bellotti@cbnewsl.att.com (a.bellotti) (07/28/90)
I perform unattended nightly backups of my files/packages (40 Megs or so) onto a 1/4 inch tape. Anyone out there has an idea on how long should a 1/4 inch tape be used on a daily basis before it loses its reliability ? Alberto Bellotti aab@attunix.att.com
noloc@gli.com (Gil Colon) (08/04/90)
bellotti@cbnewsl.att.com (a.bellotti) writes: >I perform unattended nightly backups of my files/packages (40 Megs >or so) onto a 1/4 inch tape. Anyone out there has an idea on how >long should a 1/4 inch tape be used on a daily basis before it >loses its reliability ? How valuable is the data being backed up? I'm assuming that it is somewhat valuable, since you would not have taken the time to back-it-up. Therefore, in my case, and experience, anything more than 60 writes I have found to be un-reliable. Two things generally have happened: 1) The tape, after awhile, breaks off at one end. This was generally true of tapes I purchased from Inamc, using their brand of 1/4" media. This is generally caused from the costant tensioning performed by writes and rewinds. 2) Head alignment on older drives (ie: wangtech 45meg/60meg) would tend to misalign on the media, causing read problems. Other than these types of problems, I have not found/experienced any real problems with the media. So, I again ask you: How valuable is the data being backed up? And, protect it as such..... >Alberto Bellotti >aab@attunix.att.com -- Gilbert Colon UUCP: rutgers!glinj!noloc (201) 352-1500 x4302 INTERNET: noloc@gli.com "Where there's a will ---- there's a relative...." -- Treblig Noloc --