Paul writes:
 
> sure what version.  Can someone, first, tell me how I can find out the version
> of MPE that we are running from the command line?  Also there is a DAT
 
 
A good question, one we've been asking HP for years!  (Note: even some
Unix systems have the same problem, like AIX.)
 
Do:
    :SHOWME
 
(Note: many HP manuals/papers/articles show the Command Interpreter
commands with a leading colon (:) ... you don't type the colon!)
 
A sample output is:
 
   USER: #S69,STAN.SIELER,SOURCE      (NOT IN BREAK)
   RELEASE: C.50.00   MPE/iX HP31900 B.79.06   USER VERSION: C.50.00
   ...
 
The internal build-ID of the operating system is the middle number,
B.79.06.  The "release" version is the first number, C.50.00.
As you can see, none of the numbers above clearly indicate the
release is, as we humans call it, "5.0".
 
Shame on HP!   ... and on us, for accepting this state of affairs for
so many, many years!
 
Here's a sample SHOWME from a 4.0 release:
 
   RELEASE: B.40.00   MPE/iX HP31900 B.30.45   USER VERSION: B.40.00
 
Note: the *almost made it, nice try* of the "B.40" for 4.0, "C.50" for
5.0 is relatively new, since 3.0.  Prior to 3.0, the RELEASE and
USER version were really odd (e.g., A.41 for 2.2).
 
> cartridge tape drive installed and I would like to view the contents of certain
> tapes.  How can I do that?
 
In raw form, you can try:
 
   :file tape; dev = 7
 
   (assuming your tape is ldev 7.  Another alternative is to say:
    dev=tape, or whatever is appropriate.  If you don't know, put the
    tape in the DDS drive, or on-line in the reel tape drive, and watch
    the console for a message like "UNLABELLED TAPE MOUNTED ON LDEV 7",
    and use the ldev you see there.)
 
   :fcopy from = *tape; to = ; char; hex; subset = (0, 3)
 
   (and, at console, "reply" to the tape request)
 
This will show up to the first 3 records from the tape, in both hex and
ascii.  It will not show every byte of the records, but only the first
256 bytes.  If you wanted to see more, you'd have to do:
 
   :file tape; dev=7; rec=-8000, 1, u, ascii
 
(or similar)...this says "read up to 8000 characters" from each tape
record.
 
If you're thinking: wow, how primitive ... you're right...just like
Unix.  On Unix, if you don't know the tape format (e.g., tar, cpio, fbackup,
dd, other), then you are stuck with trial and error and/or manual
determination of the info.
 
If the tape is an "NM STORE" tape, the first record or so should have the
text "STORE/RESTORE-HP/3000.MPEXL".  The :RESTORE  *TAPE; ; LISTDIR
command should display the contents of an NM STORE tape.   I haven't tried
this, since <plug> I wrote TINDEX, one of the Nuggets from SRN </plug>.
This is the kind of tape you get when you do a "STORE" command
on MPE/iX, and don't also say ";TRANSPORT".
 
If it has "STORE/RESTORE LABEL-HP/3000",
it is an older form of STORE tape ("CM STORE").  A CM STORE tape can be
viewed in a variety of manners, including my CSL program TAPEDIR
(http://www.allegro.com/software/)
This is the kind of tape you get  when you do a "STORE" command
on MPE V (or STORE ...;TRANSPORT on MPE/iX).
 
> Again if these questions can not be answered based on the information above I
> apologize.  Thanks for any input.
 
BTW, the operating system is one of the following, depending on what
machine you have:
 
   MPE V
   MPE XL       (no slash!)
   MPE/iX
 
"MPE X" doesn't mean much, although VESOFT has a product called MPEX.
 
Good luck!
 
Stan Sieler                                          [log in to unmask]