Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!maytag!mks.com!tslwat!ronp
From: ronp@tslwat.UUCP (Ron Pfeifle)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: Tape Backup Blues!!
Keywords: tape backup unix 386
Message-ID: <138@tslwat.UUCP>
Date: 13 Feb 90 21:53:23 GMT
References: <2574@wb3ffv.ampr.org>
Reply-To: ronp@tslwat.UUCP (Ron Pfeifle)
Organization: Teleride Sage, Ltd., Waterloo
Lines: 13

In article <2574@wb3ffv.ampr.org> howardl@wb3ffv.ampr.org ( WB3FFV) writes:
>Well to my suprise I found that the 150meg unit
>will read tapes all day long, but write, forget it!

I a similar problem using the sysadmin backup to do backups.  New (Unused)
tapes just wouldn't work.  *However*, tapes that had already been written
on were fine.  

Turns out that "/usr/bin/backup" has no problems writing to "unwritten'
tapes.  So, whenever I have a new tape, I first use /usr/bin/backup to
write an empty file to the tape.  Then sysadmin backup doesn't complain.

Ron