#Tape Drive Software
9 messages in this thread
Hi! I'm new to compuserve but not new to Amiga. I have recently been spending
most of my time on the "IBM" side since that is what I have at work. My
question for all you Amiga wizards is as follows. How do I install (software
wise) my Colorado Systems Jumbo Trakker tape backup. This is the external unit
that attaches to the parallel port. I have an Amiga 3000 using WorkBench 2.1.
If it makes any difference I also have a Quantum 170MB hard drive. I quess it's
also necessary to mention I am using Kickstart ROM 2.04. Please provide the
appropriate mountlist listing or any other info I need to be able to backup my
Amiga 3000 using the above mentioned tape drive. Thx Jeff /exit
As far as I know, you can't use any of the parallel port devices made for
IBM-compatibles on the Amiga (except for printers, of course). They are
all proprietary and would take considerable effort to write so many
different software drivers for them. Amiga users tend to just stick with
standard (and faster) mass-storage interfaces like SCSI, IDE and PCMCIA.
I suspect that you would have been better off buying peripherals that you
knew were compatible with both platforms; It's what most of us do. For
me, that means buying SCSI mass-storage & scanning devices (or maybe IDE
for hard disks), Centronics parallel-port printers, and external RS-232
port modems.
-Chris
The Epson ES-600C scanner works through the parallel port of the Amiga.
—Betty
Only if you got a driver to go with it :)…and that's really why none of
the IBM par port stuff will work for us…no drivers, among other things.
Gary
on AutoPilot from Charlotte, NC
Gary,
I don't understand. I think you meant this message for someone else. I
know that I haven't written any messages here about PAR or IBM stuff, nor
about drivers for tape drives.
—Betty
Someone wanted to use their Colorado tape backup unit on the Amiga; a
second person replied that the Amiga's parallel port didn't support that
kind of stuff; you replied that it supported the Epson scanner; and I
(tongue in cheek), was just saying it'll support anything if you got the
driver….which, with few exceptions, we don't. Whewwwww!
Gary
on AutoPilot from Charlotte, NC
Thanks. I guess I forgot what thread that was in. Sorry!
—Betty
"Someone wanted to use their Colorado tape backup unit on the Amiga; a
second person replied that the Amiga's parallel port didn't support that
kind of stuff; you replied that it supported the Epson scanner; and I
(tongue in cheek), was just saying it'll support anything if you got the
driver….which, with few exceptions, we don't. Whewwwww!"
Actually, Gary, I was primarily referring to software driver support.
However, at a bandwidth of about 50K/sec max throughput, I doubt that the
Amiga parallel port could effectively keep up with a typical tape backup.
IBM compatibles have been using parallel port hardware that is much faster
than the Amiga's for many years now.
-Chris
Christopher,
Actually most of those backup 'tapes' connect to the floppy port.