> On Nov 3, 2025, at 2:46 PM, ben via cctalk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> On 2025-11-03 12:04 p.m., Paul Koning via cctalk wrote:
>
>> Interesting. Well, we know DECtape was pretty robust, though it *is*
>> possible to wear it out, I saw id done repeatedly at my college where
>> DECtape was (in 1973) used as the public file system for RSTS-11. On the
>> other hand, a former DEC guy told about a DECtape reel that accidentally was
>> run through the laundry (it was in a pocket) and worked just fine
>> afterwards. :-)
>
> Yes, a tape with clean data.
Eek.
>> paul
> For trash tapes, could one twist the tape to wind it upside down,do a bulk
> erase on it, and reformat it.Ben.
Wind it upside down? Not sure what that means. You could certainly reformat
DECtape any time you want, and that would erase it rather well since the format
program writes everything as it does the job. Bulk erase beforehand would be
ok, sure, but I've never seen that done. We had bulk erasers readily available
if we needed them, so it wasn't lack of equipment.
paul
