reading tapes in bad conditions

Keep in mind that VMSTPCE, by default, does a rewind before doing the image, so your SET MAG/SKIP commands probably don't mean anything anyway. You need /NOREWIND to force it to not rewind. VMSTPCE also has the "/ERROR" switch to make it ignore erros. I suspect your tape drive thinks its too smart to read past an error though. For 800 BPI, you can always move the start-of-tape marker past the crinkled tape. This will work for *some*, but not all, 1600 BPI tape drives too. (There's a ID burst at the start of a 1600 BPI tape that some drives will insist on finding.) Same for 6250. What's the project, out of curiosity? I've only got a dozen 9-track drives here that might help :-) -- Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/ 7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917 Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927