I gave you a list before. Acclaim definitely had an IBM 7205-311 DLT-IV drive (a drive available from 1997-2001), which takes tapes of 35Gb capacity, or 70Gb with compression. They sell for $800-1,000 now. You won't be able to use anything other than a DLT-IV or later drive to read those tapes. Incidentally, the tapes are guaranteed for 30 years in optimal conditions, so they should have plenty of life left in them. They had other IBM drives and an HP Autoloader, but I don't know what format they were. *EDIT* From the pictures you posted, there are at least these tapes: Maxell HS-4/90s (DDS-1 format, 2Gb [4Gb compressed] capacity) TDK DC4-90R (also DDS-1 format, same capacity) Sony QG-112M (Data8 8mm Exabyte format aka D8, 2.5Gb [5Gb compressed] or 5Gb [10Gb compressed... although Sony claims they're 2-7Gb tapes) I'm pretty sure there were some AIT tapes, too. So you'll need DDS-1, D8 and probably DLT-IV and AIT drives, at least.
So, based on retro's list: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231036054492 - Micronet SS-D2000 (DDS-1): $35 http://www.ebay.com/itm/171034059401 - Exabyte EXB-8900 (Data8): $49.95 http://www.ebay.com/itm/170940353086 - Sony SDX-500C (AIT): $14.99 http://www.ebay.com/itm/231007732091 - HP A3544A (DLT-IV): $90 You're looking at $189.94 on ebay for drives that can read all those formats. All drives are listed as working, with a 30 day warranty minimum. I'd suggest you get out every single tape you have, and group them according to what looks to be the same format as each other, then post pictures of each group with some closeups, so that we can confirm what tape formats you have, and therefore what drives you need. If you don't need the DLT-IV drive for example (which is only suspected, not confirmed from the pictures), that's only $100 you'd need to spend on drives. EDIT: That DLT-IV drive isn't what you want, but I'll look for an alternative. EDIT2: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221281011278 - Quantum DLT-V4 External (DLT-IV): $100 (action, no warranty) or http://www.ebay.com/itm/321207729526 - Quantum DLT-V4 External (DLT-IV): $148 (buy it now, 45 day warranty) It's also worth noting, this same drive sold for $0.99 recently, with plenty more sales under the $50 mark. The format is obsolete and drives are no longer manufactured since 2007. Simply put, nobody's interested in them. You should be able to pick one up for a steal if you wait for the right auction.
Key words right there. Even if progress can't be made sorting through the data (I know from experience how projects can get put on the back burner), it should at least be kept safe.
I've suggested buying the drives on eBay, but I don't think retro is into that idea. Understandable to take precautions given the value of these tapes, but what else can we do? Nobody seems to have the right drives to donate, nobody has enough money to have each individual tape professionally dumped, ASSEMbler doesn't trust anyone else to take care of the data retrieval process, so where does that leave us? eBay seems to be the only option that actually accomplishes something given the circumstances. If the price for all the drives is less than $200, I would think ASSEMbler has enough sites funds to take care of it himself. Nemesis, it's been a while but I think I recall ASSEMbler saying he had some kind of server set up where someone would be able to analyze the dumped data and determine the encryption method. I'm guessing that's where someone like you would come in handy.
I sent you a PM a few days ago, i'll be back in the office tomorrow. I'll get some details on the ones i have in storage then.
I'm not against it, but those sellers aren't always that great. They're usually clearance houses that will just strip the drives, might try a tape in it or might just list it as it's too much effort. Give a warranty and the user can find out if it's faulty and we'll refund if necessary. Sad, but that's how that sort of business often operates. Drives that are definitely working are usually really expensive, and even they aren't always tested. My caution is not just in whether the drives work, but in that we know that some drives were proprietary (they look like a DDS-1 drive, they take a DDS-1 tape, but they're not DDS-1). These tapes do seem to be late enough to avoid most of those drives, but you do have to be careful. Incidentally, the 7205-311 IS confirmed. It was the only tape drive specifically mentioned in the auction catalogue. I have an idea of what the Exabyte drive was, though. Who said nobody has these drives? That's certainly not true. I've said on several occasions that I have working drives, and a couple of other members mentioned they had drives that I confirmed might be suitable. I just can't afford to fly over to the US and spend God knows how long there, lugging a bunch of heavy tape drives with me. DLT drives are still used by some, hence the high prices from reclamation suppliers.
Cost then appears to be the issue. Perhaps it might be worth exploring the possibility of a fund raiser. Find out how much it's going to cost for equipment + logistics + time and then see if there's enough interest to raise the finances to make it happen, flights and all. Say it were £1k for the equipment and £2k to fly someone out to do it, I'm sure you could then drop another £1k on top as an incentive for someone to actually go out and do the job? £4k for all of this data is bound to be worth it to some people here.
I have two of these. They are Quantum STD2401LW SCSI Drives. I also have the PCI-X SCSI cards & cables. The cards will work in normal PCI slots at slower speeds.They support DDS-2 through DDS-4. If you have any of these tapes and/or are in need of these drives send me a PM, I don't need them for anything so as far as i'm concerned they are free.
If not the SCSI cards may be useful, you can put 5 devices on each cable and two cables per card. So that should handle all of the drives for all of the different tapes.
Actually, you can link 8 devices to a SCSI bus. Not that you need to connect all the drives at once, or would necessarily want to do so. Kevin has SCSI cards - I think most of us with an interest in this technology do.
I said "nobody seems to have the right drives to donate". This thread was created nearly three years ago and how many drives have been donated? I'm well aware you have the correct drives, but that does us no good if you're not able to ship them to ASSEMbler. Which raises another question I've been meaning to ask... What exactly is stopping you from sending ASSEMbler the tape drives? The absurd shipping price? Knowing that your drives are properly tested and almost guaranteed to work, wouldn't it be safer on the tapes and smarter in the long run to spend whatever the shipping total is rather than buying multiple drives off eBay and having to properly clean and test those? Is that not an option?
Sorry meant to type four Anyways, if its needed i have it. I have another storage unit of stuff i can look through too. But i doubt i have anything older than DDS2
Do you have any DDS-2, DDS-3, or DDS-4 tapes? Or in need of a SCSI card / Cables? If you want to PM me your address or a P.O box i will send a set to you.
There were several offers. In some cases, Kev said he was sending PMs. I can't tell you what happened there, but there WERE offers. Oof..... The absurd shipping price would now be REALLY absurd. Like.... you-could-buy-your-own-drives-at-reclamation-dealer-prices-for-that absurd. I've had things go missing / get damaged when shipping to America. I trust carriers as far as I can throw a pile of heavy tape drives. And that's not far! I need the drives myself. If I send them off, that's God knows how many weeks without them. If someone asks me to transfer a tape in that time, I lose out big time (they're not going to come back to me in future, either). And if they get damaged or go missing, I'm screwed. Whilst I trust Kevin and consider him a friend, I wouldn't want to put him in an awkward situation should he unintentionally damage my drives. Not that I think he'd screw me over, he's an honourable guy. It's just best not to put a friend in that position. For that reason, and the shipping reason, I'd rather they didn't leave my sight, really. I'm not one for nagging Kevin. If he doesn't reply, there's usually a reason. Maybe he's busy. Maybe his health concerns are more important. Maybe he has a backlog of more pressing matters. Or maybe he feels whatever matter it is isn't worthy of his time. Personally, I don't go on at him like a dog with a bone. To quote Lock Stock, "Chill, Winston!" There are some personal reasons that I won't go into. Some of which I believe I mentioned to you in private, which is how I would rather it stay
I can make an educated guess... Either way, nothing appeared to have come from it. We're still stuck at the initial step. Alright, fair enough.
Well, Kevin seems interested again and at a point where he might be able to dedicate some time to the effort, so hopefully things will progress
