Backing up filesystems

Preparing media for backups

Floppy disks and some types of cartridge tapes require preparation before you can create backups on them.

Before using floppy disks with the Backup Manager, you might need to use the format(C) command to format them.

You should format all new floppy disks and any disks formatted under another operating system before using them on your SCO OpenServer system. Once you format disks, you can use them over again without reformatting. However, disks formatted under some operating systems cannot be used under other operating systems, even with reformatting.

WARNING: Any data on the disk is lost when you format it.

Before using a cartridge tape with the Backup Manager, you might need to prepare it. Use the tape(C) command to:

erase

Erase and retension the tape cartridge.

format

Format the tape. You must format floppy-controller-based tapes before using them. Before reformatting a used tape, you must erase it with a bulk tape eraser.

NOTE: Do not format Irwin tape cartridges. Use preformatted cartridges for best results.

reten

Retension the tape periodically to fix slack tape problems. Tape slack can cause unusually large numbers of tape errors.

rewind

Rewind to the beginning of the tape.

If you use tape cartridges that require formatting, you should format the volumes before beginning the backup. The exact number of volumes depends on the number and size of files to be backed up. For details on how to format your media, see ``Working with disks, tapes, and CD-ROMs''.