ScuzzBlog: Diaries August 2024 Entry 15th August 2024: Post 1: Jumbo Trakker - Parallel Port Tape Backup System. Jumbo Trakker - Parallel Port Tape Backup System. The stuff I have lying around that I swear I have never opened is truly amazing. Today I feature the Jumbo Trakker 250mb Parallel Port Tape Backup System from 19th September 1994. This little beast can transfer data at a rate of 8mb/minute. Yes that is by the minute. Very useful of you have very small data files and loads of time on your hands. The system did come with Colorado Backup for Windows, which in 1994 would have been for Workgroups most likely as 3.1. I really don't have any desire to fire this up and see if it is working, unless I can plug it into the Amiga. Not going to try. This was a big box and not lightweight I have to say. If you are unfamiliar in the ways of Windows for Workgroups and the backup system, let me explain. Working in an office with a series of individual computers, there would be designate one member of staff who would undertake the weekly back up. The tape drive would most likely be in a room of its own and have its own monitor interface and line printer. Plus shelves of data tapes all neatly stored and dated. At a specific time each week you would get a ping on the screen to stop what you were doing and save to the main server. All work should be undertaken on the main server, though prep work could be undertaken on the individual computer. What normally happened is you would save what you were doing to your own computer and then transfer to the main server after the backup was complete. The main tech head would then back up projects from the main server and record and store the data tapes. Sometimes two copies were made and the data tape taken off site. Backing up took an age and we often took the opportunity to go home early. After all there was often very little you could do if you were working with others on the same project. The tape backup was replaced with the CD and then DVD and finally USB. I have towers of CD disks here from my previous practice along with small passport style hard drives that connected via the USB port. I even have a Buffalo main drive with the contents of the practices entire data records including paperwork. Nobody asked for the stuff to be returned after I closed the office in 2014. They still retained the main server and computers which by the time I departed utilised a Mini Mac server linked to the two other offices. Backing up is something I have always been very keen on. With my machines here I do a weekly back up to USB stick; a monthly to a drive connected all the time to the computer; at that time I back up to a monthly dedicated drive; and once a year the whole lot goes on my main archive. Losing data is not something I can ever tolerate. And I save pretty much everything that passes across this monitor space. Jumbo Trakker - Parallel Port Tape Backup System.

If you can only see this CONTENT window
then click the image above for the full site

Last updated 15th August 2024

Chandraise Kingdom

Keep the Faith
scuzzscink 2024