Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!pacbell!belltec!dar From: dar@belltec.UUCP (Dimitri Rotow) Newsgroups: comp.unix.microport Subject: Re: Can't backup to floppy Summary: Standard Compaq tape not a Standard AT Device Keywords: /dev/tty, console, cpio, Merge386 Message-ID: <274@belltec.UUCP> Date: 24 Sep 88 01:42:01 GMT References: <913@cygnet.CYGNETSYSTEMS> <547@micropen> <1716@ddsw1.UUCP> <520@penguin.UUCP> Organization: Bell Technologies, Fremont, CA Lines: 37 In article <520@penguin.UUCP>, jac@penguin.UUCP (James Carter) writes: > > We have tried to install MERGE/386 and Bell Tech's UNIX on a Compaq Deskpro > system, and have discovered "we don't work with that tape drive" (quoted from > a recent conversation with both the Bell Tech and Merge folks. According to > them, they have never encountered the _standard_compaq_internal_tape_drive > before. (Compaq must have sold thousands of them by now!) So now how does the > end user do backups? (Not with the 360K floppy if you have at least 15M to > copy!) > > So far, no answer on how it will be fixed...am I really the only one? ^^^^^ Jim - I can certainly appreciate your desire to fully utilize the computer equipment you selected for purchase, but I think you are taking great liberties (perhaps "assuming the proof" of your case) with your use of the word "fixed." The "standard compaq tape" is hardly a standard AT device like the WD hard disk interface, floppy, keyboard, etc. To say that the operating system needs to be "fixed" because it doesn't include a feature that supports a particular non-standard device that you desire is to confuse optional features with bugs. It's like saying that UNIX is broken because it doesn't support the Bernoulli box, or Irwin tapes, or some other proprietary technology by default. For backup, I'd suggest you contact one of the 30 or so companies which are in the business of providing UNIX and/or Xenix tape backup. With all due respect to Compaq, they've had continuing problems with their proprietary tape device because it *is* so different compared to the relatively standard QIC36/QIC02 60 and 125 MB tape devices used by most of the above 30 companies. Regards - Dimitri Rotow