Colorado 14GB Travan Tape Drive Cartridges

[CA990013]

I have just purchased both internal and external 14GB tape drives. I was told that "User can also use 5 GB, 8 GB, or T4000 backup tapes with the tape drive as well as 14 GB tapes." If this is accurate, can the 14GB tape drives both read and write to the other capacity cartridges? My research indicates that they do not, but the person who made the statement has used the external model.

Also, will tape cartridges other than the HP brand work satisfactorily in these units?

This is my first experience with tape backup, and I have a lot to learn! :-)

Many thanks!

Linda

[Lewis Finch]

Linda,

The 14gb will be able to "read" those other formats but not write to them. Also you can use other manufacturer's media if you want to. This link should help.

http://search.hp.com/gwuseng/query.html?submit.x=8&submit.y=6&qt=lpg16024&la=en&col=hpcom+ccen+ccenfor

[CA990013]

Lewis~

Thanks for the reply. I had seen the compatibility chart, but I am a little confused about the "read" and "write" distinctions. I assume that the "write" means the same as "backup to tape." But, does the "read" feature mean that the drive can "see" what is on the tape *and* that you can restore what is on the tape to a hard drive? If not, I can't understand what value the "read" feature would have. If the tape drive can both read & restore, then I see the importance. However, since both my internal and external drives are 14GB, I will be using the 14GB cartridges for their "write" capability.

Even though other media is available for this drive, is there some inherent benefit to using the HP brand?

Thanks again for your help!

Linda

[Lewis Finch]

Linda,

Read refers to the fact that the tape drive can read and restore data that was written to the tape by another tape drive. Write means you can write data to the tape. So 14GB will read and write to it's native tape while it will only read and restore data that was written by an 8GB (for instance). HP 14gb media has a built feature called Media Monitor and this keeps track of the number of times a tape is written to and warns you that the tape is getting old and you should only use it for restoring archived data. You might be interested in knowing that this drive was discontinued in 2001 and has now reached the end of its support life so if something happened to it the only way to recover archived data would be to send your tape to a data recovery service. If you are interested in current options I can make some suggestions based on your back up needs.

[CA990013]

Lewis, sorry to be so late responding. This was the last week of school, and I had finals to contend with!

I appreciate your offer to make suggestions for other backup options, and I would be glad to hear them for future reference--or I might even have some current interest. But I have just bought both internal and external 14GB drives, and I wanted to give them a chance before abandoning them entirely. :-)

I have CD burners in all of my computers, and I recently bought an external DVD burner, but almost everything I have is on the verge of, if not already, obsolete. I suspect that it will all work, but just not as fast or as well as the modern counterparts. Please feel free to make any and all suggestions. I try to keep an open mind. :-)

Thanks again for your help!

Linda