CompuServe Messages

DATs have a partition at the begining of the tape where the dir information is written. Once it reads the partition info and puts the dir info in to memory it then knows where EVERYTHING on the tape is. Thats why they are so fast at retreival. To my knowledge, all other normal drives (including 8mm exabytes) just throw the crap on the tape. Once it is there either the back-up software makes a list file or the tape has to be reread to find out what is on it. ANSI and IBM labeled tapes (this is a form of writing, it has nothing to do with the drive) write header info before each file. Dave Elite MicroComputers – Flying high on AutoPilot