Colorado Tape Backup Does Not Work from Windows

Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
Article ID: Q85591

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

SYMPTOMS

Colorado Memory Systems tape backup systems may fail to operate with Microsoft Windows. Some of these units use the floppy drive controller instead of a separate controller card. If the backup unit fails to operate under Windows, add SMARTDRV double buffering and DRIVPARM statements for both floppy drives.

WORKAROUND

According to Colorado Memory Systems, you may need to add SMARTDrive with double buffering to enable the tape system to operate correctly with Windows. You may also need to add DRIVPARM lines for the floppy controllers. To determine if you need to add a DRIVPARM command, check to see if the tape drive works correctly at the MS-DOS level but fails to operate under Windows. The backup may fail from either the icon or from an MS-DOS session.

To add double buffering, add one of the following lines:

For versions of SMARTDRV.EXE earlier than 4.0, add the following line to the SMARTDRV.SYS file:
```
         device=c:\windows\smartdrv.sys /b+
```
For SMARTDRV.EXE version 4.0 (included with Windows 3.1), add the following line to the CONFIG.SYS file.
```
         device=c:\windows\smartdrv.exe /double_buffer+
```

(NOTE: SMARTDRV.EXE version 4.0 is included with Microsoft Windows version 3.1. Earlier versions of SMARTDrive have the filename SMARTDRV.SYS.)

The following DRIVPARM statements are valid for MS-DOS versions 3.2 and later:

   drivparm=/d:0 /f:n  <-see your MS-DOS manual for the value of "n">
   drivparm=/d:1 /f:n  <-see your MS-DOS manual for the value of "n">

Reference(s):

Colorado Memory Systems technical support: (303) 669-8000

KBCategory: kbhw kb3rdparty kbtool
KBSubcategory: win30 win31
Additional reference words: 3.00 3.00a 3.0 3.0a 3.1 3.11 3.10

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Last reviewed: November 22, 1994
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