Conference 7.286::atarist

    I don't know anything about _public domain_ streamer backup software,
    but...
    
    I read in comp.sys.atari.st that both Berkeley Microsystems and ICD
    have packages, and will sell them separately from their
    drives/adapters.
    				- hbm

    		SCSI COMMANDS GROUP #0
    
    Wat you have to do is write your one bios driver (rwabs)
    all SCSI device understan the group #0 Commands like
    READ BLOCK(S) WRITE BLOCK(S) START UNIT STOP UNIT
    SO IT IS VERY EASY TO WRITE A DRIVER FOR ANY SCSI DEVICE
    
    IF YOU WANT I COULD SEND YOU AN EXAMPLE OF A DRIVER
    
    
    					FRED
    Greetings from Switzerland....
    

    As I'm currently building such an SCSI-board (from ST-Computer
    magazine) and like to easy my backups, I'd like to have a streamer too.
    I even would write some software for it, so that full partition backup
    and may be even file operations from the desktop are possible. There
    is just one small problem:
    I've yet to find an inexpensive streamer having SCSI. Most ads only
    say "Complete streamer package for IBM PC and compatibles", but don't
    give any details. There are three different common interfaces for
    streamers:
    - QIC (Quarter Inch Committee), which is for streamers only. You need
      one more interface to use that with SCSI.
    - Floppy-like, which is very cheap, connected to the floppy port, slow
      and incompatible with everything including itself :-)
    - SCSI, which is what I want.
    If anyone finds such a beast for a decent price, please tell me. You
    will be rewarded be getting some driver software for it a while later
    (if I really buy it of cause).
    
    Jens

    
    
    I have access to an Exabyte 8mm SCSI tape drive , has anyone had
    any luck using one of these drives on the ATARI. I am getting a 
    SCSI adapter to hook up a hard disk but have know idea about what
    drivers etc are needed for one of these tape drives.
    
    
    BC
     

    
    Meanwhile I tried to connect a TK50 with a TZK50 SCSI-Controller on my
    Atari with no luck, the interface from MAXON simply couldn't see any
    connected device besides the harddisk. I had this idea after reading
    that the Amiga people use TK50s alot.
    
    So, I'm still looking for a cheap backup device. There are two
    standards that might be ok for the Atari: QIC40 and QIC80. These two
    kinds of cartridge tapedrives are controlled via floppy controller.
    Because during the night there's time enough to do a backup, speed
    is no problem. In the latest computer cataloque I saw a QIC80 tapedrive
    for PCs, called Colorado Streamer, for 2xx $. They said that it's
    shipped with compaction software for PCs that enables to store 120MB
    on a cartridge and that the drive is connected to the floppy-port.
    
    Now I have some questions:
    
    - had one of the noters ever had a tapedrive connected to the floppy-
      port and did it work?
    - the floppyport of the Atari is kind of standard Shugart-bus, so it
      works with 5.25 inch floppydrives. Could there be any problems in
      connecting such a tapedrive to it?
    - If there's no problem connecting the drive, do I use it then like a
      floppy-drive, e.g. "Copy C:\*.* B:\*.*" or do I need a special driver
      software (writing a backup problem wouldn't be a problem in the
      first case...)?
    
    I mean, can I just simply go out, buy a QIC80 tapedrive, connect it to
    the floppy-port, use the floppy-B icon and dragg my files onto it?
    
    Bernd
    

    
    so Bernd,
    
    	Did you ever get past his point?  How did you finally decide?
    
    
    						Rich

    
    the companies I phoned wanted to sell me the software only with the
    hardware. So I am using the Syquest removable media harddisk for 
    backup now. Using ST-DCL I wrote a backup procedure that scans each
    partition for folders of the rootdirectory, calls LZH with the
    parameters "include subdirs" and then compresses the files to the 
    Syquest. Another pass with the "MAKE_SFX"-Programm creates *.TOS files
    out of the *.LZH that are then self-extracting and have the name of the
    original folder. On the 44MB Syquest I can store the roughly 120 MB that 
    are momentarily used on my harddisk.
    It takes some hours during the night, but restore is as simple as 
    doubleclicking on the desired selfextracting archive. Well, I can live
    with overnight backup once a week, specially when everything is fully
    automatic now. Maybe one could shorten the time by using another option
    of LZH, the "new files only", for incremental backup.
    
    Bernd
                                                        
    

    
    	Bernd,
    
    		Thanks for the response.  It sounds like a good "answer"
    	to a not so good situation.  I guess I'll check with Chris out
    	at BMS and see what he has to say about hd/sw for a tape.  When
    	I do, I'll post the information here in the conference.
    
    							Thanks again,
    
    							       Rich