[Info-vax] TLZ7

[AEF]

On Nov 4, 11:12 am, m.krae... at gsi.de (Michael Kraemer) wrote:
> In article <iaugng$18n... at ns.felk.cvut.cz>, smithfarm <presnyprek... at gmail.com>
> writes:
>
> > > 2GB uncompressed makes it a TLZ04, DDS-1. TLZ07 does 4GB uncompressed
> > > and is DDS-2. Some inconsistency here, not sure who to believe. The
> > > hardware is usually definitive.
>
> > Is the only way to tell DDS1 from DDS2 (definitively, from the hardware)
> > to attempt to write more than 2GB to a DDS2 tape and see what happens?
> > Or is there another way?
>
> What puzzles me is the date "December 13, 1985"
> which is definitely much earlier than DDS-2 technology.
> If it really is a TLZ07, i.e. a DDS-2 drive,
> it will only take DDS-2 and DDS-1 media, no DDS-3 and above.
> It's not only tape length, but also write density.
> The higher capacity media have thinner tapes
> (probably to fit them into the same cartridge size),
> and so may even be torn apart when used in an older drive.
> Modern drives have media recognition and will spit out
> "wrong" tapes.

I strongly recommend to NOT use DDS-2 tapes on a TLZ07. (BTW, mine
don't look anything like yours.) I had endless trouble reading DDS-2
tapes on these drives. They'd either get the parity error part way
through the tape, or not read at all. This is usually when you try to
read the tape on a different drive.

Use DDS-1. Once I started using that, everything worked as it should.

Of course it may be something about MY TLZ07s. Don't know. (Not DEC,
but we had HP maintenance on them, and some of the drive they sent as
substitutes were no better! On spit out a tape onto the floor. (I am
not making this up.) A tiny screw fell out of another (after I heard
it rattling when carrying the drive).

This is an excellent opportunity to post the latest revision of my
tape drive lyrics:

All right, enough doom and gloom. It's time for a little

    SYS$HUMOR!

To the tune of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine":


I Lost It with the Tape Drive (v1.1-1)

Ooh, I bet you're wonderin' how I knew
'Bout your plans to make me blue
With the tape I trusted to your clutch
You know that data, I needed much
It took me by surprise I must say
When I heard it grind away

Don't you know that I
Heard it in the tape drive
Not much longer would it be alive
Oh, I heard it in the tape drive
Now I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey honey, yeah
(Heard it in the tape drive
Not much longer would I have my data, ooh, ooh, ooh)

I know a man ain't supposed to cry
But these tears I cannot hold inside
Losin' you would end my job you see
'Cause that data, my boss he needs
You could have told me just as much
that my tape you were about to scrunch

Instead I lost it in the tape drive
not much longer would it be alive
Oh yeah, I lost it in the tape drive
And I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey honey, yeah
(Lost it in the tape drive
Not much longer would I have my data, ooh, ooh, ooh)

<brief instrumental interlude>

People say believe half of what you see
Son, and none of what you hear
But I can't help being confused
If my data's gone, please tell me dear
Do you really want to do this to me
After all the cleaning tapes I fed to thee?

Don't you know I
Lost it with the tape drive
Not much longer would it be alive
Baby, I lost it with the tape drive
Ooh, I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey honey, yeah
(Lost it with the tape drive
Not much longer would I have my data, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Honey, honey I knew
That my data is through
'Said I lost it with the tape drive

Repeat and fade

Lost it with the tape drive


Lyrics mutated by Alan E. Feldman &-)