Re: Tape Drive With Linux.

> > I have some questions about using my HP Colorado 20GB tape drive with Linux
> > (RedHat 7.2, Kernel 2.4.7-10).
> >
> > Firstly is ftape the only software option when using my tape drive under
> > Linux or is there other software I should investigate the use of?
> 
> I'm using the 14gb and 20gb versions of this drive, in IDE form.
> 
> Watch out for reliability, these drives are _crap_.  They will die in a
> year or two of use.  DAT/AIT/etc are much better.

So I discovered; I'm on drive number two, the first died within my two year
warranty and was replaced (by next day delivery) free.


> That said, if you run 2.2.x+ide, or 2.4.x, you'll need to set it up as
> ide-scsi (scsi emulation under Block devices somewhere).  This will make
> /dev/st0 your backup drive.. From there, you can use tar/whatever you
> want.

Mine is also IDE and I've read about the scsi emulation (I have 2.4.7-10).
What do you mean by "tar/whatever you want."? Do I not have to use fdisk to
access the drive?


> Take a look at your dmesg from bootup, it should list the tape drive.

It does.


> > Secondly can I retrieve the data from tapes that were made using Windows
> > 2000 (specifically using Novastor's NovaBack SCSI software)?
> 
> Very unlikely, as I'm sure it uses a proprietory format.

That is what I feared. I've emailed them asking anyway.

Many thanks for your help Mike and sorry if these are newbie questions.

Regards,

..matthew
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