DaeumYeog Hardware / 2024-05-20 07:25:09

Initial Setup

My NeXTstation came complete with a Toshiba MK438FB Rev 5030 SCSI hard disk with NeXTStep v3.2. The first step was to connect it to my network (and then the Internet). To be continued...

The second step was to use the provided ftp command to access a dedicated FTP share on my RPI. I faced checksum errors with the downloaded files because the ftp command doesn't automatically (or be default) use the binary mode, with TYPE I. Once these errors cleared, I started downloading programs from online repositories, especially NeXTfiles.

The third step was to mount NFS shares. I ran into problem with the NFSManager.app, which seems to be buggy, at least in NeXTSTEP v3.2. Instead of using NFSManager.app, I simply edited the configuration file /etc/rc.local (rc means "run commands" ), which runs after the network is setup, to issue the mount commands. The commands all look like:

mount -o rw,bg,mnttimeo=8,retry=1 CHAMSAE:/media/Archives /Net/CHAMSAE-Archives

With these commands, I can now access from Net my NFS shares and share files between my NeXTstation and my other computers .

Upgrading to NeXTSTEP v3.3

My NeXTstation came with the v3.2 of the original operating system NeXTSTEP. I upgraded it to v3.3 to benefit from all the latest, recent developments as well as some patches. The upgrade process is easy and smooth :

• First, I downloaded the ISO images of the User and Developer CD-ROMs available on Archive.org.
• Second, I copied these images into the SD card of my BlueSCSI, giving them appropriate names so that the BlueSCSI and NeXTstation recognises them (CD40_512_NS33_User.iso and CD50_512_NS33_Developer.iso).
• Third, I ran the Upgrader.app as root. I found that the easiest way was to launch a terminal, issue su, and then execute /NEXTSTEP_3.3/Upgrader.app/Upgrader. I was very impressed by the quality of the process, including a check of the system files that have been modified and a window to (de)select which of these system files to keep/overwrite.
• Fourth, I run the upgrading process, which went very fast and without any problem. Finally, I rebooted my NeXTstation and now run NeXTSTEP v3.3 . (I don't have screenshots because I forgot to take them! )

I noticed some superficial changes first, like the icons for the NeXTstation or the Terminal.app having changed from black to silver. There are other more important changes under the hood that now allow me to run applications that didn't work with NeXTSTEP v3.2, in particular OmniWeb v2.7b3!

After installing NeXTSTEP v3.3, I installed all the latest patches, which include a patch for the Y2K bug. These patches are available all-in-one in another CD-ROM image at nextcomputers.org. I just downloaded, copied, and accessed NSOSY2K.iso, and used the TAR file NS33CISCUserPatch3.tar. now my NeXTSTEP is up-to-date and I can set the day properly.

This table summarises the different versions from NS3.2 to NS3.3 to NS3.3+Patches:

Finally, I installed some extra packages found into the CD in NextCD/Packages:

• Demonstration.pkg, which adds many more demo programs in /NextDeveloper/Demos.
• DigitalWebster.pgk, which is an electronic version of the Webster dictionary (9^th New Collegiate Dictionary).
• Documentation.pkg, which includes the NEXTSTEP Network and Administration Manual as well as UNIX manual pages and some issues of the quarterly technical journal NEXTSTEP In Focus.
• Emacs.pkg, which doesn't need any introduction
• FrenchEssentials.pkg, which installs French "catalogs" for many applications.
• Help.pkg, which provides on-line help for many applications.
• ImagesetterPPDs.pkg, which installs PostScript Printer Description files for PostScript imagesetters.
• NeXTTeX.pkg, which provides a full implementation of TeX, including LaTeX and MetaFont.
• PrinterPPDs.pkg, which allows using PostScript printers.
• WebsterIllustrations.pkg, which includes pictures/images for the Webster dictionary.

Installing the Developer CD

I installed the Developer CD to develop program for my NeXTstation . I was a bit confused by the content of the CD and opted to install the four packages in the folder NextCD/Packages/:

• DeveloperDoc.pkg;
• DeveloperLibs.pkg;
• DeveloperTools.pkg;
• GNUSource.pkg.

As usual, running the Installer as root, it took a while but the process went smoothly. I also installed the patch from NSOSY2K.iso called NS33DevelopmentPatch2.tar.

Connecting to a Server via Samba

The NeXT client for Samba is called Rumba and is available online but with some difficulties! The archive is named rumba.0.4.NI.b.tar.gz. Because of its age, Rumba doesn't play well with modern Samba servers. The trick to make it work with a modern Samba server is to use the guest mode.

global
    # Definition of the server
    server role  = standalone server
    workgroup    = GIB
    dos charset  = CP850
    unix charset = UTF-8

    # Security settings of the server
    # For Amiga SMBFS clients:
    ntlm auth     = ntlmv1-permitted
    # For NeXT Station client:
    # (In short, the authentication with "rumba" always fails,
    # the "bad user" is logged in as "smbuser" to access shares.
    map to guest  = bad user
    guest account = smbuser

Music
    path           = /media/WWW/Music
    writeable      = yes
    create mask    = 0777
    directory mask = 0777

MusicRO
    # Needed for the NeXT Station
    guest ok       = yes
    writeable      = no
    path           = /media/WWW/Music