[SunRescue] Re: Rescue digest, Vol 1 #111 - 4 msgs

[Brokenbytes]

> 
> Message: 3
> From: BSD Bob <bsdbob at weedcon1.cropsci.ncsu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [SunRescue] Sun 3/160
> To: rescue at ohno.mrbill.net
> Date: Sat, 28 Aug 1999 15:46:27 -0400 (EDT)
> Reply-To: rescue at sunhelp.org
> 
> > Hello,
> > 
> > I have a sun 3/160 with a dead tape drive, and no hard disk. Can I send a
> > hardisk to someone and have SunOS 4.1.1. installed on it then sent back to
> > me? 
> 
> Ahh, the old deaden tape drive syndrome....
> 
> 1.  What type of tape drive is it (Wangtek or Archive)?
>     Wangtek has the tape that you push into it and it load automatically.
>     Archive requires you to seat the tape and move a lever over to load.
> 
> 2.  On either tape, check very carefully by opening up the top lid of
>     the case (pull the back three screws and lift/slide the lid back
>     to open).  Look inside the tape drive and down at the rubber drive
>     wheel.  If the tape is spinning but not advancing the tape (test
>     it on a spare unimportant tape), you have a dead, decomposed rubber
>     drive wheel (veddy common syndrome).  If it is a Wangtek tape,
>     you can retire the drive wheel by using some surgical rubber tubing
>     sized to fit, superglued in place.  Vacuum or gas hose or even
>     air hose may also  work, if it is sized appropriately.  I have
>     not found a good size to use for retreading Archive drives.
> 
> 3.  Test on a spare tape, after retreading,  to see if it will spin
>     correctly.   If it does, load and go.
> 
> It the tape drive wheel is fine, then check for loose cabling, or even
> a burned cable (easily done if the internal scsi cable was reseated
> off 1 row of pins on the VME bus connector (ask me, I blew one up that
> way [ahh, melted the cable that way].....(:+{{.....).
> 
> IFF that fails, we will come up with another solution....
> 
> Bob
> 

I got another tape drive from a friend, (Wangtek) which is in  much better
condition then the drive I have. Both drives actually move the tape from
real to real, and the heads move up and down along the tape. But I still
cannot boot my SunOs 4.1.1 tape. Im starting to thing that maybee my tapes
are bad.

All SCSI connections look like the are ok, I have also tried using a 511
External case instead of the internal drive.

When I type b st() the tape drive moves the tape back and forth a few
times, and moves the head across the tape a few times, and then evrything
just stops, and I don't get any error messages on the console, or a prompt
again. I have to either hit Stop A, or power off.

Eric.