[SOLVED] Help with LTO Tape Drives

richardrosenman

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Jan 8, 2019
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Hi all;

I had an external Dell LTO tape backup drive with it's associated SCSI card installed in an old computer. I made many backups but somehow, that computer is now gone and so is the tape drive so I need to find a replacement drive that can restore my tapes. It's been a while so I was hoping that you guys could help me with some questions:

1 - the tapes that the media is backup up on is Dell LTO Ultrium 3. Does this mean I need to purchase an LTO 3 drive? Will any brand drive read any brand tape?

2 - my previous drive was external and as such, needed a card for connecting to the computer. I see that they sell internal LTO drives. Do these connect directly to a SATA port? If so, it seems it would make it much easier than requiring a dedicated card as well, no?

3 - i seem to recall I used Symantec Backup Exec (?) to backup all my data. Does this mean I need to get this software again to restore it? Or can I use other software? Is there compatibility between software?

4 - any good, budget-friendly suggestions? I just need an affordable drive (can be second-hand) to restore my data. I seldom use it... maybe 3-4 times a year. So it doesn't make sense to buy another new, with a card, with the software, etc.

Any other info that you think would help me would be appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance!
-Rich
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
An LTO3, LTO4 or LTO5 should be able to read the tape. They guarantee two generations of backwards compatibility -- https://www.lto.org/solutions/benefits/compatibility/

As for the Symantec question, I would ask that on their forum. The software may be more expensive than the hardware.
 

richardrosenman

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Jan 8, 2019
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Thank you for your reply. What about the external vs internal questions (#2) and if they can simply plug into SATA?

Thanks,
-Rich