Formatting Tape Devices

mvBase reverts to automatic (default) density selection for a given tape drive without special formatting. mvBase writes data to the medium at either the existing format currently on the medium or, for new tapes, the highest density (format) supported for that tape.

When using the T-FORMAT command, mvBase supports the following options. For floppy drives, virtual tape files, and virtual tape devices, mvBase supports these T-FORMAT options:

RAW-ON

512 byte blocks with no EOF (End-Of-File).

RAW-OFF

(default) 500 byte blocks with no EOF support.

When using 1/4-inch tape devices, mvBase supports these T-FORMAT options:

(N)

Suppresses the erase cycle when writing to a tape at BOT (default is not suppressed).

(S)

SHORT LABEL for backwards compatibility with old Mentor tapes (default is LONG LABEL for AP/PRO compatibility).

See Also

Using mvBase Tape Units