HP JetStore 2000 C1525A tape backup drive \ VOGONS

HP JetStore 2000 C1525A tape backup drive

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First post, by james1095

Posted on 2025-03-14, 00:58

james1095 Offline

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I picked up an old JetStore 2000 SCSI DDS tape drive which matches the aesthetic of my DECpc nicely but I have very little exposure to tape drives, the only one I remember using was a Colorado drive that plugged into the floppy controller and that was way back in the 90s. What software works with these things? Is there something that will work in DOS? I have Windows 3.1 on here too.

I know there are more practical backup options but I always thought tape drives were kind of cool and one like this was WAY out of my price range in its day. Just thought it would be fun to play with.

Reply 1 of 4, by sangokushi

Posted on 2025-03-14, 03:02

sangokushi Offline

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If your pc supports Windows 95, you can use a program call "Direct Tae Access" to map a drive letter:
https://community.hpe.com/t5/storeever-tape-s … ess/td-p/306710

Reply 2 of 4, by james1095

Posted on 2025-03-14, 04:44

james1095 Offline

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I could put windows 95 on it but currently I have not as I primarily wanted to keep it as a DOS system for retro games with the option to run Win 3.1 as needed. This is how I used the 386 my family had when I was a kid.

Reply 3 of 4, by james1095

Posted on 2025-03-18, 04:50

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In case anyone is curious I finally got this working. After much searching and many dead ends I found a copy of Trantor Tape Mate II for DOS that recognizes this drive. The ASPI driver sees it as a HP 35470A. Initially it was failing with a hardware error so I decided to try cleaning the heads like I used to do with VCRs using strips of paper dipped in isopropyl alcohol held against the head drum while rotating it by hand. I repeated that until the strips stayed clean and then I was amazed when it successfully formatted the tape. Not sure how reliable this will end up being but so far so good.

Reply 4 of 4, by Yoghoo

Posted on 2025-03-18, 08:53

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Nice you got it working. Maybe you also want to take a look at Backup Exec. It was quitte popular back then. Used it a couple of months again for my HP SCSI tape drive and it worked great.

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