I recently came into a few Imation Travan DC-2000 and MC-3000 cleaning
kits. New in box. Would they be of use to anyone here?
Jim Arnott
Union, OR
Leopards break into the temple and drink to the dregs what is in the
sacrificial pitchers; this is repeated over and over again; finally it
can be calculated in advance, and it becomes part of the ceremony.
-Kafka
Does anyone know anything about 1/2" tape cleaners?
I remember (I think) seeing a device in the tape library of the giant
insurance company I once worked for.
This device, if I remember correctly looked like an audio open reel tape deck
but would take a 1/2" (9-track style) tape reel on one side and had a take-up
reel on the other.
If I remember correctly the tape passed over a "spinning wheel" which
had slots in it. I think this wheel would "clean" the tape.
It's all a bit hazy now, but I think this device was used to clean and
re-tention 9-track 1/2" tapes. (the # of tracks does not matter, but I say
that to give the proper context).
Anyone know of these, have one, know of one, or if they work and are safe?
I have some (well, many) 9-track tapes which were stored in a very poor
(read humid) environment. The look like they have mildew on them. I'd
like to try cleaning and re-tensioning one and, after baking, see if it
will read.
Seems like one of these devices would come in handy.
Any experience?
-brad
If anyone's interested, I have listed a couple of Apple IIc Pluses
at http://marketplace.vintage.org. I also have the external 3.5"
floppies
for them as well . . . .
Jeff
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As promised, the update.
The last version I received from Pete is indeed the OnTrack 7.09 version
that works with all disks. GREAT STUFF!!
It recognized immediately my HP C2965A.
On that drive it says: 988 cyl 16 hds 52 sect 420.8 Mb
OnTrack maps that differently, but what the heck: it works perfectly.
A bit strange though is that I have a C: (boot)partition of 420 Mb *and*
a D: partition of some 418 Mb. The drive clearly says 420.8 Mb, but
OnTrack says 818 Mb ....? Perhaps word -> byte? just guessing.
Anyway, the DECpc 320P is on its way to run E11 and SIMH!
At least, the PDP-11 simulation runs on a PC .... but it's a *DECpc* :-)
thanks for all replies!
- Henk, PA8PDP.
PS. Dave, if you find a newer version I would be glad to receive a copy
to store it for later requests. Think of your version being backed up at
an other continent :-)
>
does "clean" mean "erase"?
--
Since they are still around, see if you can get a manual. It will
probably be $100 to ship the unit, even if you get it for $50. They
may support cleaning a tape w/o certifying it. Also check if there
are consumables (the older Kybe units have a loop of cleaning tape
that I haven't been able to find a source for) required for this
unit. I didn't see any supplies listed on their web page.
By mistake I deleted the message that had the URL for downloading the
G4TechTV's The Screen Savers TV show with Sellam, does anyone remember what
it was? I have downloaded the BitTorrent client to view it with. Thanks
> So what kinda pie do you want, Sellam? ;^>
LOL, but seriously Roger, that was a perfect explanation!
BTW. good tip to make a backup floppy with a Clear Label on it.
- Henk, PA8PDP.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces(a)classiccmp.org
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Sent: 23-10-2004 17:18
Subject: RE: access to BIOS of DECpc
Rumor has it that Vintage Computer Festival may have mentioned these
words:
>On Sat, 23 Oct 2004, Gooijen H wrote:
>
> > A short update on my efforts ...
> > The Fujitsu-OnRack version did what was to be expected: it checks
and
> > sees that there is no Fujitsu drive in the PC and stops :-)
> > Sorry to say that the version from Pete is for Western Digital
drives
> > and shows the same behaviour :-(
> > I found a gfew manufacturer versions, but not for HP &%$#@!&
> > However, there is till hope at 2 fronts: the version Dave will dig
up,
> > and there is one on auction at eBay (for just a few $$). If I will
be
> > the lucky winner I will share the data on the disk with everybody
that
> > is interested in a copy. It looks like this is an *original* OnTrack
> > version that works with drives of any manufacturer. It's version 7
...
> > I'll report back later.
>
>Maybe this is a dumb suggestion, in which case I invite folks to throw
>pies at me while I'm stripped down nekkid (note: I might like it),
If you're talking Lemon Meringue fresh outta the oven, I doubt you'd
like
it (well, not for *long*, anyway! :-O )...
>... but
>what about using a boot manager instead? Would it not accomplish the
same
>thing?
Noper, two totally different critters.
Boot managers just *replaces* the standard MBR with a customizable MBR
so
you can boot multiple OSs. It has nothing to do WRT disk geometry or
sizes.
Linux's Grub is a good example. (LILO can do it too, but it's a little
less
forgiving of other operating systems.) Even Winders NT/2K/XP boot
manager
can be twiddled enough to boot Linux, tho it's *not* easy to do.
Individual
partitions are easily accessible from other OSs as the geometry is still
derived from the BIOS/HD itself.
OTOH, OnTrack (and others) actually "off-shift" the MBR and add a
"pre-loader" which adds a BIOS patch to give the BIOS the ability to
recognize larger HDs, or HDs with odd geometries. Then once it loads,
the
off-shifted MBR is then called and the computer can boot normally. If
this
BIOS patch is *not* loaded first, then the computer cannot accurately
recognize the HD geometry, partition sizes or locations, etc.
On the plus side, it's *very* handy every time an idiot PeeCee
manufacturer
decides to hard-code YADAHDL (that's "Yet Another DumbAss Hard Drive
Limitation... ;-) -- First 32Meg, then 528 Meg, then 2Gig, then 8 Gig,
then
80Gig, then 127Gig, and I'm sure there's others in between I've
forgotten.
This code allows a computer with a 528-Meg BIOS limitation (or older
computer who's BIOS doesn't have customizable entries) to utilize larger
HDs.
On the minus side - He who uses this software had better take care on
having a good backup plan in place that does not require this software!
As
the geometry's been "jumbled" to make it work in that environment, if
you
yank the drive & put it in another machine, the partitions won't be
recognized or anything. With OnTrack and some others, you *could* set up
a
boot floppy with the special code so another machine (if booted from
this
floppy) could read the partitions & whatnot, but guaranteed, as soon as
you
need that floppy, you won't be able to find it... ;-)
Hope this helps,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
So what kinda pie do you want, Sellam? ;^>
--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger | A new truth in advertising slogan
sysadmin, Iceberg Computers | for MicroSoft: "We're not the oxy...
zmerch(a)30below.com | ...in oxymoron!"
On Oct 23 2004, 20:35, Stephane Tsacas wrote:
> Folks,
>
> Another fat SMD, Eagle like drive on ebay :
> FUJITSU LIMITED FIXED DISK UNIT # M2294K ~VERY NICE!
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5132599282
They're nice drives -- I have one -- but the seller has mis-described
it slightly. It's not "missing the power cord". The power cable is
what you can see in the picture, lying on top of the HDA: the cable(s)
with three big AMP (or Molex? I forget which) connectors on the end.
What's missing is the PSU, and you won't be running *that* drive off
an ex-PC PSU. It's also missing the outer halves of the mounting rails
(the parts that fit to the rack), the SMD terminator, and the front
panel.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
> >Like this one?
That is a certifier. It reads and writes on the tape.
http://www.datadev.com/mark350.html is more like what he is
looking for, although I wouldn't trust a tape in poor condition
on something that spun at 350 ips.
