Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pdn!palan!sherpa!guest
From: guest@sherpa.UUCP (Guest Account)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: Exabyte 2.2 Gb Streamer for ISC
Summary: Bad experience with Exabyte 2.2G tape drive
Message-ID: <303@sherpa.UUCP>
Date: 7 Aug 90 00:58:39 GMT
References: <3417@rsiatl.UUCP> <1990Aug01.125704.4279@maxed>
Distribution: na
Organization: Personal System Computing,  St. Petersburg, FL
Lines: 26

In article <1990Aug01.125704.4279@maxed>, root@maxed (0000-Admin(0000)) writes:
>Has anyone been using an Exabyte (or related drive)?  How fast is
>it?  Does it require special utilities or will tar or cpio
>drive it with No Problem through a specific device (and what device
>is that?)  HELP!

I installed a 2.2G tape drive and a 720M hard drive in a system about 6 months
ago.  The hard drive works great!!!  The tape drive STINKS!  Sorry to be so
harsh, but the tape drive needs turned on and off 2 to 4 times per week!  This
makes it very unreliable for unattended backups.  Now, the company that we
purchased the tape drive from is NOT Exabyte, but I will bet money that it is
the same drive.  Features and looks are what I base this on.  The place where
we bought the drive from says that there is a known static problem with the
drive, in other words, it is overly sensitive to static.

The Exabyte drive might be fine, but just ask around about any unusual static
problems with it, just to be sure.  I hate to see people get burned!

Speed wise it seems fine, no real numbers to throw out, but compared to the
60M we have, it is very fast.

Yes, you can use tar and any other Unix commands that access the tape drive.

If anyone wishes to response, please do so to "...!uunet!sherpa!bmhalh!bruce".

Bruce