Can't backup to floppy

[Dimitri Rotow]

In article <520 at penguin.UUCP>, jac at penguin.UUCP (James Carter) writes:
> 
> We have tried to install MERGE/386 and Bell Tech's UNIX on a Compaq Deskpro
> system, and have discovered "we don't work with that tape drive" (quoted from
> a recent conversation with both the Bell Tech and Merge folks. According to
> them, they have never encountered the _standard_compaq_internal_tape_drive
> before. (Compaq must have sold thousands of them by now!) So now how does the
> end user do backups? (Not with the 360K floppy if you have at least 15M to
> copy!)
> 
> So far, no answer on how it will be fixed...am I really the only one?
                                      ^^^^^

Jim - I can certainly appreciate your desire to fully utilize the computer
equipment you selected for purchase, but I think you are taking great
liberties (perhaps "assuming the proof" of your case) with your use of
the word "fixed."

The "standard compaq tape" is hardly a standard AT device like the WD
hard disk interface, floppy, keyboard, etc.  To say that the operating
system needs to be "fixed" because it doesn't include a feature that
supports a particular non-standard device that you desire is to confuse
optional features with bugs.  It's like saying that UNIX is broken because
it doesn't support the Bernoulli box, or Irwin tapes, or some other
proprietary technology by default.

For backup, I'd suggest you contact one of the 30 or so companies which
are in the business of providing UNIX and/or Xenix tape backup.  With 
all due respect to Compaq, they've had continuing problems with their
proprietary tape device because it *is* so different compared to the
relatively standard QIC36/QIC02 60 and 125 MB tape devices used by most
of the above 30 companies.


Regards - Dimitri Rotow