477 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
477 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help
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From: ftape@mic.dth.dk (Linux ftape-HOWTO maintainer)
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Subject: Linux Ftape HOWTO
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Keywords: ftape HOWTO FAQ RTFM hardware-compability
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Summary: The document answers many of the Frequently Asked Questions on the
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newsgroups and describes which ftape drives are known to work (and
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which are known *not* to work) with the ftape driver.
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Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
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Archive-name: linux/howto/ftape
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This is the `Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ) / HOWTO document for the ftape
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driver (ftape-HOWTO), Copyright (C) 1993,1994 Kai Harrekilde-Petersen.
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Copyright statement:
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You may distribute this document freely *as a whole* in any form and of
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charge. You may distribute parts of this document, provided this copyright
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message is included and you include a message stating that it is not the full
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HOWTO document and a pointer to where the full document can be obtained.
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Specifically, it may be included in commercial distributions, without my prior
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consent. However, I would like to be informed of such usage.
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You may translate this HOWTO into any language, whatsoever, provided that
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you leave this copyright statement and the disclaimer intact, and that you
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append a notice stating who translated the document.
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DISCLAIMER:
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While I have tried to include the most correct and up-to-date information
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available to me, I cannot guarantee that usage of the information in this
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document does not result in loss of data. I provide NO WARRANTY about the
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information in the HOWTO and I cannot be made liable for any consequences for
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any damage resulting from using information in this HOWTO.
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Please read this document *to the very end*, before you post a question to a
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newgroup / Linux-TAPE channel / the maintainer. This will take off the peak
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of questions, and releases us all to more constructive work (like improving
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the ftape driver :-)
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This HOWTO is written and maintained by: Kai Harrekilde-Petersen
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Last update: February 17, 1994 11:50, for ftape 0.9.9d
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Email's concerning the HOWTO should be directed to: <ftape@mic.dth.dk>
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========================================================================
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CONTENTS
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Section 1: The preliminaries
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----------------------------
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Q1.1 What's the newest version of ftape - and where can I get it?
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Q1.2 Where can I follow the development?
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Q1.3 Which drives are supported?
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Q1.4 Which drives are *NOT* supported?
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Q1.5 How do I install it?
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Q1.6 Where can I get the kernel sources?
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Q1.7 Can I format my tapes under Linux?
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Q1.8 Which formatting programs can I use under DOS?
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Section 2: Backing up and restoring data and other FAQ's
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--------------------------------------------------------
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Q2.1 How do I write backups to the tape?
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Q2.2 ... and how do I read them back?
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Q2.3 I want to check the archive I've made ... how?
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Q2.4 How can I put more than one tar file on a tape?
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Q2.5 Can I append files to an archive?
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Q2.6 How do I mount/unmount a tape?
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Q2.7 Can I exchange tapes with someone using DOS?
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Q2.8 How do I `....' with tar?
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Section 3: Frequently Asked Questions
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-------------------------------------
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Q3.1 ftape DMA transfers gives ECC errors
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Q3.2 Insmod says the kernel version is wrong
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Section 4: Debugging the ftape driver
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-------------------------------------
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Q4.1 ftape crashes on me when I do `...' - is that a bug?
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Q4.2 ftape keep saying `... new tape', what do I do?
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Q4.3 OK, it's a bug^H^H^H feature - How do I submit a report?
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Q4.4 How do I change the trace-level?
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Q4.5 When I use /dev/nftape, I get garbage ... why?
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Section 5: Supporting the development of ftape
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----------------------------------------------
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Q5.1 I just *LOVE* this ftape driver, how can I support the developers?
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Q5.2 I wanna help developing a `....' Who should I contact?
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========================================================================
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Section 1: The preliminaries
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============================
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Q1.1 What's the newest version of ftape - and where can I get it?
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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The newest version of the ftape driver is ftape-0.9.9d, and can be fetched
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from the following sites:
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tsx-11.mit.edu [18.172.1.2]: /pub/linux/ALPHA/QIC-80/
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sunsite.unc.edu [152.2.22.81]: /pub/Linux/kernel/tapes/
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ftp.funet.fi [128.214.248.6]: /pub/OS/Linux/BETA/QIC-80/
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You should get the files: ftape-0.9.9d.tar.gz, ftape-0.9.9d.lsm and
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modutils-0.99.15.tar.gz. The tar.gz file is the ftape driver proper, while
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the .lsm file is a Linux Software Map (LSM) file (for the LSM project), and
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the modutils file is a set of utilities for manipulating loadable drivers
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(inserting and removing). (Note: if you already have the modules utilities,
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you do not need to upgrade them).
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Q1.2 How can I follow the development?
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-----------------------------------------
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If you want to follow the development of the ftape driver, you should
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consider subscribing to the TAPE channel on Linux-activists. To subscribe,
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you send a mail to <linux-activists-request@niksula.hut.fi>, with the *FIRST
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LINE* (or as a part of the header) saying `X-Mn-Admin: join TAPE'. If you
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send an empty mail (or the automagical mail-response system chokes on your
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mail), you are sent a HOWTO mail.
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To submit a real mail to the mailing lists, send a mail to
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<linux-activists@niksula.hut.fi>, and remember that the first line (or a
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header line) should read `X-Mn-Key: TAPE'.
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Q1.3 Which drives are supported?
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-----------------------------------
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All drives that are both QIC-117 compatible *AND* either QIC-40 or QIC-80
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compatible should work. Currently, the list of drives that's *positively*
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known to work with ftape is:
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* Colorado DJ-10 / DJ-20 (aka: Jumbo 120 / Jumbo 250)
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* Archive 5580i / XL9250i
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* Insight 80Mb
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* Conner C250MQ
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* Wangtek 3080F
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* Iomega 250
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* Escom / Archive (Hornet) 31250Q
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* Summit SE 150 / SE 250
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* Mountain FS8000
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NOTE: If you have a drive that works fine, but it is not listed here, please
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send a mail to the HOWTO maintainer (ftape@mic.dth.dk).
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Q1.4 Which drives are *NOT* supported?
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-----------------------------------------
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* All drives that connect to the parallel port (eg: Colorado Trakker)
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* High-Speed controller's. (eg: Colorado FC-10 & FC-15)
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* Irwin AX250L / Accutrak 250. (not a QIC-80 drive)
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* IBM Internal Tape Backup Unit (identical to the Irwin AX250L drive)
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* COREtape light
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Generally, *ALL* drives that connect to the parallel port are *NOT*
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supported. This is because these drives uses (different) proprietary
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interfaces, that are very much different from the QIC-117 standard.
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The Colorado FJ-10 High-Speed controller (and the likes) are not supported
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directly by the ftape driver. However, there exists some patches for the
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FJ-10 specifically, which makes ftape work with it.
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IRWIN AX250L (and the IBM Internal Tape Backup Unit) does not work the
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ftape. This is because they only support QIC-117, but not the QIC-80
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standard (they use Irwin's proprietary servoe (Rhomat) format).
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The COREtape light does not work (yet). We have some info on it, but we
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have not got it accepting the initialisation data.
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Q1.5 How do I install it?
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----------------------------
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There is included an installation guide (the file INSTALL) in the ftape
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distribution; Read that.
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Q1.6 Where can I get the kernel sources?
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-------------------------------------------
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You can get the kernel sources from the same place as you got the ftape
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sources. The sources are kept at the following sites (and many mirror-sites)
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tsx-11.mit.edu [18.172.1.2]: /pub/linux/sources/system/
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sunsite.unc.edu [152.2.22.81]: /pub/Linux/kernel/
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ftp.funet.fi [128.214.248.6]: /pub/OS/Linux/PEOPLE/Linus/
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funet carries the so-called ALPHA versions too. These are typically more
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advanced than the `standard' versions, but can be less stable. New versions
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may be introduced to fix a bug within days, but they may also introduce new
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bugs.
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Q1.7 Can I format my tapes under Linux?
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------------------------------------------
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At the moment, no! We have not had the time to develop a formatting utility
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for Linux. Instead you'll have to use MS-D*S (arghhh!) instead or buy
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preformatted tapes. However, some of the preformatted tapes are *not* checked
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for bad sectors!. If the ftape driver enocunters a tape with no bad blocks,
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it will issue a warning.
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Q1.8 Which formatting programs can I use under DOS?
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------------------------------------------------------
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These are known to work:
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* Colorado Memory System's software (tape.exe)
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* Norton Backup
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* QICstream version 2
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These programs are known to be more or less buggy:
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* CONNOR's Dos software (Windoze version is fine!)
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* CP Backup (wastes tape space, but is OK apart from that)
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In fact, most software under DOS should work. CONNOR's program (the dos
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version) has a parameter off-by-one (someone could not read the QIC-80 specs
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right!), while their Windoze version works fine. Central Point Backup can be
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used, but it wastes precious tape spaces when it encounters a bad spot on the
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tape.
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NOTE: If you are running a formatting software under DOS, which is not
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mentioned here, please mail the maintainer (ftape@mic.dth.dk) the relevant
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info, so we can update the HOWTO.
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Section 2: Backing up and restoring data
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========================================
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Q2.1 How do I write backups to the tape?
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-------------------------------------------
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You can use `tar', `dd' and `cpio'. For a start I'd recommend `tar', as it
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can archive lots of directories and let you pick out seperate files from an
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archive. To make a backup of your kernel source tree, do this (assuming you
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have the source in /usr/src/linux):
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cd /usr/src
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tar cf /dev/ftape linux
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This wont compress the files, but gives you a smoother tape run. If you
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want the compression (and you've got tar 1.11.2), you just include the -z
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flag(*), eg: `tar czf /dev/ftape linux'
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For further instructions on how to use tar, dd and look at the man pages and
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the texinfo files that comes with the respective distributions.
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(*) tar assumes that the first argument is options, so the `-' is not
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necessary, i.e. these two commands are the same: `tar xzf /dev/ftape' and `tar
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-xzf /dev/ftape'
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Q2.2 ... and how do I read them back?
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----------------------------------------
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OK, let us restore the backup of the kernel source you made in Q2.1 To do
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this you simply say
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tar xf /dev/ftape
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If you used compression, you will have to say
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tar xzf /dev/ftape
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When you use compression, gzip will complain about trailing garbage after the
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very end of the archive (and this will lead to a `broken pipe' message). This
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can be safely ignored.
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For the other utilities, please read the man page.
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Q2.3 I want to check the archive I've made ... how?
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------------------------------------------------------
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tar has an option (-d) for detecting differences between two archives. To
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test your backup of the kernel source say
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tar df /dev/ftape
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If you do not have the man page for tar, you are not lost (yet). tar has a
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builtin option list: try `tar --help 2>&1 | more'
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Q2.4 How can I put more than one tar file on a tape?
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-------------------------------------------------------
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"If I understand, tar -cf /dev/ftape stuff will only allow one tar file /
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tape. Does the trick of using `dd' via a pipe allow more than one file?"
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By using the nftape device (nope, it does not work yet), you should be able
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to use `mt' to position the tape the correct place. (`mt /dev/nftape fsf 2'
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means go to tar file number 2)
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"I hate to say, but it appears (could be wrong) that the CMS software has
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more capability than tar -- at least it can put two archives on one tape."
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Basically, yes. However, it depends on how you look at it: tar generates a
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single Tape ARchive (that's why it is called `tar'). If you want more than
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one backup on a single tape, you must use tar in conjunction with another
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tool, eg: `mt'.
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There exists a `QIC-80 logical format', which is what the CMS software
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conforms to. I am going to look at it when I am done with my thesis (ie: i
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will start working on the QIC-80 logical format in march '94 at the earliest)
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Truly, that is the way it goes, when you start using something that is still
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in it's infancy :-/
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Q2.5 Can I append files to an archive?
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--------------------------------------------
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"Is there a way to extend an archive -- put a file on the tape, then later,
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add more to the tape?"
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No. The tar documentation will tell you to use `tar -Ar', but it does not
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work. This is a limitation of the current ftape driver.
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Q2.6 How do I mount/unmount a tape?
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--------------------------------------
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You do not! -- Since a tape does not have a "filesystem" on it, you do not
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mount / unmount the tape. To backup, you just insert the tape and run your
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`tar' command (or whatever you use to access the tape with).
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"Is there an explicit (dis)mount command for the tape?"
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Nope. The ftape device is a `character device', and they can not be
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[u]mount'ed. It is only block devices that gets mounted
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Q2.7 Can I exchange tapes with someone using DOS?
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----------------------------------------------------
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Nope. This is one of my pet-projects, so maybe in the future (any help is
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welcome).
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Q2.8 How do I `....' with tar?
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---------------------------------
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These are really tar questions: Read the man page and the info page. If you
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have not got it either, DO try `tar --help 2>&1 | more'.
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If your tar is v1.11.1 or earlier, consider upgrading to v1.11.2 - This
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version can call GNU zip directly (ie: it supports the -z option) and has an
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elaborate help included. Also, it compiles right out of the box on Linux.
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Section 3: Frequently Asked Questions
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=====================================
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Q3.1 ftape DMA transfers gives ECC errors
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--------------------------------------------
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Sadly to say there are some SVGA cards and ethernet cards that do not decode
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their addresses correct. This typically happens when the ftape buffers are in
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the range 0x1a0000 to 0x1c0000. Somehow, the DMA write cycles get clobbered
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and every other byte written gets a bad value (0xff). These problems are
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reported to happen with both SVGA and ethernet cards. We know of at least one
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(bad?) ATI 16bit VGA card that caused this.
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The easiest solution is to put the card in an 8bit slot (it is often not
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enough to reconfigure the card to 8bit transfers).
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Moving the ftape buffer away from the VGA range is only a partial solution;
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All DMA buffers used in Linux can have this problem!
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Let us make this one clear: This has nothing to do with the ftape software :-)
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Q3.2 Insmod says the kernel version is wrong
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-----------------------------------------------
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The insmod program checks the kernel version against the version recorded in
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the ftape driver. This is a string in kernel-version.h, (char
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kernel_version[] = "0.99.14k";) which is extracted from the kernel you are
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running when you run `make'. If you got the error when you tried to insert
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the ftape driver, remove the file `kernel-version.h', type `make' again and
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the kernel-version.h file should be updated. Remember that you will have to
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do this every time you change to another kernel version.
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Section 4: Debugging the ftape driver
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=====================================
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Q4.1 ftape crashes on me when I do `...' - is that a bug?
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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No, that is a feature ;-)
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Seriously, reliable sofware do not crash. Especially kernels do not or
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rather *should* not crash. If the kernel crashes upon you when you are
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running ftape, and you can prove that it is ftape that is messing things up,
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regard it as a Bug that Should Be Fixed. Mail the details to the developers
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(see Q4.3 below).
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Q4.2 ftape keep saying `... new tape', what do I do?
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-------------------------------------------------------
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[You cannot do this anymore; I do not know a way of fixing it yet]
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To get rid of this, do this (blindfold): login as root and say `rmmod
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driver'. ftape should choke a few times, give three segmentation violations
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(or so), and give up life.
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Check the activity LED on your floppy drive (you do have one, don't you?).
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If it is constantly lit, you have turned the cable upside down somewhere.
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Check your cable between controller, tape drive _and_ floppy drive. Usually,
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one (or more) of the cables have been turned upside down, such that pin 1 in
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one end connects to pin 34 in the other end. (All the even-numbered pins are
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grounded, so you wont be able to use your floppy either)
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Q4.3 OK, it's a bug^H^H^H feature - How do I submit a report?
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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First, make sure you can reproduce the problem. Spurious errors are a pain
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in the ass, since they are just about impossible to hunt down. This is a
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quick check list:
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* Kernel version, and patches applied (even ftape patches)
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* ftape version
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* tape drive model / manufacturer
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* What you did to expose the problem
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* A log of the run with tracing level set to 7
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* What went wrong on your system.
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* Do not delete the kernel and driver.o file. We may want you run try
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some patches out or run a different test on your system.
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Increase the tracing level to 7 (just below maximum tracing) and run the
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offending command again. Get the tracing data from the kernel log or
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/proc/kmsg, depending on where you harvest your error messages. Do not try to
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`trim' the kernel log. You might consider something irrelevant, which is
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essential to the investigator of the bug. State exactly what you did, and
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what happened on your system. We might not see the error because we use a
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different tape drive or another version of the kernel!
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Q4.4 How do I change the trace-level?
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----------------------------------------
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You can do this two ways: either change the default trace-level (the var
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`tracing' in file `ftape-rw.c') and recompile or say
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mt /dev/ftape fsf <tracing-level>
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The use of the fsf command in mt is a *hack*, and will disappear in time.
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Q4.5 When I use /dev/nftape, I get garbage ... why?
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------------------------------------------------------
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The non-rewinding /dev/nftape device is not supported yet, but Bas is
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working on it at the moment. You don't *need* to have it, but we have
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included it for completeness.
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For now: Do not use it!
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Section 5: Supporting the development of ftape
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----------------------------------------------
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Q5.1 I just *LOVE* this ftape driver, how can I support the developers?
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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You can support us by answering other users questions on the newsgroups.
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There are many new users (newbies), that just need a simple answer to their
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question, e.g. `where can I get the ftape-HOWTO'.
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This is about the best support you can give us besides testing the driver
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and writing good error-reports.
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Q5.2 I wanna help developing a `....' Who should I contact?
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--------------------------------------------------------------
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Below is a list of the developers. If there is already someone working on a
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similar / identical project, contact that person directly. If you have an
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program / feature that no-one is working on, contact me <khp@mic.dth.dk> (NOT
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Bas, he is already over-burdened by work and has little time to reply to
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questions)
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Formatting program:
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Kai Harrekilde-Petersen, khp@mic.dth.dk (from March '94)
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Cesare Mastroianni, cece@dist.dist.unige.it
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ftape driver proper:
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Bas Laarhoven, bas@vimec.nl
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ECC code: (do not join in, we are enough already)
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David Mosberger-Tang, davidm@cs.arizona.edu
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Ning Mosberger-Tang, tn@cs.arizona.edu
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Kai Harrekilde-Petersen, khp@mic.dth.dk
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Bas Laarhoven, bas@vimec.nl
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ftape-HOWTO:
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Kai Harrekilde-Petersen, ftape@mic.dth.dk
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QIC-80 logical format (r/w of DOS compatible backups, starts March '94):
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Kai Harrekilde-Petersen, khp@mic.dth.dk
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/**************** T H E E N D O F f t a p e - H O W T O ***************/
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