
Page 16 Installation Instructions: AM-650 1/4" Streaming Tape Drive
PDI-00650-00, Rev. A00
files stored on the tape cartridge. If you aren’t familiar with the MTUxxx commands, refer to your
System Commands Reference Manual
for instructions.
USING THE AM-650
Use only the MTUSAV, MTURES, and MTUDIR commands to write to and read from the AM-
650. Do not use the older STRxxx utilities, as these are no longer supported by Alpha Micro!
The following sections discuss issues you should keep in mind while using your AM-650, especially if
you read or write using different cartridge types or tape formats.
Reading and Writing Different Tape Formats
The AM-650 can read and write tapes ranging from 150MB to 13GB. It also allows you, in some cases,
to choose the format to use when writing a tape. This list shows the tape cartridges you can use, and the
formats supported for each:
Cartridge Formats Supported
DC6037 QIC-150
DC6150 QIC-150
DC6250 QIC-150
DC6320 QIC-150, QIC-525
DC6525 QIC-150, QIC-525
DC9100 (Magnus 1GB) QIC-1000
DC9120 QIC-1000
DC9200 (Magnus 2GB) QIC-2GB
DC9250 QIC-2GB
QIC-139 (Imation 13GB) QIC-5010, QIC-5010C
The AM-650 reads all of these cartridges and formats automatically; you just put in the tape and it
figures out what kind of tape it is and what format it’s written in. When determining what format to
record in, the AM-650 follows these rules:
1. If the tape has previously been written to, the AM-650 writes in the same format used
previously. If a 13GB tape was written in compressed mode last time, it will write in
compressed mode this time, too.
2. To change recording format, use the TMODE command. TMODE lets you pick compressed or
uncompressed mode (for Imation 13GB tapes), and also lets you set the recording format to
either QIC-150 or QIC-525 (with DC6320 or DC6525 tapes).
When you use TMODE, there must be a tape in the drive which supports the format you
want to set. You can’t set QIC-525 format with a 2GB tape in the drive!
3. Once you’ve used TMODE, the format you set stays in effect for all tapes until you either use
TMODE again or perform a hardware reboot (not MONTST) of the computer.
The TMODE
setting overrides the format the AM-650 would otherwise use
for the tape under rule 1, above.
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