Yeah, both ideas are good ideas. I am considering replacing the rz25, or
adding a ZuluSCSI, that way I could assign one of the devices for backups.
For now, I am just trying to preserve what's on the disk now. I want to do
a fresh install once the CDROM arrives. It is an interesting exercise to me.
Right now that RZ25 is running nicely without much noise so no rush I don't
think, but still.

- Peter

On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM Hans-Ulrich Hölscher via cctalk <
[email protected]> wrote:

> ... and the resulting backup will be much more reliable than the one
> written by an old tape drive (which model, by the way?) on a possibly old
> tape, if that ever succeeds.
> I made especially frustration experiences using the once famous TK50
> drives, and even (a little) more recent DAT drives tend to fail very often
> nowadays.
> One disadvantage, however, is the necessary struggle with licensing,
> although that can be managed with a little help.
> Another option is a backup over network WITHOUT using an operating system
> running on the system to be saved. Unfortunately it has up to now been
> tested on MicroVAX I and MicroVAX II systems using a DEQNA or DELQA network
> adapter only. It uses a simh VAX to send a special machine language program
> to the backup target computer, on that the program in turn uses MSCP
> commands to send a bit-wise disk copy back to the simh VAX. It is new, it
> is unconventional, but it has been successfully tested on several MicroVAX
> I and MicroVAX II computers. I think it is time to get out one of my
> VAXstation 3100s (won't make any difference) and test it there. But you
> will need to be patient – other projects have priority for the time being.
> To be honest - I expect the program will need adaptation to the newer
> hardware, especially the network adapter - MSCP hasn't changed I think.
>
> Am So., 7. Dez. 2025 um 22:27 Uhr schrieb Antonio Carlini via cctalk <
> [email protected]>:
>
> > On 07/12/2025 20:27, Peter Ekstrom via cctalk wrote:
> > > I managed to reset the system password so now I can login as well. It
> > runs
> > > pretty well.
> > > I tried to make a tape backup of what's on the disk but it seems all my
> > > tapes dirty-up
> > > the head of the tape drive. Anyone know of a way to clean an actual
> tape?
> > > Pull all the
> > > tape out and wipe it with a dry cloth?
> >
> > One option would be to create a SIMH VMS host, configure it to be in a
> > cluster, configure your real HW uV3100 to be a satellite node (booting
> > off a root on the SIMH host system disk), boot the uV3100 into the
> > cluster, mount the uV3100 disk and back it up with BACKUP.
> >
> > That might be easier and quicker than cleaning a tape.
> >
> >
> > Antonio
> >
> >
> > --
> > Antonio Carlini
> > [email protected]
> >
> >
>

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