As announced in the Fall of 1998, the Center for Academic Computing will be terminating the PSUVM (VM/CMS) system on June 30, 2000. Because of year 2000 compliance problems, we recommend that most people attempt to be off the system before December 31, 1999. This will ensure that they are not trying to use programs that may no longer function correctly due to date dependencies.
To assist you in moving your files and applications from VM/CMS to another system, the CAC has published instructions on the Web at http://cac.psu.edu/vmcms/general.html below are two examples.
If you need assistance, please contact the CAC Help Desk by stopping by 215 Computer Building, e-mailing helpdesk@psu.edu, or by calling (814) 863-2494. If you have questions about your VM/CMS account, contact the Computer Accounts Office at accounts@psu.edu or (814) 865-4772.
Moving files from PSUVM to your Windows or Macintosh computer
With the announcement of the discontinuation of VM/CMS, many people are asking how to move files from the PSUVM system to a Windows or Macintosh computer. This article will explain how to do this using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software. The FTP software programs Fetch for Macintosh and WS_FTP for Windows are available on the CAC's Internet software CD, which can be obtained from the CAC Help Desk in 215 Computer Building or 2 Willard Building.
Note that some files must be converted before retrieving them with FTP. In general, raw data files and files that a person can read and understand on VM/CMS using XEDIT can be copied without any conversion.
1. Logon to your VM/CMS account, issue the command DISKLIST, and make note of your disk addresses (100, 101, 102, etc). You will need this information in step 4. Note that you need only disk addresses that are associated with your user ID. They will normally be listed as R/W (read/write). The R/O (read/only) disks labeled HELP, N-DISK etc. contain public files, not your private files. Convert files if needed; see "File Conversion notes" below for instructions.
2. Use an FTP program such as Fetch for Macintosh or WS_FTP for Windows. Double-click the application.
3. Fetch users will be presented with a "New Connection" window. If this window does not appear, select "New Connection" from the "File" menu. WS_FTP users will be presented with a "Session profile" window. If this window does not appear, click or select the "Connect" button.
4. In the dialogue box that appears, enter
Host Name: psuvm.psu.edu
User ID: your VM/CMS user ID
Password: your VM/CMS password
Directory (example): xyz123.100
Note that in the above example in the "directory" field, "xyz123.100" is analogous to your PSUVM user ID followed by a period, then your disk number. This gives the user xyz123 access to the minidisk having an address of 100.
Click OK, and you should now be able to start downloading your files to your local computer.
WS_FTP should display all of the files on the selected minidisk in the right hand column under "Remote System". You can then select which files to download (on the right), choose the local directory (on the left), choose ASCII or Binary at the bottom and then select the "<-" symbol between the two to begin the download. Probably most files will be ASCII with the notable exception of SAS transport files which are binary.
Fetch should display a list of all your files on the selected minidisk. You can select one and then click on "Get File...". You can select several by command-clicking each file, or you can select a range of files by selecting the first file in the range then shift-click the last file in the range. Finally click on "Get File...".
If you have multiple disks on VM/CMS, use the "change directory" function in the FTP program to switch to another disk. For example, when you are finished getting the files from your 100 disk, then "change directory" to xyz123.101 to access the next disk.
For some files it may be more useful to format them first on VM/CMS and then download the MEMO or PRINT results.
If you need help finding resources to replace your PSUVM functionality or in transferring your materials to another location, please contact the CAC Help Desk by stopping by 215 Computer Building, e-mailing helpdesk@psu.edu, or calling (814) 863-2494.
