26 Apr
2007
26 Apr
'07
8:16 a.m.
I've got a bunch of DC-600/615A & 300XLP tapes that, although I
haven't tried to read them lately, look OK, i.e. they move freely
and nothing seems to be sticking.
Aside from the issue of archiving them, is it better to leave them
until needed, or should I run them through a retension occasionally
to prevent some of the problems mentioned recently? Any special
conditions for storage?
Opinions? Experience?
mike
26 Apr
26 Apr
9:45 a.m.
On 26 Apr 2007 at 12:16, M H Stein wrote:
Aside from the issue of archiving them, is it better
to leave them
until needed, or should I run them through a retension occasionally
to prevent some of the problems mentioned recently? Any special
conditions for storage?
Well, obviously, a lot depends on the tape formulation itself. The
job immediately before this one was a DC-6250 written in 1992. Went
without a hitch. The problem tapes are "Scotch" and were written in
1986-87 and are nothing but problems.
To me "archiving" is the key. Copy the things off to another storage
medium (say, CD-R) and regenerate copies every few years. It's just
plain foolish to leave things to the mercy of Father Time.
Cheers,
Chuck
12:36 p.m.
M H Stein wrote:
I've got a bunch of DC-600/615A & 300XLP tapes
that, although I
haven't tried to read them lately, look OK, i.e. they move freely
and nothing seems to be sticking.
Aside from the issue of archiving them, is it better to leave them
until needed, or should I run them through a retension occasionally
to prevent some of the problems mentioned recently? Any special
conditions for storage?
Opinions? Experience?
I'd advise backing them up onto something different,
while you have working drives, and the knowledge
of how to recover them.
Wait too long, and you will find that:
1. The tapes go bad.
2. The tape drives go bad. Try to buy a new one?
3. You can't find the software needed to read them.
4. You can't find a machine capable of reading them. (speed, bus, etc)
5. ...
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