[CCTALK] Good Trip/Score Dec Rainbow, preformatted media - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

17 May 2002

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 From: Raymond Moyers &lt;rmoyers(a)nop.org&gt;rg>:
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   Thanks to Alex
W. I picked up a Dec Rainbow+ w/color card and a DEC
 VR240 and a DEC printer 
 Isnt that one of those machines that need preformatted media ?

 Im not very knowlegable about VAX variants but i read about
 a certain small vax 2000?  prized for its ability to prepare
 hard disks (flaw map/disk label) for the larger vaxen that
 lacked the ability to do it themselves. 
Rainbow *can* format its own floppies. There is a similar DEC machine (Pro?
Decmate? Help, somebody?) that cannot, and some Rainbows make their living
as formatters for people that own the other machine. I don't know whether
there's an analogous situation for VAX 2000, etc.

The inability to format own media *is* a major and needless PITA, one of
DEC's crummier decisions, IMO.
								- Mark