Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: kb7sqi on May 13, 2009, 12:12:14 PM
Post by: kb7sqi on May 13, 2009, 12:12:14 PM
Hi all,
Everyone reading the forums for any length of time knows we all owe a big thanks to Marc, mdriftmeyer for providing the images for the rare NEXTSTEP-4.0 Beta, aka MECCA release. Over the last few weeks, I got a couple of emails about people having issues w/ the floppy images. I thought I had tested these, but apparently not. Anyway, Marc was kind enough to re-create some new floppy images & someone else also had uploaded some other images to the sftp server. So, I spent sometime updating the "NEXTSTEP 4.0" folder on the sftp server today. I created a folder for the original x86 floppy images, added the "alternative" x86 floppy images w/ the readme provided as well as Marc's newly created images as well. Some one had also pointed out the iso images were actually *.iso.tar.bz2 images. That has been fixed also. When I tested the iso images, I did so under OSX, so it must've handled that automatically. I tested Marc's floppy images under qemu/virtualbox today, they worked fine, but as stated in the "Readme.txt" file under the alternative image directory, I kept getting a panic while trying to boot off the cd. I even tried the 3.3 Beta Dual driver & got a panic. So the question is, who's successfully used the User image on the sftp server to do an install virtually or on real hardware? I've sent an email to Marc asking if he could possibly upload another cd image just in case, but I thought I'd ask here as well. If you've been successful, let us know & save Marc some time, or if you've had problems, let us know also! Either way, it'll help others here. Thanks & take care.
Everyone reading the forums for any length of time knows we all owe a big thanks to Marc, mdriftmeyer for providing the images for the rare NEXTSTEP-4.0 Beta, aka MECCA release. Over the last few weeks, I got a couple of emails about people having issues w/ the floppy images. I thought I had tested these, but apparently not. Anyway, Marc was kind enough to re-create some new floppy images & someone else also had uploaded some other images to the sftp server. So, I spent sometime updating the "NEXTSTEP 4.0" folder on the sftp server today. I created a folder for the original x86 floppy images, added the "alternative" x86 floppy images w/ the readme provided as well as Marc's newly created images as well. Some one had also pointed out the iso images were actually *.iso.tar.bz2 images. That has been fixed also. When I tested the iso images, I did so under OSX, so it must've handled that automatically. I tested Marc's floppy images under qemu/virtualbox today, they worked fine, but as stated in the "Readme.txt" file under the alternative image directory, I kept getting a panic while trying to boot off the cd. I even tried the 3.3 Beta Dual driver & got a panic. So the question is, who's successfully used the User image on the sftp server to do an install virtually or on real hardware? I've sent an email to Marc asking if he could possibly upload another cd image just in case, but I thought I'd ask here as well. If you've been successful, let us know & save Marc some time, or if you've had problems, let us know also! Either way, it'll help others here. Thanks & take care.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: slomacuser on May 13, 2009, 12:50:52 PM
Post by: slomacuser on May 13, 2009, 12:50:52 PM
I had successfully upgraded the 68k NS3.3 machine with that image ...
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: kb7sqi on May 13, 2009, 01:13:09 PM
Post by: kb7sqi on May 13, 2009, 01:13:09 PM
Quote from: "slomacuser"I had successfully upgraded the 68k NS3.3 machine with that image ...
Hey slomacuser,
Thanks for the positive feedback. I just tried booting up my Sparc 5 off the cdrom, but it failed. Maybe a bad burn, so I'll try again later.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: slynce on May 13, 2009, 02:25:31 PM
Post by: slynce on May 13, 2009, 02:25:31 PM
Hi there!
kb7sqi, the alternate burning was mine and I hope I did well (the idea to reburn floppy images in the fasion I described in the redame file <under OpenStep environment> stroke me by chance and it was my first time doing so ;)
The problem I describe in the readme file is with reference to the "dual IDE" driver. Probably if one doesn't try to build a virtual machine, doesn't need a "dual IDE", but in my case (and in many others I believe) the "dual IDE" driver is vital. I got another idea, which I haven't tested. Providing the driver is not a real app, but EIDE.config folder there are some text files which are with extensions "table" and consist of precise description of hardware settings. "Dual_EIDE.table"'s differ only by their versions's number and would it not be possible just to replace them?
Any suggestions and floppy images with EIDE dual driver welcome!
I can also be contacted at slynce@yahoo.com
Svetlozar
p.s.
I've just tested all 4 EIDE drivers from Mark's intelMeccaDriverfloppy.floppyimage (none of them is "dual" - I just wanted to be sure that they don't do the trick). You can see the result - the panic message below:
kb7sqi, the alternate burning was mine and I hope I did well (the idea to reburn floppy images in the fasion I described in the redame file <under OpenStep environment> stroke me by chance and it was my first time doing so ;)
The problem I describe in the readme file is with reference to the "dual IDE" driver. Probably if one doesn't try to build a virtual machine, doesn't need a "dual IDE", but in my case (and in many others I believe) the "dual IDE" driver is vital. I got another idea, which I haven't tested. Providing the driver is not a real app, but EIDE.config folder there are some text files which are with extensions "table" and consist of precise description of hardware settings. "Dual_EIDE.table"'s differ only by their versions's number and would it not be possible just to replace them?
Any suggestions and floppy images with EIDE dual driver welcome!
I can also be contacted at slynce@yahoo.com
Svetlozar
p.s.
I've just tested all 4 EIDE drivers from Mark's intelMeccaDriverfloppy.floppyimage (none of them is "dual" - I just wanted to be sure that they don't do the trick). You can see the result - the panic message below:
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: slomacuser on May 13, 2009, 02:54:29 PM
Post by: slomacuser on May 13, 2009, 02:54:29 PM
I didn't boot form cd, I just run the upgrader app from NS 3.3 so ...
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: kb7sqi on May 13, 2009, 04:27:21 PM
Post by: kb7sqi on May 13, 2009, 04:27:21 PM
That's the same error I got under QEMU/VirtualBox. I'll re-burn the image later & try to boot up my gecko/sparc again along w/ using the floppies on the x86/m68k systems. Gives me an excuse to spend some time doing "NeXT" things. ;-)
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: slynce on May 14, 2009, 01:02:29 AM
Post by: slynce on May 14, 2009, 01:02:29 AM
Hi,
slomacuser was right saying that the upgrade does the trick ;)
Here are two screenshots - from the upgrade process and from the "mysterious" MECCA.
Enjoy!
The only thing one shall set after the upgrade is mouse coordinates to 1024/768 ;)
Now remains the question whether it is possible to build a virtual MECCA from scratch booting it from the floppy images ;)
slomacuser was right saying that the upgrade does the trick ;)
Here are two screenshots - from the upgrade process and from the "mysterious" MECCA.
Enjoy!
The only thing one shall set after the upgrade is mouse coordinates to 1024/768 ;)
Now remains the question whether it is possible to build a virtual MECCA from scratch booting it from the floppy images ;)
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: kb7sqi on May 14, 2009, 02:47:34 AM
Post by: kb7sqi on May 14, 2009, 02:47:34 AM
Nice,
I guess I'll have to do a clean install of NS3.3 & do the upgrade sometime this weekend. ;-) I did re-burn the cd image & try to boot it up on the sparc/gecko, no luck. So, there's something going on w/ the image. I've left Marc, mdriftmeyer a pm about it. Take care.
I guess I'll have to do a clean install of NS3.3 & do the upgrade sometime this weekend. ;-) I did re-burn the cd image & try to boot it up on the sparc/gecko, no luck. So, there's something going on w/ the image. I've left Marc, mdriftmeyer a pm about it. Take care.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: phreadom on July 09, 2009, 04:14:08 PM
Post by: phreadom on July 09, 2009, 04:14:08 PM
I just wanted to mention that while I still can't get NS4.0PR1 to boot correctly by itself, I have managed to get a 3.3 install on VMWare upgraded to 4.0.
We're going to work tonight on the video, networking etc to get it all up to snuff, but I'm excited to at least have gotten this far with it. :)
(I'd upgrade my actual NeXT box (running NS3.3 right now), but it appears that the 4.0 build is very much a developer build... it appears a little unstable and things like the Info Panel seem not to work at all etc.)
We're going to work tonight on the video, networking etc to get it all up to snuff, but I'm excited to at least have gotten this far with it. :)
(I'd upgrade my actual NeXT box (running NS3.3 right now), but it appears that the 4.0 build is very much a developer build... it appears a little unstable and things like the Info Panel seem not to work at all etc.)
Title: CD Cover
Post by: mrintel on July 09, 2009, 05:59:07 PM
Post by: mrintel on July 09, 2009, 05:59:07 PM
Say, is there a cover on the cd itself? Or does it just look like a burned cd? Could someone upload a scan or photo of the original? Or maybe create a cover that would lookprofessional?
Title: Re: CD Cover
Post by: phreadom on July 09, 2009, 07:52:04 PM
Post by: phreadom on July 09, 2009, 07:52:04 PM
Quote from: "mrintel"Say, is there a cover on the cd itself? Or does it just look like a burned cd? Could someone upload a scan or photo of the original? Or maybe create a cover that would lookprofessional?
http://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1122
Title: Thanks
Post by: mrintel on July 09, 2009, 08:41:31 PM
Post by: mrintel on July 09, 2009, 08:41:31 PM
Thank you much!
Is anyone aware of any other CD covers that are in this forum?
Is anyone aware of any other CD covers that are in this forum?
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: phreadom on July 09, 2009, 10:47:38 PM
Post by: phreadom on July 09, 2009, 10:47:38 PM
We now have the NS4.0PR1 install fully running with network and 1024x768@24bpp (in VMWare).
We're now trying to figure out sound. Any pointers?
We're now trying to figure out sound. Any pointers?
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: slynce on July 10, 2009, 12:47:13 AM
Post by: slynce on July 10, 2009, 12:47:13 AM
Hi there!
Sound is the same as in NS 3.3 - vmware drivers SoundBlaster ;)
Sound is the same as in NS 3.3 - vmware drivers SoundBlaster ;)
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: andreas_g on July 10, 2009, 03:07:10 AM
Post by: andreas_g on July 10, 2009, 03:07:10 AM
Hello all!
I'm new to this. The screenshots look very interesting.
Where can i get the images you're talking about? Would be great to be able to try this myself.
sincerely
andreas
I'm new to this. The screenshots look very interesting.
Where can i get the images you're talking about? Would be great to be able to try this myself.
sincerely
andreas
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: phreadom on July 11, 2009, 01:38:45 AM
Post by: phreadom on July 11, 2009, 01:38:45 AM
Quote from: "slynce"Hi there!
Sound is the same as in NS 3.3 - vmware drivers SoundBlaster ;)
Thanks. :) Sound is working now as well.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: NeXTnewbe on July 13, 2009, 05:32:21 AM
Post by: NeXTnewbe on July 13, 2009, 05:32:21 AM
Quote from: "andreas_g"Hello all!
I'm new to this. The screenshots look very interesting.
Where can i get the images you're talking about? Would be great to be able to try this myself.
sincerely
andreas
Hi
I'm also insterested in give a try to this NS 4.0 version, where can I get it?
Thanks
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: protocol7 on July 25, 2009, 09:47:29 PM
Post by: protocol7 on July 25, 2009, 09:47:29 PM
I could be wrong here, but I think the reason you won't be able to clean install (even if you dodge the driver issues) from the boot floppies is that the user CD isn't in the proper NeXT format. Rather than being a raw device copy, it's a regular ISO9660 image made from the CD contents. In this case I don't think the floppy installer will see the CD as a bootable volume.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: pentium on July 26, 2009, 09:43:58 AM
Post by: pentium on July 26, 2009, 09:43:58 AM
Say, where did this thread come from? ?_?
Yeah, where are images of the disc and the floppies?
Yeah, where are images of the disc and the floppies?
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: mr_a500 on July 27, 2009, 12:28:34 PM
Post by: mr_a500 on July 27, 2009, 12:28:34 PM
This is great! I didn't know NeXTstep 4.0 even existed.
I wish I could get this as a hard-disk image. My NeXTstation drive is dead and I don't have a SCSI CD-ROM. I was hoping I could get a NeXTstep hard-disk image and dd it from Linux to a new SCSI hard drive. Is that possible?
I wish I could get this as a hard-disk image. My NeXTstation drive is dead and I don't have a SCSI CD-ROM. I was hoping I could get a NeXTstep hard-disk image and dd it from Linux to a new SCSI hard drive. Is that possible?
Title: Hellooooo.... is anybody out there?
Post by: mr_a500 on July 29, 2009, 06:05:33 PM
Post by: mr_a500 on July 29, 2009, 06:05:33 PM
I noticed nobody is responding to the multiple requests for NeXTstep 4.0. Is there some kind of secret signal we have to flash to be part of the club? ;)
(I hope it's not due to the "anti-piracy thing" again. I own a NeXTstation.)
(I hope it's not due to the "anti-piracy thing" again. I own a NeXTstation.)
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: armus2112 on July 29, 2009, 10:40:14 PM
Post by: armus2112 on July 29, 2009, 10:40:14 PM
Ok, kb7sqi file server is at this location, and I assume the Mecca stuff is in the iso folder there, unfortunately this iso folder requires user/pass to get in.
maybe kb7sqi could PM you and me the user/pass?
http://kb7sqi.dyndns.org/files/
maybe kb7sqi could PM you and me the user/pass?
http://kb7sqi.dyndns.org/files/
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: mrintel on July 30, 2009, 09:32:19 AM
Post by: mrintel on July 30, 2009, 09:32:19 AM
As far as everyone knows, he said he was leaving for a few weeks, but will be back next month. Plus, his ISP is giving him some trouble. You can read all about it here:
http://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2195
http://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2195
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: NeXTnewbe on September 23, 2009, 09:14:13 AM
Post by: NeXTnewbe on September 23, 2009, 09:14:13 AM
I got MECCA, and to be honest with you you are not missing much I test and almost everything is not working and not integrated
I did installed on a spare HD in my cube and test it for some time
I did installed on a spare HD in my cube and test it for some time
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: slomacuser on September 24, 2009, 03:15:48 AM
Post by: slomacuser on September 24, 2009, 03:15:48 AM
Well all the hoopla was about GUI, you can see the similarities in Rhapsody and Mac OS X Developer Previews. The other thing was that it was not available and only few have it made some screen shots and made it into a legend ... now when legend is revealed, it has no magic touch anymore
And it is mistakenly called NextStep 4.0 as it is CD labeled as OPENSTEP Prerelase 1
And it is mistakenly called NextStep 4.0 as it is CD labeled as OPENSTEP Prerelase 1
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: NeXTnewbe on September 24, 2009, 06:55:58 AM
Post by: NeXTnewbe on September 24, 2009, 06:55:58 AM
Quote from: "slomacuser"Well all the hoopla was about GUI, you can see the similarities in Rhapsody and Mac OS X Developer Previews. The other thing was that it was not available and only few have it made some screen shots and made it into a legend ... now when legend is revealed, it has no magic touch anymore
And it is mistakenly called NextStep 4.0 as it is CD labeled as OPENSTEP Prerelase 1
yep, totally agreed :wink:
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: protocol7 on September 24, 2009, 09:53:14 AM
Post by: protocol7 on September 24, 2009, 09:53:14 AM
For the longest time, there was only one screenshot in circulation and nobody had any idea where to get the release itself. I remember talking about it with an old NeXT friend wondering if we'd ever see it. Surely somebody out there must have a copy, somewhere. It was amazing to think that it was out there all along and that some people had it without even knowing what it was.
As with all things though, it will lose a little of it's mysticism once you have it. Same with everything really. Though it still holds a little for me until I can get proper images.
And then I'll want the original media... :)
As with all things though, it will lose a little of it's mysticism once you have it. Same with everything really. Though it still holds a little for me until I can get proper images.
And then I'll want the original media... :)
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: andreas_g on October 07, 2009, 07:32:04 AM
Post by: andreas_g on October 07, 2009, 07:32:04 AM
I have managed to install NeXTStep 4.0 "MECCA" under VMWare by installing the upgrade from NS 3.3.
Now everything works fine (except networking, which seems to be broken with VMWare Fusion since v2.0.1, and sound is a little bit wired, because there doesn't seem to be any sound except the system warning sound (i use "ni"), but that's the same with all versions of NS/OS under Fusion)
But the real problem with 4.0 is, that it doesn't recognize CD-ROM! (use disc image as virtual CD-ROM)
Any idea, what the reason could be and how to fix it?
Thanks!
Andreas
Now everything works fine (except networking, which seems to be broken with VMWare Fusion since v2.0.1, and sound is a little bit wired, because there doesn't seem to be any sound except the system warning sound (i use "ni"), but that's the same with all versions of NS/OS under Fusion)
But the real problem with 4.0 is, that it doesn't recognize CD-ROM! (use disc image as virtual CD-ROM)
Any idea, what the reason could be and how to fix it?
Thanks!
Andreas
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: mr_a500 on October 28, 2009, 05:35:26 PM
Post by: mr_a500 on October 28, 2009, 05:35:26 PM
So... can anybody tell me where I can get this? Or does anybody have a hard drive image of 3.3 that I could write using dd? (no CD-ROM)
My NeXTstation has been utterly useless for a year since the hard drive died.
My NeXTstation has been utterly useless for a year since the hard drive died.
Title: Le Bump
Post by: itomato on August 05, 2010, 11:52:36 AM
Post by: itomato on August 05, 2010, 11:52:36 AM
Gorschk! I'd really like to get my hands on this. Long have I lusted..
Title: Re: Le Bump
Post by: dru on August 18, 2010, 12:01:38 PM
Post by: dru on August 18, 2010, 12:01:38 PM
Quote from: "itomato"Gorschk! I'd really like to get my hands on this. Long have I lusted..
I've been interested in this also since it was demoed back in the day and I read usenet postings about what it was like.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: dru on August 21, 2010, 03:35:16 PM
Post by: dru on August 21, 2010, 03:35:16 PM
It turns out a collector friend had it. 8)
It seems generally stable (I upgraded over NS 3.3) although I haven't tried any 3rd party apps yet.
I'm fascinated by the tabbed dock... click once to jump to that item in a File Viewer, dbl-click to open. Tabs are created and disposed by dragging from / to the arrow at left. I'm not sure the intended use of the tab proxy on the right.
It seems generally stable (I upgraded over NS 3.3) although I haven't tried any 3rd party apps yet.
I'm fascinated by the tabbed dock... click once to jump to that item in a File Viewer, dbl-click to open. Tabs are created and disposed by dragging from / to the arrow at left. I'm not sure the intended use of the tab proxy on the right.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: atar on September 18, 2010, 07:34:02 AM
Post by: atar on September 18, 2010, 07:34:02 AM
Quote from: "kb7sqi"Nice,
I guess I'll have to do a clean install of NS3.3 & do the upgrade sometime this weekend. ;-) I did re-burn the cd image & try to boot it up on the sparc/gecko, no luck. So, there's something going on w/ the image. I've left Marc, mdriftmeyer a pm about it. Take care.
Does the image have SPARC support?
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: protocol7 on April 24, 2011, 08:31:27 PM
Post by: protocol7 on April 24, 2011, 08:31:27 PM
Quote from: "atar"Does the image have SPARC support?Sort of. It won't boot on SPARC, but then it won't boot on anything as it's a bad copy.
If you try to upgrade an existing 3.3 install it fails near the end as it can't copy the bootblock. Turns out the /usr/standalone/sparc folder is missing. There is a folder for hppa funnily enough (as hppa was dropped for OPENSTEP). There are references to SPARC in mach_kernel so either the missing sparc folder is an oversight, or another issue with this particular iso.
So I'm currently copying the CD contents to a folder on a second hard disk on my SS20 (gonna take a while). Then I'll copy over the /usr/standalone/sparc folder from either 3.3 or 4.0 and try the upgrade again. See if it gets any further.
Has anyone managed to get it installed on a SPARC yet?
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: protocol7 on April 25, 2011, 01:47:00 PM
Post by: protocol7 on April 25, 2011, 01:47:00 PM
Well, that didn't work out.
I found a scan of the CD that I probably picked up from here at some stage and it only lists Intel, HPPA and NeXT. So I guess SPARC isn't supported after all.
I found a scan of the CD that I probably picked up from here at some stage and it only lists Intel, HPPA and NeXT. So I guess SPARC isn't supported after all.
Title: NEXTSTEP 4.0 Beta - MECCA - Revisited
Post by: openstepjunky on December 24, 2011, 09:02:20 AM
Post by: openstepjunky on December 24, 2011, 09:02:20 AM
I just wanted to say, that I was able to successfully installed NeXTStep 4.0 PR1 under VirtualBox 4.0.12/Windows 7.
I first installed NeXTStep 3.3 and then upgraded to NeXTStep 4.0 PR1 using the Upgrader.
When installing the Upgrade, it first makes a Upgrade Plan. You need to
edit this plan, so that it doesn't modify the Drivers. Simple click on 'Edit Plan',
mark all entries, and then click 'Skip' on the left side.
If you don't do that, NeXTStep 4.0 will not boot.
I wasn't able to create snapshots with VirtualBox 4.0.12, so I used the native
method of taking a screenshort, by pressing Print.
I didn't tried installing the OpenStep 4.2 Vesa Driver, since it fails to run
on NeXTStep 3.3, so I guess it will not run under 4.0.
So all screens are in VGA, Grayscale Resolution.
Here are the screenshots:
http://imageshack.us/g/703/loginij.png/
I first installed NeXTStep 3.3 and then upgraded to NeXTStep 4.0 PR1 using the Upgrader.
When installing the Upgrade, it first makes a Upgrade Plan. You need to
edit this plan, so that it doesn't modify the Drivers. Simple click on 'Edit Plan',
mark all entries, and then click 'Skip' on the left side.
If you don't do that, NeXTStep 4.0 will not boot.
I wasn't able to create snapshots with VirtualBox 4.0.12, so I used the native
method of taking a screenshort, by pressing Print.
I didn't tried installing the OpenStep 4.2 Vesa Driver, since it fails to run
on NeXTStep 3.3, so I guess it will not run under 4.0.
So all screens are in VGA, Grayscale Resolution.
Here are the screenshots:
http://imageshack.us/g/703/loginij.png/
