52 years later, only known copy of Unix v4 recovered from randomly found tape, now up and running on a system — first OS version with kernel and core utilities written in C

The University of Utah's School of Computing has recovered the only known copy of Unix v4, the first OS version with its kernel and core utilities written in C, from a magnetic tape dating back to 1973. The recovery process involved using advanced technology to extract the data from the 50-year-old tape, resulting in a 40 MB file available for download with instructions on running the operating system. The Unix v4 required a DEC PDP-11 minicomputer, which can now be emulated using SimH software. The recovery effort was a collaborative project that involved extensive research into the history of Unix, shedding light on the early days of the operating system's development.