS 5 386 WSI A RELABL 33 4024 WSI A
REMOVE 22 2562 WSI A RESTOR 63 7840 WSI A
WDIR 32 3956 WSI A OSIRIS.LIB 9 918 W A
CPYSYS.CMD 3 239 W A ASM80 110 13728 WSI A
ASM80 .OV0 17 1970 WSI A ASM80 .OV1 17 1959 WSI A
ASM80 .OV2 18 2110 WSI A ASM80 .OV3 9 988 WSI A
ASM80 .OV4 188 23639 WSI A ASXREF 35 4294 WSI A
BINOBJ 27 3246 W I A DEL 40 4917 W A
EDIT 58 7235 W I A FIXMAP 52 6493 W I A
FORMAT 62 7789 WSI A HDCOPY 48 5989 W I A
HEXOBJ 35 4226 W A IDISK 63 7931 W A
LIB 82 10227 WSI A LINK 105 13074 WSI A
LINK .OVL 37 4578 WSI A LOCATE 120 15021 WSI A
OBJHEX 28 3430 W A REN 21 2439 W A
SUBMIT 40 4914 W A SYSTEM.LIB 24 2846 W A
PLM80 .LIB 45 5615 WS A FPAL .LIB 74 9125 W I A
CREDIT 263 32956 WSI A CREDIT.HLP 37 4608 W I A
ICE80 82 10174 WSI A ICE80 .OV0 31 3763 WSI A
ICE80 .OV1 35 4234 WSI A ICE80 .OV2 10 1106 WSI A
UPM 123 15391 WSI A EDIT1 80 9949 WSI A
ICE49 140 17479 WSI A ICE49 .OV0 12 1375 WSI A
ICE49 .OV1 13 1446 WSI A ICE49 .OV2 13 1482 WSI A
ICE49 .OV3 13 1506 WSI A INSERT.ERR 66 8192 WSI A
ASM48 105 13141 WSI A ASM48 .OV0 18 2115 WSI A
ASM48 .OV1 17 2043 WSI A ASM48 .OV2 9 912 WSI A
ASM48 .OV3 169 21153 WSI A START .CMD 2 55 W A
PLM80 57 7082 WSI A PDP 34 4144 W A
PLM80 .OV0 162 20324 WSI A PLM80 .OV1 150 18732 WSI A
PLM80 .OV2 231 29035 WSI A PLM80 .OV3 63 7874 WSI A
PLM80 .OV4 136 16915 WSI A AEDIT 214 26775 WSI A
ISIS .OV0 11 1279 A VERS 17 1930 W A
RUN 207 25944 A DISOBJ 45 5547 W A
AEDIT .MAC 3 224 VT52 .MAC 3 224
HEI516 61 7654 BASIC 84 10484 W A
PLM80 .OV5 72 8857 WSI A COMPAQ.MAC 3 224
PLM80 .OV6 122 15261 WSI A IBMCOM.ORG 27 3322
IBMCOM.86 35 4267 IBMIO .P86 28 3395
IBMCOM.CSD 2 128 IBMCOM.OBJ 31 3746
HEI516.CMD 2 89 XFER .DEF 2 6
TEST .IBM 4 354 IBMCOM.TST 25 3062
NEW443.CMD 3 166 IBMCOM.H01 69 8560
IBMCOM 25 3071 JN1478.ASM 152 18987
HEI516.BAK 2 91 HEI582.LNK 79 9800
NTSC22.BAK 3 156 JN2024 42 5220
A921A 21 2552 IMOD 12 1333
NEW522.CSD 3 135 JN1560.1 92 11420
HE5828 85 10586 JN1989 37 4600
FBDEC 9 1021 FBDEC2 11 1245
NEW522 51 6366 HEI582.CMD 3 175
VICHAR.OBJ 6 588 LOCK 15 1729
CONENC.ASM 234 29331 KINCH .CSD 3 151
SSVR .OBJ 17 1945 TEST .CSD 2 72
NEW582 85 10586 JER .OBJ 15 1726
RSSVR .OBJ 13 1425 CCIR22 52 6407
CONENC.SRC 248 31138 NTSC22.CMD 3 156
CCIR22.CMD 2 125 TEST .BAK 3 155
TEST .CMD 3 155 DAT516.ASM 35 4329
CJ922 .OBJ 10 1120 HE5828.CMD 3 166
T .BAK 2 47 GPIB4 .ASM 74 9193
T .CMD 2 53 JN2089 41 5066
JN2109 40 4922 J1642D.CMD 3 133
CDTEST.OBJ 2 73 HE5826 85 10589
HE5826.CSD 3 166 PROM2S.OBJ 5 464
COND6 .CMD 3 134 COND6 97 12043
TPROM .OBJ 5 422 JN1896.BIN 21 2482
HE522B 51 6390 HEI582 37 4481
7194
7254/ 7904 Blocks Used
Here are the SYSTEM.DSK files in a zip, excluding anything that looked like a user file.
MDS Talk
Capturing these files was done using a custom VB program I wrote called MDS Talk.
It runs on a standard Windows PC using a standard RS-232 serial port.
MDS Talk communicates to the MDS888 via its CRT port at 2400 baud (N81).
The cable is 3 wires only - RXD,TXD,GND.
No handshake is involved.
The files are sent using the COPY command to :CO:.
The allowed me to transfer the files without writing to any of the media in the MDS888.
With MDS Talk, I can boot the system providing a Space Bar, send commands such as DIR and ASSIGN,
and transfer files. Data integrity is accomplished by transferring each file 3 times then comparing,
along with matching file sizes to the DIR listing.
Here is a screen shot of MDS Talk.
Alternative Transfer Method
Initially I transferred some of the files manually just to see if it was possible and it is.
I communicated with the MDS888's CRT port at 2400 baud with a Windows PC running RealTerm.
With it I could issue commands like
COPY :F0:FILE.NAM TO :CO: and capture the results
which appeared as non-ASCII garbage on the screen.
After each transfer I edited the files using the HxD hex editor.
With HxD I could see and remove the initial CR/LF echoed by the initial command, then the final
batch of text including the response "COPIED :F0:FILE.NAM TO :CO:".
In the end, if done right, the file size matches the DIR listing.
Several files were successfully transferred this way and tested for integrity on another MDS including a large BASIC interpreter.
It's not an automated process but I think you could transfer several dozen files an hour this way.
Ken Burgett, Creator of the ISIS Operating System
Here's a conversation I had with Ken about ISIS, OSIRIS, etc.
Related Pages
; "OSIRIS Operating System Archive")
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;)