SCSI Tape drive problem

[Robert Huff]

Matthew Seaman said:

> particularly great longevity.  Hmmm... 35480A -- goggle, google.
> That's a DDS-DC (somewhere between DDS-1 and DDS-2) or 2--4Gb
> capacity.  Yup.  It's pretty much worthless, even if it was in
> fully working order.

	DDS[12] series DAT tape drives have a particular reputation for
mechanical failure. 

>  Bin it,

	Find a recycler, or someone who does computer repairs for
charity. 

> .... and maybe buy a DVD+RW which will have a
> greater capacity and cost a great deal less to run.

	While there is much to be said for DVD, not all tapes/drives
are that fragile.  I'm in my 3rd or 4th year with a DLT-IIIXL
(15/30 gb).  The label says "Compaq", the firmware says "DEC", and
the thing is a _rock_ even though I don't treat it all that well.
	I have no experience with Exabyte, ALTs, LTOs, or other higher
end products but I'm sure you can find people who have.


			Robert Huff