[NTLUG:Discuss] Tape Backup info needed - Help?

[Stuart Johnston]

how about:

mt -f /dev/ftape status

I don't really know much about ftape or SUSE.  Maybe you need to install 
  a newer version of ftape? 
http://www.instmath.rwth-aachen.de/~heine/ftape/

or try:

modprobe ftape

and/or check 'dmesg' for relevent info.

I'm really just guessing here.


Stephen Davidson wrote:
> Hi Stuart.
> 
> gorky:~ # mt -f /dev/qft0 status
> mt: /dev/qft0: No such device or address
> gorky:~ #
> 
> Next suggestion?
> 
> 
> Stuart Johnston wrote:
> 
>>Try:
>>
>>mt -f /dev/qft0 status
>>
>>
>>Stephen Davidson wrote:
>>
>>>Greetings.
>>>
>>>I have an IOMega Ditto 2GB Tape Drive.  Works fine on Microsoft.   Ever
>>>since I switched to SuSE 9.2/9.3, I have been unable to do a network
>>>backup (or anything else that requires a large load on the CPU) in
>>>anything resembling a reasonable amount of time.
>>>
>>>So, I want to backup my email and work files, and see what happens when
>>>I throw SuSE 10 on this machine.
>>>
>>>I have spent the last couple of hours pouring through man pages and
>>>Google searches looking for how to backup linux onto a Ditto Tape drive
>>>that I have had for some time.  Plugs into the machine's parallel port.
>>>All the documentation I have seen says this is supported.  (See parport,
>>>a module which is currently loaded btw).  But I have not found anywhere
>>>that tells me how to work this.
>>>
>>>gorky:~ # mt status
>>>mt: /dev/tape: No such file or directory
>>>gorky:~ #
>>>
>>>Ok, well, hooked up to parallel port.
>>>
>>>gorky:~ # mt -f /dev/lp0 status
>>>mt: /dev/lp0: Invalid argument
>>>gorky:~ #
>>>
>>>Since I got "slammed" with work a few months back (the last time I tried
>>>to upgrade this machine, and get it working), I have been stuck on using
>>>M$ for all development work.  This is a situation I would like to
>>>rectify.  Before I upgrade this machine again, I want some kind of
>>>backups in place.  Yes, M$ is not the greatest, but right now, it is the
>>>thing that works.
>>>
>>>I do have other machines I can backup to, except for the fact that
>>>network based backups are currently taking in excess of 1 week (on a
>>>10/100 LAN, I might add).  Oh, and TAR seems to have trouble with
>>>archives over 1GB?  (Won't unpack them).  So, bottom line is, I am
>>>looking for something/anything that will work as a backup strategy.
>>>(Last alternative, burn my data to CD/RWs, which have lower capacity
>>>than tape).
>>>
>>>Help?
>>>
>>>-Steve
>>>
> 
>