tape drive software & tapes

[andyswork@beci.net]

It has been a while guys, but I have been watching and reading. I did complete upgrade of my system and now have all the bugs out (For now). I have a Colorado QIC 3020,hardware version 0379h> I need the software or drives to make it run, I also need the tape size and tapes. I hope to use this to backup my system, you all know the problems I have had and all of you have been a great help. Charles if you look in I'm just about ready to buy PC Guide on disk , to try and save hard drive space and not download maybe it is better on the cd. I have been to alot of sites with out any results , please help me again. Will be buying cd writer next Thanks for all the help and computer knowlege, maybe someday I'll be a pro too Andy

[Paleo Pete]

If you have the physical tape drive, all you really have to do is look under System Tools and see if Back Up is listed. If not, pop in the Windows CD, go into Control Panel\Add/Remove Programs and install back up. It's almost identical to Seagate's Back Up Exec, and works very well. I use it on my tape drive and haven't had any problems. That's how I got about 400MB of downloaded zip files back on here after the last reinstall.

The tapes are available at most computer related retail stores, I saw them at the local CompUSA 2 or 3 weeks ago. They have the regular QIC-80 tapes, and the larger ones, (I can't remember the name of the type). The one you need depends on the tape drive. Look up the documentation on the drive and it should tell you what tapes it will take.

The back up program is fairly easy to use, identify the media and format it, (takes a while, go eat lunch). To set up a back up, scroll down the left panel to the folder you want, click the boxes in the right panel for the files you want to copy, then tell it go ahead. Restoring works just about the same.

Tape backups are slow, it takes much longer than a CD ROM, but they are very reliable. Don't store tapes near any magnetic source, such a speakers.

To install the drive itself, check to see if it came with a cable. It should plug into your floppy cable, if you only have one floppy that's no problem, you don't need the extra cable, plug the tape into the middle connector and you're set. If you're like me and have a 5 1/4" drive also you'll need a special cable that adds a tape plug to the existing one. If the drive didn't come with one, they usually don't, check local computer shops.

After hooking it up, (don't close up the case yet) boot the machine without a tape in the drive so it can be recognized by windows. It took me a week to figure that one out. Put in a tape and windows refuses to see and install it. After it's installed, you can leave a tape in and it's no problem. Check the Colorado site or a good download site to see if you need drivers.

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