16 Track Tape Conversion?

[Kirk MacLean_2]

We have a need to recover files off three or four 16 track tapes that were stored on an HP 9000/400 workstation several years ago. Not positive how they were written but likely to be tar or Fbackup.

If someone has a running system who can help by extracting the data, put it on an FTP site or CDR, I will make it worth your time.

e-mail: kirk@borgware.com

[Dave Johnson_1]

I have not heard of 16 track tape. Is this anything like the 9 track real to real drives? If so I know a company that had a 9 track drive on their HP and might be able to help put it to 4mm DAT or DLT, I do not remember which they have.

[Kirk MacLean_2]

This requires an HP 9144/7942/7946 HP-IB quarter inch cartridge tape drive.

[Laurent Menase]

Hi Kirk,
I have that but too far from the usa.

just one precison:
If you have not used your 9144 for a long long time, check before that the rubber wheel is not stale. If it is the case, it can ruine a tape definitively.
So take 2 precautions before reading precious tapes:
- try to record, rewind read rewind a new tape
If you see any trace of rubber on the tapes wheel, it is stale.
- unscrew the box, and look at the rubber wheel directly. If when you touch it it looks to be soft and not elastic, if it sticks a little, of if you can drive a nail into it, and it leaves a trace, then don't use it.

[Robbo007]

This happened to me. left a horrible black goo on the tapes wheel. I cleaned it off and looks good.

I have same size tapes which fit in the drive that say 2GB on the tape. I notice the tape wheel does not reach the black wheel on the actual tape. Is this because the tape is the wrong type for this drive? Everything else lines up fine. 

Does the tape wheel have a plstic rubber on it to make it bigger?