Getting files from HP 3000 tapes (was: Re: HP 2000 TSB and FORTRAN)

[Stan Sieler]

Ed writes:
   ?If? we? ever? ?get? a? way? to? read? tapes? ? for? the? 2000 and? 3000?

Well, we can "read" tapes for the HP 3000, and restore the files from HP
3000 backup tapes ... via Allegro Consultant's "ROSETTA STORE" product (of
which I'm the primary author).

I'm happy to restore some files for fellow collectors/enthusiasts (as
time/energy permits) for free.

The problem breaks down into two parts:

1. reading the tape

Although Rosetta can read from a physical tape drive, that capability
hasn't been tested for a decade (because of loss of hardware).

Every user we know of uses Rosetta to restore files from tape images.

There are a number of formats of tape images ... quite a number.

Rosetta understands many tape image formats, including:
    AWS / HET
    STORE-to-disk
    SIMH
    Stromasys tape image
    Tapecopy format (Data Conversion Resources)
(Oddly, I think it doesn't understand Allegro's own proprietary tape image
format, which records a lot more information than others (e.g., read-retry
information).)

If  you need an HP 3000 'STORE' tape recovered, and it's in a different
format, let me know.


2. extracting files from the tape image

Rosetta can read Classic HP 3000 STORE tapes (aka "CM STORE") of various
versions, and MPE/iX STORE tapes (aka "NM STORE") of various versions
(although 'interleave' has been tested only very lightly).

By "read" I mean that it extracts the desired files, converts some (with
some controls), and creates either a hierarchical directory structure
matching the original, or a flattened one.

What about IMAGE databases?
On some platforms (Linux, HP-UX, Windows (?)), IMAGE databases can be
converted to Eloquence databases (Eloquence is a product of Marxmeier
software).
On all platforms, IMAGE databases can be converted to .csv or .xml files.

It can also handle SLT tapes, and provide some information on a few other
kinds of tapes one might see from an HP 3000 (e.g., dump tapes, Serial Disc
images), SPOOK tapes.

Rosetta runs on Mac, Linux, HP-UX, and Windows.

The HP-UX version can read older versions of ORBiT's Online Backup tapes
(before they changed the tape record header format)

TL;DR   Ed: for the 3000, it's essentially a solved problem, and has been
for over 20 years!


Note: I also have a utility to restore files from (older?) Burroughs
mainframe (e.g., B6700) backup tapes.