ejk@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Ed Kubaitis) (08/10/90)
An 8mm tape drive on an RS/6000 running AIX 3.1 appears to take ~30 seconds doing *something* when opened at load-point. The documentation I have describes a "retension on open" option, but this delay is encountered even when a device name for "no retension on open" is used. Further, this option seems to refer to QIC tapes, not 8mm, anyway. Does anybody know what's causing this delay? Is it hardware or software, and is there a way to prevent it? 2 other questions about 8mm: What are "extended file marks" and the pros & cons of using them? Is there something in 8mm recording comparable to the ARA/AGC "burst" written at beginning of tape in 1/2" 6250 GCR recording? That is, does one compromise data reliability on 8mm tapes by appending data to an existing tape on a different drive? Would appreciate either answers or pointers to people or documents with answers. Thanks in advance! ----------- Ed Kubaitis (ejk@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu) Computing Services Office University of Illinois, Urbana