Specializing in the recovery and reconstruction of unreadable data from damaged and/or defective 9-track open-reel computer tapes and 3480 and 3490E cartridges. Nine-track data formats supported include 800 BPI (NRZI), 1600 BPI (PE), 3200 BPI (DPE) and 6250 CPI (GCR). Support for 3480, 3490 and 3490E cartridges includes 18-track 37,871 CPI (GCR) and 36-track 75,742 CPI (GCR) formats with support for both compressed (compacted) and uncompressed (uncompacted) data. Unique processes have been developed to locate and remove contamination and to minimize the effects of binder hydrolysis and chemical degradation. Stiction caused by sticky tapes is routinely dealt with.
In active use and archival storage throughout the world are billions of magnetic tapes and cartridges containing enormous quantities of irreplaceable archival data and information. Unfortunately, many of these tapes and cartridges can no longer be read using standard data processing procedures.
In many cases, these tapes and cartridges have become unreadable due to chemical changes in the tape's magnetic coating caused by normal aging processes which are often accelerated by exposure to harsh environments such as elevated temperatures and high humidity. Sticky tape is a very common and usually correctable problem. In other instances, the tapes and cartridges may have become contaminated with residue transferred from the tape or cartridge drive or contaminated with other external contaminants and foreign materials. Sometimes tapes and cartridges may have been damaged by having been dropped or broken, by a tape drive failure, or by some other means.
We can usually totally recover believed-to-be-unrecoverable data from old, damaged, or otherwise defective tapes and cartridges. Data recovery and transfer are accomplished with state-of the art proprietary processes, software, and equipment that were developed specifically for these tasks.
After identification of the cause of problem(s), the tapes and cartridges are processed to remove any contamination and to physically and chemically stabilize the magnetic coating and to repair any other damage. The defective tapes or cartridges are then copied byte-by-byte to a hard disk for processing and transfer to a new tape or cartridge. We have the capability to manipulate and edit data at the single bit level, if necessary.
While our goal is to always totally recover data, that sometimes is not possible due to tape breakage, severe coating delamination or other physical damage. In those cases, the recoverable data are first copied to a hard disk, processed as necessary, and then copied to a new tape or cartridge in a data format that can be processed by the customer's computer system.
In active use and archival storage throughout the world are billions of magnetic tapes and cartridges containing enormous quantities of irreplaceable archival data and information. Unfortunately, many of these tapes and cartridges can no longer be read using standard data processing procedures.
Bill R. King is a recognized authority on magnetic and optical media with more than 22 years experience in this industry. For 18 years, he was employed by Graham Magnetics (Carlisle Memory Products Group) where he was Vice President, Advanced Products Development. Responsibilities included product and process development for 8mm cartridges, 3480 and 3490E cartridges, 9-track open-reel tapes, quarter-inch (QIC)data cartridges, floppy disks, and optical disks. He was also responsible for the development of software and hardware that are used for testing and evaluating magnetic tapes and cartridges, for recovering, copying, and transferring data between different media types, and for general management of active and archival data libraries. He was involved in setting up hard disk and computer tape manufacturing plants in Japan and has served as an industry consultant in the development of optical media to be used for very-high-density holographic optical storage of digital information.
Mr. King is well known in the data storage industry and has served in numerous capacities including membership on Advisory Council for the University of California at San Diego Center for Magnetic Recording Research, the Board of Directors for the National Storage Industry Consortium, and several ANSI and international data interchange technical committees. He has served as session chairman at International Tape Association meetings and as a panel member at industry technical symposia.