CompuServe Thread

tape backup

2 messages in this thread
#89663From: mark schneiderMar 7, 1994 11:18 PM
Hi Dan, I saw your message about Tape backup drives, mainly the Conner, I am from Montreal, Canada, and just today, I was talking with a computer store about tape back-up drives, the guy is selling a Conner drive for 230$, — this seems quite cheap, … you said ….. ………. Not hardly. I just bought a Conner 250mb DC2120 tape drive for $170. Only reason you might pay that much for a 250meg drive is if it is a SCSI unit. If it hooks into your floppy controller it is a very bad deal. …………. What do you mean it is a very bad deal ??? and what is a SCSI unit. What does the floppy controller do to make it bad ?, sorry about the questions, they may seem stupid, but I don't really know the inner working of a computer, and tape drives are very very new to me, thanks very much for answering my questions. It is very much appreciated, as I'm going to buy a tape back-up, and don't want to buy junk!, thanks very much. Mark Schneider Montreal, Canada.
#89939From: Dan O'LearyMar 8, 1994 8:11 PM
Well, Mark, there are 2 kinds (maybe more) of tape drives sold today. One kind has a SCSI interface and plugs into a SCSI card. The other kind piggy-backs onto your floppy drive interface. The advantage of SCSI tape drives is that SCSI supports larger drives (up to 5+ GIGs), higher transfer rates, etc, etc. SCSI drives are also more expensive (duh). Floppy interface tape drives are inexpensive, but limited both in storage space per tape and functionality. If this guy is trying to sell you a 250 meg DC2120 (floppy interface) tape drive for $230, tell him to "take off" (as you say in Canada). If this is a SCSI tape drive, $230 is probably a good deal… not sure, though. Of course, if it is a SCSI drive, and you don't already have a SCSI card, you will have to pick one of those up as well (at about $150-200 for a decient one). I would be careful if he is selling a SCSI adaptor/tape drive deal for $250 as your money could probably be better spent. hope this helps… dan