wdh@holos0.uucp (Weaver Hickerson) (02/28/91)
I've talked with our local SCO distributor on this problem. I have an irwin model 185 on an NCR 386sx running xenix386GT, 2 user. Is there a driver that will do something besides go out to lunch when I access this drive? It is installed as drive B on the floppy controller, and works fine when the DOS partition is booted. Any hints appreciated. Say, has there ever been a contest for slowest tape drive? -- -Weaver Hickerson Voice (404) 496-1358 : ..!edu!gatech!holos0!wdh
paulz@sco.COM (W. Paul Zola) (03/14/91)
In article <1991Feb27.224544.3419@holos0.uucp> wdh@holos0.uucp (Weaver Hickerson) writes: }I've talked with our local SCO distributor on this problem. I have an }irwin model 185 on an NCR 386sx running xenix386GT, 2 user. } }Is there a driver that will do something besides go out to lunch when I }access this drive? It is installed as drive B on the floppy controller, }and works fine when the DOS partition is booted. } }Any hints appreciated. The following article from the SCO Information Tools database should help with your problem. I'm posting because I think this may be of general interest. Note that even though the Irwin model 185 is not explicitly listed in this document, it is reported to work with xnx146c (the latest version of xnx146). In fact, the driver provided with this SLS should work with *any* Irwin drive ever manufactured. ################## cut here ################ cut here ################## How do I use an Irwin tape drive with SCO XENIX Operating System? RELEASE: SCO XENIX System V Operating System Release 2.2.3, 2.3.1 or 2.3.2 PROBLEM: I want to use an Irwin tape drive with my SCO XENIX Operating System Release 2.2.3, 2.3.1, or 2.3.2. SOLUTION: You need Support Level Supplement (SLS) xnx146, the Irwin tape device driver. The letter that comes with SLS xnx146 follows: Dear SCO Customer, Enclosed is Support Level Supplement (SLS) xnx146. This floppy contains a device driver for the following Irwin tape drives running under the SCO XENIX (AT/GT/MC) Operating System Release 2.2.3, 2.3.1 and 2.3.2: Supported Irwin Tape Drives =========================== 110 225 2020 125 245 2040 145 285 2080 787 2120 Supported Controllers ===================== Primary floppy disk controller Irwin 4251 drive multiplexor board Irwin 4100 bus controller card (For use with the 787 and 2120 drives) [ details of installation & building a boot/root floppy deleted to save net bandwith] The "mcart" Utility =================== The new Irwin utility "/bin/mcart" has also been added to your system. It enables you to perform a number of useful functions on your Irwin tape drive. They are summarized below: h - This is a help command which allows you to view a list of available "mcart" commands. drive - This command provides information about drive type, controller type and unit select. info - This command provides information about cartridge state, format and write protect slider position. capacity - This command shows the total cartridge capacity in 512 byte blocks after formatting. kapacity - This command shows the total cartridge capacity in 1024 byte blocks after formatting. format - This command enables you to prepare unformatted tape cartridges for use with your Irwin tape drive. If you are using Accutrak pre-formatted tape cartridges, you will not need to use this command. To use the "format" command, you need to make sure you are using either brand new, unformatted tapes, or bulk (magnetically) erased tapes. rewind - This command is used to rewind a tape after a backup or restore has been interrupted. Normally, the tape is rewound automatically. reten - This command is used to align a tape that has not been used for a long time, or has been exposed to temperature extremes. The command syntax is: mcart command For example, using the "format" option, the command would be: mcart format Notes ===== (1) It is highly recommended that you use Accutrak (or equivalent) pre-formatted tapes to avoid the necessity of bulk erasing and formatting your tapes. (2) The device you write to should be "/dev/rctmini". This device needs to be specified regardless of whether you are writing to the drive with "tar", "backup", "cpio", or some other utility. (3) Also, regardless of which utility you use to write to the drive, you MUST specify a blocking factor. The recommended blocking factor is "20". (4) Before you issue the "mcart format" command, to servo/format a tape, you MUST BULK ERASE the tape to be formatted. If you do not bulk erase your tape, you will not be able to format it. (5) While installing your hardware, please refer to the hardware guide shipped with your Irwin tape backup unit. If you have questions regarding the installation of your Irwin hardware, contact Irwin Technical Support. We appreciate your business. SCO Support Services ################## cut here ################ cut here ################## I hope this helps you with your problem. } }Say, has there ever been a contest for slowest tape drive? } Not that I know of. Did you have a particular contestant in mind? :-) (Although I think any such contest would be won handily by a broken drive). - Paul Zola Software Support Engineer paulz@sco.COM Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose. - Emily Saliers DISCLAIMER: I speak for myself, and not for SCO. }-- }-Weaver Hickerson Voice (404) 496-1358 : ..!edu!gatech!holos0!wdh