Hi am trying to bring back a Digital Personal Workstation 433au to its glory
This thing is a tank and is based on a Alpha 21164 at 433MHz
This model runs Windows NT4.0 whilst the 533au runs both Windows NT4 and Digital UNIX / Tru64 UNIX
So far had to replace current Hard Disk due to it’s age, everything else so far seems ok.
I put a new hard drive in, which was a challenge based on it’s Digital Design aesthetics, and am now trying to install Windows NT 4.0 Workstation.
Now the fun begins as it is not a normal Install.
Use CMOS Setup to set the system date and time: start AlphaBIOS Setup, select CMOS Setup, and press [Enter].
Perform an express hard-disk setup: return to the main AlphaBIOS Setup screen, select Hard Disk Setup, and press [Enter].
Put the Windows NT CD into the CD-ROM drive.
Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select Install Windows NT, and press [Enter].
Windows does not recognize the machine
When asked to select your system name, choose Other, and press Enter. When prompted for a hardware support diskette, put the Digital Personal WorkStation Alpha HAL kit floppy in your a: drive, and press Enter. Select “Digital Personal WorkStation 433a, 500a” and press Enter.
I have found this disk image on Archive.org and am creating a new floppy to use.
That’s the next step…
Welcome back…
lets hopefully finish the NT Setup
Ok last time I selected “Digital Personal WorkStation 433a, 500a” and pressed Enter.
When Setup displays a message saying that it could not determine the type of one or more mass storage devices installed in your system, press S to install the driver for the on-board IDE controller.
This is when you need the exact disk called the ‘HAL’ (Hardware Abstraction Layer) created on a floppy. Put the floppy in to A: Drive
If you use the wrong disk you need to end up starting again as you get a lovely Blue Screen
Oh Well, live and learn
if we put the right HAL in floppy A you will get this
When prompted for a hardware support disk, press Enter
Select IDE CD-ROM (ATAPI 1.2) and press Enter. Press Enter again to continue the installation.
Press Enter and STOP…
I have find a Windows 3.51 NT Disk as i had only a Window’s NT4.0 Upgrade Disc.
Todays Update
started to created a DVD NT3.51 image
oops no good
Need a CD-R Copy of NT3.51
Installed on C Drive
Rebooted and then was asked to change drive type to NTFS
Not Reading it correctly i said Yep GO ahead
It is now approx three hours later trying to convert.
have to play the waiting game now as it will reboot once done.
I have now been crying for an hour.
The check disk finally finished after many many hours
I started the install and then it asked for network config.
I should have said no network and did the network install after finishing the setup
Instead I choose all network option and select install
It goes ok for a while and then BLUE SCREEN
restarted the install today and this time when asked to install networking i said no
i created the emergency disk as well this time
it completed this time and rebooted
i signed on and finally have the welcome screen
I then installed DHCP
Now onto testing and installing other software.
Time to check the hard disk current setup
Noticed the large free space
Created a new partition and it was setup as F:
Time to swap Drive Letters
Now there are hard disk C:, D:, E: and CD-ROM F:
Hi sorry I missed adding updates.
Ok I found a digital monitor model VRC21-K4
It is a 21” CRT with BNC inputs
It is setup but I think I need to find a correct driver for this.
Am stil looking for a proper digital keyboard
Come and have a play with it at the ACMS West st on a open day
Thanks for all the questions
Hi the workstation was rebuilt and put on display many months ago with its large 21 “ CRT monitor and then removed by you as it did not fit into the collection. It was working when last displayed
Whilst I know we have limited display space, I don’t recall this. We will relocate the item and put in on display in the Digital corner.
I’m sorry about this, a lot was going on at the time and a lot has changed. We can install the VAX software into it I believe to link it with the MicroVax file server.
