jeffrey@sci.ccny.cuny.edu (Jeffrey L Bromberger) (02/20/91)
Hi, all. Had a nice talk with another tape user (met via the net),
and came up with 2 questions. First is, can I pick up a card for a
IBM-PC that could use the drive? Since that is the expensive object,
it would be nice to share it. Would any bizarre driver be needed to
make this drive do it's thing? Secondly, with what is known about the
interface card, is is possible for some suicidal person (read as not
me) to re-write a driver to make it understand a QIC format? I
realize that the *real* QIC never materialized, but some may be up to
trying a re-write. Especially after that last string, about how she
barely streams now.
Thanks again for your support.
j
--
Jeffrey L. Bromberger
System Operator---City College of New York---Science Computing Facility
jeffrey@sci.ccny.cuny.edu jeffrey@ccnysci.BITNET
Anywhere!{cmcl2,philabs,phri}!ccnysci!jeffreykls@ditka.Chicago.COM (Karl Swartz) (02/22/91)
In article <1991Feb20.010206.15433@sci.ccny.cuny.edu> jeffrey@sci.ccny.cuny.edu (Jeffrey L Bromberger) writes: >I realize that the *real* QIC never materialized ... That's not *quite* true. I have one on ditka, and it's my understanding that several others exist amongst well-known UNIX PC sites. However, it's definitely not production work. The case for the drive (which nicely matches the wedge shape of the machine itself) has an AT&T Death Star on it but it looks like a piece of thin cardboard that was cut from a brochure and glued onto the case. The board itself is reasonably clean though lacking the back-plate and handle (which I would very much like to add on if somebody can suggest where I might get the parts). The good part is that the thing works, which is really nice since ditka has both a 150 MB Maxtor XT-2190 and the original 67 MB MiniScribe 6085 (courtesy the ICUS upgrade -- thanks Lenny and Gil!). Question one is whether the actual drive for the old 23 MB tape is crippled in some way or whether it's just the controller. Could I connect my new QIC-II controller to the old floppy tape drive? I'm not a hardware guru but it seems I should be able to. Question two ... I tried overwriting one of the old floppy-formatted tapes in the new drive but it hung in the driver, requiring a reboot to unjam things. This makes no sense to me -- the drive should just blast anything in its path. Do I need to bulk-erase old tapes? -- Karl Swartz |INet kls@ditka.chicago.com 1-408/223-1308 |UUCP {uunet,decwrl}!daver!ditka!kls |Snail 1738 Deer Creek Ct., San Jose CA 95148 "It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy. I'll get a saw." (Calvin)