guy@ns.network.com (Guy D'Andrea) (06/06/91)
I just got the latest CompuAdd catalog last week and saw that they carry their own name on a tape drive (Mountain makes it though) for $269. It can handle 40/60/120MB tapes. Now I called to see what interface board I would need and the salesman said that you need to buy a special cable from them ($6.98) and then you plug the cable from the floppy controller to floppy A:, then B: and then onto the tape backup unit! Thats it! I'm sure that it would not be all that fast since it uses the floppy controller, but you can always tell it to backup your system and walk away for a while... Anyway it is a 3.5" drive-size unit and is made to be mounted internally. I am temped to try it. I can TAR the amiga side and then send that over to the Bridgeboard where I then send it to tape... But since I have heard people taking IBM-type drives and plugging them directly on the Amiga side, maybe this tape drive could just plug on too? I know I'm most likely asking too much trying to get it on the Amiga side but it would be an inexpensive way for BB owners to be able to backup their IBM or Amiga hard drives! Anyone even tried one of these units that hooks up to the floppy controller? -- guy@nsco.network.com // Guy Dandrea \\ // Network Systems Corp., Mpls. MN \X/ 1-800-328-9108 Fax:(612)424-1736 "Me and my Amiga...anything is possible?"
cazabon@hercules (Charles Cazabon (186-003-526)) (06/07/91)
In article <1991Jun6.123915.25499@ns.network.com> guy@ns.network.com (Guy D'Andrea) writes:
:I just got the latest CompuAdd catalog last week and saw that they carry their
:own name on a tape drive (Mountain makes it though) for $269. It can handle
:40/60/120MB tapes. Now I called to see what interface board I would need and
:the salesman said that you need to buy a special cable from them ($6.98) and
:then you plug the cable from the floppy controller to floppy A:, then B: and
:then onto the tape backup unit! Thats it! I'm sure that it would not be all
:that fast since it uses the floppy controller, but you can always tell it to
:backup your system and walk away for a while..
I have used a number of these drives, mostly the Archive units for the IBM.
First of all, they can only run off the floppy controller if you are only
running one floppy drive. If you have two floppies, that is all your controller
will address, and you have to buy a special controller card (about $100US).
They are fast enough for the price. Perhaps two megs a minute minimum, up to
maybe five megs a minute for a good one.
--Chuck Cazabon, cazabon@hercules.cc.uregina.ca
* My Opinions Are Not My Own...Feel Free To Plagiarize griffin@frith.egr.msu.edu (Danny Griffin) (06/08/91)
>In article <1991Jun6.123915.25499@ns.network.com> guy@ns.network.com (Guy D'Andrea) writes: >I just got the latest CompuAdd catalog last week and saw that they carry their >own name on a tape drive (Mountain makes it though) for $269. It can handle >40/60/120MB tapes. Now I called to see what interface board I would need and >the salesman said that you need to buy a special cable from them ($6.98) and >then you plug the cable from the floppy controller to floppy A:, then B: and >then onto the tape backup unit! Thats it! I'm sure that it would not be all >that fast since it uses the floppy controller, but you can always tell it to >backup your system and walk away for a while.. First, they do not require special cables. They can use any old floppy drive cable. Also, you can purchase the mountain drive mail order for ~$230 - 240. I am using one with 2 floppies and a 4 floppy controller on my 386 (don't ask) ;-) Mountain also sells a separate tape drive controller card that you can use instead of a floppy. I think they run about $60. Finally, there are some backup utilities that will do automatic backups in the background I believe. We got one called HDBackup with our last Bernoulli box, but it won't work with a network so I couldn't use it. -- Dan Griffin griffin@frith.egr.msu.edu