  It Doesn't Work? 
 The Question is:
 
Hi
 
We are using two MicroVax 3500 and what to build a IRC server on one of the
vax machines.
 
We have tried to install NetBSD but it diden work... som problems with the
disks....
 
Now we what to know if we can use Open VMS on them and then build a IRC
server...
We can build a IRC server with NetBSD but we dident get it to work... :(.
 
Pleas help us!!  :)
 
Stellan
 
 The Answer is:
 
  Please consider the implications of the simple statement "Didn't work"
  from the perspective of the OpenVMS Wizard.  What didn't work?  What
  happened?
 
  Things that "don't work" can have causes that range from the galactic
  (was the device destroyed by an asteriod strike?  was it sucked into a
  singularity?) to the common (a power failure?  a programming error?  a
  configuration error?) to the erratic (is the hardware functioning
  correctly?  Did you make the appropriate sacrifice to the SCSI chain?)
  to the simply mundane (was it turned on?  was it plugged in?).
 
  Now please consider the implications of the simple statement "som
  problems with the disks", also from the perspective of the OpenVMS
  Wizard.  What were the specific details of the problems?
 
  Did the disks turn into a puff of greasy orange smoke?  Did the disks
  manbo their way off the desktop?  Did you hear screeching or scraping
  noises?  (Did the noises eminate from the disks, or from a nearby
  disaster?)  Do the disks make appropriate noises during spin up?  Then
  various questions more specific to the disks... What manufacturer and
  specific sort of disks?  Is the firmware current?  Then questions
  specific to the bus, assumed here to be SCSI...  Is the SCSI bus
  correctly configured?  Are there any duplicate unit numbers?  Was the
  host controller SCSI ID (correctly) included in the duplicate-ID check?
  Is the SCSI bus over-long?  Is the SCSI bus properly terminated?
 
  Then the questions around the host configuration of the storage begins.
  Some operating systems can require manual configuration or even a kernel
  rebuild to configure and use certain types of devices -- if the devices
  can be used at all.
 
  If you have specific questions on OpenVMS, please ask them.  Details are
  (often) helpful.
 
  There are IRC packages available for OpenVMS.  Two are at:
 
    http://www.agh.cc.kcl.ac.uk/files/vms/updates.html
 
  The OpenVMS Wizard expects there are others.
 
  OpenVMS itself is available (free) to DECUS hobbyists:
 
    http://www.montagar.com/hobbyist/
 
  If you have questions on NetBSD, please contact a NetBSD Wizard.
 
