TapeDisk

TAPEDISK is an MPE/iX program to copy any kind of tape (e.g., reel, or DDS, or DLT) to disk. The resulting disk file is optionally compressed, and can be copied to tape later with DISKTAPE.

TAPEDISK can also copy a tape to disk, creating a STORE-to-disk format disk file.

TAPEDISK also includes TAPETAPE, a direct tape to tape copier.

Note: TAPEDISK (including TAPETAPE), and our separate X-Over product, are the only programs we are aware of that can properly read STORE tapes created with MAXTAPEBUF, or DDS tapes created with setmarks.

TAPEDISK & DISKTAPE can be used as a pair to make a copy of a tape, using only a single tape drive (assuming you have enough disk space for the compressed output file of TAPEDISK, of course).

Another use of TAPEDISK is to create a disk copy of a tape, move that disk file to a personal computer, and then "burn" it onto a CD (or DVD) for archival storage. At a later date, the file can be moved from the CD (or DVD) back to an HP 3000 and copied back to tape via DISKTAPE. Or, the tape could be read into STORE-to-disk format, burned to a CD, and later copied back to an HP 3000 and directly RESTOREd from (without copying it back to tape).

Some utilties/products from Allegro and other vendors are able to read TAPEDISK disk files directly as if they were the original tapes.

TAPEDISK is able to read extremely large records from a tape, much larger than the file system would normally allow you to read. This means that it can correctly read tapes created with the large records often used by STORE. As far as we know, this capability is unique to TAPEDISK.

Although TAPEDISK was originally designed to read tapes, if you use the INDISKLDEV option, you can copy a raw disk drive to a compressed disk file, suitable for later unpacking by DISKTAPE back to a new disk drive.

The TAPEDISK product also includes DISKTAPE (the disk-to-tape portion), and TAPETAPE.

TAPETAPE copies a single reel of tape (reel/DDS/DLT) to another reel (of any kind, as long as the capacity of the output media is at least as large as the input media), without using a disk file as a staging area. Like TAPEDISK, TAPETAPE is able to read extremely large records from a tape. (Our X-Over product is capable of copying a multi-reel STORE set to new output set, where the tapes are of different sizes.)

For details on commands, syntax, a few examples, and other help for TAPEDISK, you may wish to view the online help document.

For more information or a free demo of the product,
contact us at info@allegro.com or (408) 252-2330.

Users with Classic HP 3000s can contact info@allegro.com for information about a Classic version of TAPEDISK.