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Edited by John Burke

What’s wrong in the example below? Would the MPE/iX response below not be considered an implementation flaw? After all, doesn’t @ match nothing as well?

LISTF @QPLIMIT@.@,2
File name is more than eight characters long. (CIERR 532)

Jon Diercks replies:
My impression is that :LISTF is “mature” and not likely to be modified/enhanced much. LISTFILE works as you would expect:

:listfile @qplimit@.@
Non-existent MPE named file “@QPLIMIT@.@.SYS”. (CIWARN 920)

I’m having problems with a job I’m testing. It appears the job breaks out of the “while” loop and aborts. Why would a job treat the ‘while’ statement any different? The command below works well with the first time through the loop, but then exits the loop and aborts. What am I doing wrong here? This is the “while” section of the job:
: while setvar(rec_cntr,rec_cntr+1) <= !jabrt
: print jaborts;start=!rec_cntr;end=!rec_cntr > recout
: input recin < recout
: setvar msg word(‘!recin’,”#”,2)
: hpemail
JOB ABORTED
!msg
602nnnnnnn@mobile.att.net
: pause 5
: setvar page_alert true
: endwhile

Jeff Vance replies:
You cannot provide “inline” data inside a CI while loop. Try creating a temp input file for the HPEMAIL script, e.g.:
...
echo JOB ABORTED >mailin
echo !msg >>mailin
echo 602nnnn... >>mailin
hpemail <mailin
...

Here’s a tip from Ken Sletten:
In preparing for an update from MPE 5.5 to 6.5 Express 2, I noticed that VSTORE “FILES VERIFIED” versus STORE “FILES STORED” were not the same: STORE says it wrote one more file to tape than VSTORE says it verified.

Turns out it’s a known problem. STORE creates the file “/_HFSACCT/_HFSGRP/HFSMAP” on the STORE tape. It is a directory file for all HFS files on the tape. When STORE statistics are compiled, STORE includes this file in the “files stored” total. But VSTORE does NOT consider /_HFSACCT/_HFSGRP/HFSMAP to be a “real” file and does not include it in the “files verified” count.

I have received documentation for MPE/iX 6.5 PowerPatch 2. It mentions that the last date to request this is 2/28/2001. Is the tape I receive now the same as one I order four weeks from now? Or are additional patches bundled in the PowerPatch as time goes on?

Jon Cohen replies:
PowerPatch 2 is a collection of Generally Released patches that are integrated and certified together. If we were to add more patches to the mix, we would call the result PowerPatch 3. In general, the contents of a PowerPatch do not change after its original shipment date.

How do I run the Software Inventory Report psswinvp.pred.sys under 6.5? Is there a replacement? I have always executed it as follows:
:run psswinvp.pred.sys;xl=’xl.pred.sys,xl.diag.sys’
It was my trusted friend on MPE/iX 5.5, but since upgrading two of our three boxes from to MPE/iX 6.5, all I get is the program banner.

Steve Pittenger replies:
There seems to have been a change in MPE/iX 6.5. I had the same issue when I upgraded to MPE/iX 6.5. Here is the command that my ASE gave me:

RUN PSSWINVP.PRED.SYS;XL=‘XL.PRED.SYS,DIAGXL.PRED.SYS’

[Editor’s note: this command is contained in the command file psirpt.pred.sys.]

Are add-on NIC cards for 9x7s and 9x8s full-height like a MIO card or half-height like a single-ended SCSI card?

Doug Werth replies:
The add-on LANIC is a half-height card.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but if my memory serves me right all one has to do to change the IP address on a Native Mode spooled printer is:

STOPSPOOL ldev
Edit NPCONFIG.PUB.SYS
STARTSPOOL ldev

Is there something more complex than that?

No, it is that simple in general.

If you use DNS and name your printers, then, as James Alexander pointed out, you need to clear the cache entry with nettool.net.sys. [Editor’s note: if the printer is changing subnets, then you may need to change the gateway on the printer’s JetDirect interface.]

Is there a CI command that is the inverse of SHOWDEV CLASS? In other words, is there a simple command available at the CI that, when given an LDEV number, will return all of the logical device classes that it belongs to?

Larry Simonsen replies:
Not exactly a command, but here is a script using sysinfo.prvxl.telesup

parm device
echo io !device>sprompt
echo exit>>sprompt
sysinfo.prvxl.telesup <sprompt

Lars Appel suggested using the implied “info” string to make it even simpler:

:sysinfo.prvxl.telesup “io !device”

[Editor’s note: There was a release in MPE/iX 5.5 when sysinfo lost the ability to display classes. I recall complaining about it, but since sysinfo is officially “unsupported,” I did not get very far. It appears to have been fixed with version A.04.00 which was delivered as part of MPE/iX 6.0 PowerPatch 1.]

I’m trying to set up a UDC that either calls a command file or calls itself. For example,
spoolf dfid
tellop user !hpuser.!hpaccount is modifying !dfid
spoolf !dfid;pri=1
*****
If I use ‘spoolf’ as the name of the UDC command then the UDC begins an infinite loop. What’s the work around, if any?

Doug Werth replies:
Add OPTION NORECURSION to your UDC to prevent it from executing itself.

Jeff Vance adds:
A UDC can easily call a command file, either by using the file’s fully qualified name, or letting the name be qualified via the HPPATH variable. If the command file has the same name as a UDC command or a built-in CI command (consider changing the filename) then use the XEQ CI command.
A UDC can call itself by using OPTION RECURSION in the UDC header or as a command in the UDC body.

We are trying to set up a command file that will read a record into a system variable and then echo it into a file using CIOR. The problem is that the records could (and do) contain the characters > and <. The command interpreter is evaluating these as part of command IO redirection and failing on “file not found” or “illegal filename” errors. How can we override this?

Keven Miller and Chris Goodey reply:
If you put an “!” in front of the “>” and “>” the characters will pass through, as in this example:
SETVAR LINE REPL ( LINE, “>”, “!>” )
SETVAR LINE REPL ( LINE, “<”, “!<” )
echo !LINE

We had the ‘pleasure’ (not) of having an AUI transceiver fall off the back of one of our 3000s the other day. In this case, the transceiver doesn’t have the little “locking bracket thingy” and so it’s simply hanging on the AUI port. Our tech tried to tell me that he can’t buy a transceiver that fits/screws on to a MFIO card. I can’t quite believe this is so. What’s the part number?

Rick Gilligan replies:
I highly recommend the HP 28685B EtherTwist Transceiver. It not only comes with the “locking bracket thingy,” but also is held tightly in place by it. We had tried a couple of other brands of transceiver with the little posts, but none were held in place tightly, except for the 28685B.

Denis St-Amand adds:
The part you need (for the “locking bracket thingy”) is 5062-3351, an “AUI retainer”.

Bob J. and Stan Sieler add:
Most transceivers block the retaining clip so you can’t lock the clip. To solve this, get transceivers with pigtail cables or get a short AUI extension cable.

Stan further adds (crediting Steve Cooper) that if you need a solution right now, slightly crimp the “shell” of the AUI connector so the connector will hold on to the card better.

TIP: (This came as the result of a fairly long thread that dealt with a network printing problem.) NPCONFIG.PUB.SYS must be an unnumbered file.

How can I determine how much memory is on each of my systems?

Larry Simonsen replies:
The (free) ramusage utility at www.allegro.com will tell you memory size.

Barry Lake adds:
If you have Glance/iX, then the “Memory Detail” page will give you total memory. Also, psconfig.pred.sys will show memory detail.

Wirt Atmar notes that the initial banner for sysinfo.prvxl.telesup displays total memory information.

And, finally, Andreas Schmidt noted that on 6.0 and earlier systems, the following works:
SYSDIAG
SYSMAP
MEMMAP