UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users

hi all

Please may you help.

I want to put my unix application backup files using tar cv8 * from a specific folder e.g /u1/sage

With new tapes SONY 4mm-DL 90m i can do it with no problem at all. Now I have run out of tapes and I need to use the same kind but they were once used to back up Windows files using backup exec application.

I have tried to do a backup to overwrite the windows files that are there but all I get is a tape error... directory checksum error


What can i do to use the same tapes on unix 5.0.0.7


Please help

Isaac

It sounds like you have a DAT/DDS tape drive. What you are doing should work. Maybe the tape is bad. Or maybe it won't work in your drive. As DDS drives evolved, to supported tapes of increasing density for read-write and often supported older lower density tapes for reading only. There may be a tape initialization program on your OS. "unix 5.0.0.7" is pretty meaningless and I am unable to guess youe OS from that. With HP-UX, mediainit is the program to initialize tapes. But I never ran it (on DDS tapes) in over 10 years of using DDS tapes on HP-UX.

thanks

all i need to do is to be able to format a tape nomatter what was written there so they are usable on a unix platform. All the tapes are behaving the same so i do not think that it is a question of tape mulfunction.

may you help me with commands to format the tapes.

hope to here from anyone with an idea

Hi.

I recall using command mt on numerous systems to control magnetic tapes. I suggest you try man mt to see if that command is available on your system, or, if that fails, man -k tape ... cheers, drl

i have done and got the following

# tape erase /dev/rStp0
tape: unable to do 'erase' command on '/dev/rStp0' : I/O error

the same is also happening on the mt command

what should i do

thanks anyway

Hi.

I would move the drive to a different computer and try it there. I would acquire / buy / borrow a tape that is supposed to work on that drive and verify that the drive is OK and that such tapes are readable. I have 2 DDS drives, the older one cannot handle all the tapes that the newer one can, as Perderabo mentioned ... cheers, drl