Problem : 04/14/2006 05:04:00 PM
Can't seem to get any tape drive working. I have tried 3 different
drives that work correctly on a desktop PC using a native SCSI PCI
card. All tests were run using default Windows XP Backup utility. First
drive attempt was an external DDS3 drive. Could see the drive (Sony
SDT-9000) and could even read the tape header, but attempting to run a
backup resulted in tape write errors. Second attempt was with an
external HP LTO-2 drive. Same results as before. Can read the tape
header and gets an error when attempting to write. In all cases, no
data was written to the tape.
Webmail Solution : 04/17/2006 07:04:13 AM
Greetings from Adaptec,
Thank you for your message regarding the Adaptec USB2Xchange.
The "HP LTO-2 Tape Drive Q1520A HP StorageWorks Ultrium 460 LTO-2
200/400GB External LVD SCSI Tape Drive" is an LVD device and is not
supported on the Adaptec USB2Xchange. The Sony drive should work ,
)SDT9000 is a SCSI 2 drive and should be ok. How is termination being
provided to the tape drive? Are you using some sort of convertor on the
USB2Xchange? What is the other tape drive? What do you see in the
Device Manager under Universal Serial Bus controllers?
Best Regards
Adaptec Technical Support
04/17/2006 09:37:34 AM
That is absolutely horrible news that the USB2Xchange does not support
any LVD devices. The only reason I bought this adapter was to backup a
large (1TB) SAN device from various laptop systems. My
second choice was a PCMCIA SCSI card, but I preferred the flexibility
of USB. I don't know of any mass backup devices that aren't LVD or HVD.
Does the USB2Xchange support HVD? The third tape drive I tested was an
old HP DDS2 6 tape changer (C1553A). I'm not even sure if the drive
works, but it did just like the other 2... reads fine, gets a write
error. I am using an adapter with both drives. Both are from Cables2Go
and are very nice molded adapters. One is HD-50 to Cen-25 and the other is
HD-50 to HD-68. Termination is via an external termination block on
each external case. Without LVD support, I guess the point is moot. I'll
be researching alternate methods to connect to LVD devices. First I have
to research returning this USB2Xchange adapter. Maybe they can exchange
it for a PCMCIA adapter. Thanks for the response, even though it wasn't what
I wanted to hear.
04/17/2006 09:50:40 AM
Greetings from Adaptec,
Unfortunately the USB2 exchange will not work with LVD or with HVD
devices. the unit is made to connect with older type of technology now
considered legacy such as scanners, Zip drives, etc. It will not work
correctly with 68 pin devices as these devices need a wide connection
in order to work. The USB2 Xchange is considered a Narrow device
(8-bit) and will not support Wide devices (16-bit). Thank you for contacting
Adaptec Technical Support
04/17/2006 11:37:40 AM
Is there an Adaptec PCMCIA product you would recommend to connect any
LTO LVD external tape drive to a laptop? Thanks.
04/17/2006 12:31:10 PM
Greetings from Adaptec,
Adaptec does sale a SlimSCSI 1480 PCMCIA card for laptops. Follow this
link for specs of the card:
http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/produc...1480B&language=English+US&cat=Products
Card has a 50pin SCSI connector on one end, therefore will require an
adapter to connect it to the 68pin LVD tapedrive. It should work,
however, we at Adaptec have not tested the card with any type of 68pin
LVD tapedrives.
Thank you, Best Regards,
Adaptec Tech Support
04/17/2006 12:47:42 PM ardev1
Thanks for the information on the Adaptec product, but I'm not about to
go spend $200 on a card that Adaptec hasn't even performed a simple LVD
device test on. Why should *I*, the consumer, have to be burdened with
the time and expense of testing your products? Can you go to your
backline support personal and ask them if an LVD tape drive will work
on this product? Why is hooking a tape drive to a laptop so difficult?
Does no one backup their laptops? Thanks.
04/17/2006 03:12:53 PM
I am quite surprised that a company as large, and as technically
strong, as Adaptec doesn't have a single LVD device to test with.
Regardless, I'll look into other vendor solutions. I just prefer to
stick with Adaptec products when I can. Thanks for answering my
questions.
04/17/2006 01:08:26 PM
Greetings from Adaptec,
Unforunately we at Adaptec have limited resources and do have have any
LVD tapedrives, such as yours, to test with the Adaptec card. The only
thing we can state is that it should work.
If that answer does not meet your satisfaction, at this point you may
need to consider another vendors PCMCIA SCSI cardbus controller. We
apologize if this has caused any inconvenience for you.
Thank you, Best Regards,
Adaptec Tech Support
04/17/2006 04:47:57 PM
Before I consider buying a SlimSCSI 1480, I wanted to clarify something
in the technical specs for the item. It states: "SCSI Data Format:
8-bit with automatic parity generation". Didn't you state that 8 bit
would NOT work with LVD/68 pin devices? Thanks.
04/17/2006 05:34:49 PM
Greetings from Adaptec,
We apologize that this issue has been difficult to resolve; in general,
Tape drives are not supported on the USB2xchange in Windows 2000, XP,
or 2003.
Please let us know if you have any other questions and we will resolve
to get you an answer as soon as possible.
Thank you for choosing Adaptec!
Best Regards,
Adaptec Technical Support
04/18/2006 09:33:27 AM
Thanks again for working with me on this issue. Before we close out
this case, I'd like to clarify one thing. You stated the reason the
USB2Xchange adapter wouldn't work for me because:
"The USB2 Xchange is considered a Narrow device (8-bit) and will not
support Wide devices (16-bit)."
Which I understand. When I requested information on additional Adaptec
solutions, you stated:
"Adaptec does sale a SlimSCSI 1480 PCMCIA card for laptops. It should
work."
Great news to hear. When I went to your website and looked at the
technical specs on the 1480 card, this is what it states:
"SCSI Data Format: 8-bit with automatic parity generation"
So how is it that the 1480 should work where the USB2Xchange did not?
Can you please verify that the 1480 is, or isn't, an 8-bit narrow
device. Can the 1480 control a 68 pin, fast/wide, LVD tape drive?
Thanks.
04/18/2006 09:46:04 AM
Greetings from Adaptec,
The 1480 SlimSCSI does only 8bit and not 16bit. 68pin and LVD devices
use 16bit. Older SCSI SE devies use 8bit. Typically the 1480 SlimSCSI
will work where the USB2Xchange does not, because it is a Naive SCSI
controller unlike the USB2Xchange which is a usb device that translates
SCSI signal.
However if any case, we probably would not recommend the 1480 SlimSCSI
as it is a 8bit or SE controller and getting it to work with 68pin LVD
devices such as a tapedrive will be difficult.
Thank you, Best Regards,
Adaptec Tech Support
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