Gettiing from RSTS to Windows and vice versa

[Carl Marbach]

I have written a basic program in my RSTS/E V 7.0. How is the best way to get it out of there into my Windows computer?

Comversly, zi have downloaded a file to WIndows, how do I get it ito my RSTS/E system.

I am confused?

Carl

[Paul Koning]

Emulated or real hardware?

There are a number of approaches I have used.

1. Magtape, using a tool on the host that reads and writes magtape container files that RSTS understands.  For V7, that could be ANSI labeled tapes but DOS labeled tapes are easier to use.

2. Paper tape.  Attach your source file in the simulator as the paper tape reader image.  Send output to the paper tape punch.  You may have to strip off the paper tape leader in the output but that's obvious enough.

3. For output, you can also use the line printer, stripping out banner pages and page breaks.

4. You could use a disk image for a removable disk pack, using a tools such as RSTSFLX to access the disk image from your host.

[Neal G.]

I use the features of the terminal emulator, such as TeraTerm, that I run on Windows to do this.

If the program is short, just have RSTS type it, then select the text and copy-paste the text to notepad and save it.

If the program is long, I activate session logging  then have RSTS type the file, then I close the log and save it.

To transfer to RSTS, I create a new file in the editor, then copy-paste the text from notepad into the editor.

(The terminal emulator has a "pacing" setting that is used to slow the rate at which the pasted text is sent to the editor, so it is not overwhelmed.)

Alternately, the terminal emulator supports the Kermit transfer protocol. It can be used with Kermit on RSTS to transfer files in either direction.

- Neal G.

[Johnny Billquist]

In addition to the suggestions by Paul and Neal, there is also the
possibility of using RT-11 formatted disk images, which can be accessed
both from various OSes, including Windows, and from within RSTS/E.

Another possibility is using DECnet. If you have Pathworks for Windows
running on your machine, and have DECnet on your RSTS/E box, you can use
tools there to transfer directly between the machines.

Another option is if you have some RSX system around as well, since you
can use ftp to RSX, and then DECnet between RSX and RSTS/E.

Hmm. With all that said - I'm not sure how much of DECnet existed back
on RSTS/E in the V7 timeframe... So maybe that's a no go from the start?

Johnny

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--
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: b...@softjar.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

[Tony Nicholson]

On Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 12:40:29 AM UTC+10 Carl wrote:

 >   I have written a basic program in my RSTS/E V 7.0. How is the best way to get it out of there into my Windows computer?

 >   Comversly, zi have downloaded a file to WIndows, how do I get it ito my RSTS/E system.

Expanding a bit about using the high speed paper tape punch and reader devices under SIMH PDP11.

First make sure the RSTS/E monitor has the PP0: and PR0: devices configured using the HA LI command to the Option: prompt.  If they're not included, you will need to build and install a new monitor with them.

There devices access the PTP and PTR devices in SIMH PDP11.

To save a file from RSTS/E to a Windows file,  attach the file to the PTP device - e.g. at the sim> prompt

    att ptp c:\folder\save.bas

Then at the RSTS/E prompt

Ready

old prog

Ready

save pp:

or

pip pp:=prog.bas

To read a prepared BASIC Plus source program (in Windows text file format with <CR><LF> line endings),  attach it to the reader PTR device - e.g. at the sim> prompt

    att ptr c:\folder\program.bas

Then at the RSTS/E prompt (e.g.)

Ready

pip progra.bas=pr:

Ready

This creates a text file PROGRA.BAS in your RSTS/E account.

If your BASIC Plus program has multi-line statements, you'll need to convert the line endings from the Windows default <CR><LF> to the appropriate BASIC Plus line endings (old RSTS/E BASIC Plus continuation lines have <LF><CR><NUL> with the final line ending of <CR><LF>.  The TECO editor is able to do this using a command like

Ready

teco progra.bas/b+
*i<ESC>ex<ESC><ESC>

Ready

Note that <ESC> denotes pressing the Escape key (which echoes as a dollar sign $ )

Now you can load the program into BASIC Plus using the OLD command (e.g.)

old progra

Tony

(I typed up an earlier reply butit seems to have disappeared when I posted it into Google Groups.

This one doesn't have a fixed pitch font for examples)

[Paul Koning]

That's not quite accurate.  HA LI will tell you whether the device exists in the hardware configuration -- it means it lives at the expected address so INIT can identify it, and when prodded it interrupted so INIT knows the vector.  That doesn't tell you anything about the installed monitor.   I don't remember if there is a way to query the monitor from INIT, possibly the SET or DEFAULT commands will let you see this but probably not because there isn't anything settable about paper tape devices.  So you just have to start RSTS and see if it knows the PR and PP device names.  And yes, if it doesn't, go through the SYSGEN procedure to build a new monitor that includes them.

         paul

On Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 3:38:45 AM UTC-4 Tony wrote:

...

First make sure the RSTS/E monitor has the PP0: and PR0: devices configured using the HA LI command to the Option: prompt.  If they're not included, you will need to build and install a new monitor with them.

...

[Paul Koning]

I think V7.0 has DECnet phase II, which means you can connect it to a PyDecnet router since it knows Phase II, but not any other Phase IV router since everyone else only supports one phase back.  I'd love to find a copy of a DECnet for RSTS V7, by the way; I haven't succeeded yet.

[Tony Nicholson]

Carl,

Expanding a bit about using the papertape reader device (if your RSTS/E V7.0 has been built with a PR0: and PP0: device (High Speed Paper tape reader and punch) - do a HA LI command to check at the Option: prompt).

To read in a text file containing your BASIC PLUS program from Windows, first attach it to the PTR device in SIMH PDP11 at the sim> prompt (or in your RSTS/E boot.ini file) using

    set ptr enable

    att ptr filename.bas

Once the RSTS/E system has been started,  log in to your RSTS/E V7.0 account, then at the Ready prompt do

pip filnam.bas=pr0:

This will read the paper tape until end of file into the file FILNAM.BAS.

If your program has multiple statements on a numbered line spanning multiple lines (like you would type in to the Ready prompt using the linefeed <LF> character to continue on a new line, then terminate with a carriage return <CR>), e.g. like

10      ! Program Example <LF>

        ! <LF>

        !  comment continues over multiple lines <CR>

20      PRINT "Hello" <CR>

then use the TECO editor to convert the Windows <CR><LF> line endings into what BASIC Plus expects (continuation lines have <LF><CR><NUL> with the last line of a statement ends with a <CR>LF>.

Ready

teco filnam.bas/b+

$i<ESC>ex<ESC><ESC>

Ready

(where <ESC> means press the Escape key).  This inserts nothing at the start of the file and then exits writing the new BASIC PLUS format line endings.

You're now ready to load the program into BASIC PLUS using the OLD command -

Ready

old filnam

Ready

To save a file back to Windows using the paper tape punch device in RSTS/E, first attach the file you wish to create by escaping back to the sim> prompt of SIMH PDP11 -

    set ptp enable

    att ptp outfile.bas

The under RSTS/E, save your basic program to the PP0: device

Ready

old filnam

Ready

save pp0:

Ready

or use PIP to send it to the PP: device (you can omit the unit number when there's only a single paper tape punch device)

pip pp:=filnam.bas

Tony

[steve...@gmail.com]

In addition to doing the simh

att ptp c:\folder\save.bas

and then the in RSTS/E

Ready

old prog

Ready

save pp:

or

pip pp:=prog.bas

You must also go back into simh and  finish with

det ptp

Unless ptp is explicitly detached, the data file in the host file system is still open. The detach closes the output and makes that newly-created file visible.

-- steve

[Paul A]

Yay! Another RSTS/E v7 user!

On Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 9:40:29 AM UTC-5 cmar...@marbachs.com wrote:

[Jonathan Harston]

Surely somebody could have written a command-line or GUI tool to access the contents of PDP11 disks or disk images. I use putr to import/export files to/from RT11 disk images. As it's a normal command line tool it will take redirection so I can automate building an image with multiple contents. From memory putr will also access physical floppies if your hardware supports it.

Does putr support RSTS disks?