Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!att!cbnewsl!moss!feg From: feg@moss.ATT.COM (Forrest Gehrke,2C-119,7239,ATTBL) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: Colorado Memory tape backup Keywords: Colorado, tape, backup Message-ID: <1991Apr5.170102.18677@cbnewsl.att.com> Date: 5 Apr 91 17:01:02 GMT References: <1991Apr4.155954.11431@digi.lonestar.org> Sender: @cbnewsl.att.com Reply-To: feg@moss.ATT.COM (Forrest Gehrke) Distribution: na Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 73 In article <1991Apr4.155954.11431@digi.lonestar.org> mfrohman@digi.lonestar.org (Matthew Frohman) writes: > >I separate my disks into logical groupings (spreadsheets, graphics, etc.) and >create each disk with a volume label that reflects the group and a sequential >number (i.e., GRAPH-001, GRAPH-002). What I would like to do is back up ALL >of the floppies (sort of like dumping all of the disks to tape) so that when >I add new files to a disk, I can do an incremental backup. Does the software >allow this, or is each disk considered an individual back up? Can you do ONE >backup of ALL disks and be prompted to "INSERT NEXT DISK"? You can do one backup of all floppies provided you read them into a hard disk directory first. Then you could do a selective backup of that directory. If you added further diskettes (even though you had deleted the files from that directory on the hard disk) you could do an incremental backup. But that incremental backup would be considered a second volume. Only if you restored the first group to the same directory on the hard disk and then added further floppies would you get a complete tape volume of that group of floppy files. This is what I plan to do. Although the CMS software will ask for "Next tape" if a tape fills up, it doesn't know anything about "Next disk". You have to remember that this tape drive is for a backup scheme and is not configured to be a slow reaction time disk drive. The CMS software does provide a file search capability, which is remarkably fast considering the media. You can restore the single found file if you wish. One of the features of the CMS software is that it will backup files listed in ascii form from a prepared file. I have not tried this yet. Perhaps someone else can respond whether this prepared list can refer to different drives so that you might alternate between A and B drives and quickly change diskettes as each is backed up. (;-)) Forrest Gehrke feg@dodger.att.com The CMS software will backup a floppy drive, but that backup is considered a separate volume on the tape. > >Also, I currently have two floppy drives. I know they sell a cable for ~$30 >to chain the tape drive off the B drive. Can you chain it off the A drive? >I know you can make the cable yourself. Anyone know the details? > The CMS tape drive can be run off the floppy drive cable that goes to your A and B drives. You need only to add another edge connector to the end of the cable which then goes to the tape drive. Since the B drive edge connector is normally at the end of the cable you either have to make a new cable or move the last floppy drive edge connector further from the end. If there is a twist in the cable of some of the wires going to the B drive (and there usually is), you have to be sure to twist that group of wires back into the same alignment they have for the A drive before adding the tape drive edge connector (while retaining that twist for the B drive). The tape drive does not have a letter designation. BTW, when backing up floppy drives, if you are using the floppy controller the tape drive has to divide its time with the floppy drive. This turns out to be slow business. CMS sells two controller cards, FC-10 and TC-15. The TC-15, in addition to being a tape controller also does hardware compression, which latter doubles the speed of backup. This, of course, is more important when backing up the hard disk. The CMS software allows you an unattended backup option, contrary to another poster I have read in this group who complained about the need for interactive backup. Anyhow, with a separate controller for the tape drive, backing up floppy drives proceeds considerably faster.