Colorado (CMS) backup¶
Colorado Memory Systems' backup software (later sold by HP as Colorado Backup) writes QIC-113 extended volumes, compressed with QIC-122. Its volume table entries carry both the QIC-113 signature and the vendor's own mark, which is how Tapewyrm recognises them. Tapes written by it have been recovered completely, on QIC-80 and QIC-3010 cartridges.
Profile: cms-qic113 (packages/qiclib/qiclib/volume/profiles/cms-qic113.toml).
Status: bench, two tapes.
Volume table entry¶
Bytes 0–56 are the standard VTBL entry. Bytes 57–127 follow QIC-113 Rev G §6 with CMS's mark in the vendor data:
| Offset | Size | Field | Value seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | 1 | Flags | 25 on a QIC-80 tape, 24 on a QIC-3010 tape |
| 57 | 1 | Multi-cartridge sequence | 01 |
| 58 | 2 | QIC-113 signature | 71 00 (113) |
| 60 | 2 | QIC-113 revision | 06 00 (Rev F) |
| 62 | 4 | Vendor mark | CMS followed by 00 |
| 92 | 4 | Directory section size | |
| 96 | 8 | Data section size | |
| 106 | 16 | Source volume label | |
| 124 | 1 | Compression | Bit 7 set, code 1 (QIC-122) |
| 125 | 1 | Format and OS type | 06 on the QIC-80 tape, 07 on the QIC-3010 tape |
Flags 25 is vendor-specific, written without verification, and
directory-last. Flags 24 is the same with the vendor-specific bit clear.
Note
The same software set the vendor-specific bit on one cartridge type and
not the other. QIC-113 Rev G §6 says the bit marks an extended volume, but
it does not on these tapes. The profile matches on 113 at 58 and CMS
at 62 only. Matching on the bit once sent the QIC-3010 tape to the Basic
DOS parser, which "succeeded" with nameless empty files.
Volume contents¶
- QIC-113 extended, directory-last, Rev F. See QIC-113 file sets.
- Compressed with QIC-122, one extent per segment, 8-byte offsets and 2-byte frame sizes as in Rev G. Segment spanning is clear.
- Root entries name the source drive, as QIC-113 prescribes.
- Data-section copies of directory entries carry all-ones sizes. The directory section holds the real sizes, and Tapewyrm uses it as the authority. The data entry sizes in the directory sum exactly to the volume table's data section size.
- Files that failed at backup time carry the "file error during backup" traversal bit. Tapewyrm reports them as damaged; that damage is the original software's, not the tape's.
Tapes seen¶
| Cartridge | Header | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| QIC-80 | Format code 5 (fixed), 28 × 207, maximum floppy track 149 | Formatted by Colorado software. Vendor bit set. One volume, fully recovered. |
| QIC-3010, 400 ft | Format code 4, 40 × 298, factory preformatted; manufacturer field names CMS / HP | Vendor bit clear. One volume, fully recovered. |