Rob Napier wrote:
>
> On Thu, Feb 11, 1999 at 11:11:55AM +0100, Piotr Szeptynski wrote:
> > On Thu, 11 Feb 1999, Sebastian Hohn wrote:
> >
> > ->Hi,
> > ->I have big trouble with my Iomega Tape Drive. It works fine with Win 95,
> > ->but I do not want to use Win 95 any longer.
> > ->When I do small backups like these described in the ftape HowTo it work
> > ->very well with Linux. But when I try to backup my system data (at about 900
> > ->MB in the first try), backup seems to work. But when try to verify the Data
> > ->I get Input/Outpu Errors after a while.
> > ->I tried tar, cpio and afio, they all show the same behaviour, so I think it
> > ->must be the ftape driver!
> >
> > I had the same problems for three weeks. I found out it's processor's power
> > problem. I have P166 and it seems to be too slow for Ditto Max. I'm going
> > to give it back to supplier or change for another device.
>
> Do you know where you found that info? I'm getting tons of I/O errors
> when I backup (so many that 'messages' filled the disk and my machine
> just about wet itself. luckily linux doesn't crash even when you do
> stupid things). My primary machine is a P90, so I'd like to have
> another excuse to upgrade ;) (not that linux doesn't run like a champ
> on a P90, but I like to ray-trace).
Hi gang,
I was the original port-meister for the Max stuff (worked with the
Iomega folks to get it done). What I have discovered over time rolls
around these bits of info:
1> The Max/DASH DX combo requires a very fast machine (P5-200+) to
function properly (even under Windows).
2> Three different Max drives will operate in three different ways.
3> Tapes made on one Max drive may not be usable on any other Max drive.
4> Even with the DX card running at 4000K/sec, you'll still not see much
better than 300K/sec (18MB/min) of real data throughput (discounting
compression).
5> The cost of the Max drive, its lower speed, and its proprietary media
make it not so attractive when ATAPI TR-4 drives cost just a few $$
more, plug in to your existing IDE controller, and hold more data
natively on a tape.
Even though there is some of my blood in the ftape driver for the Max,
my strong recommendation is that owners return the Max drive to the
store (if opossible) and buy an ATAPI TR-4 or NS-8 drive. You'll save
time and frustration, regain a precious ISA slot, and get backups that
are reliable.
--
Tim Jones [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Vice President Visit our tape backup web pages:
Enhanced Software Technologies, Inc. http://www.estinc.com/
