I’ve noticed that the tape driver samples are no longer released in the driver sample kits, I think the last was with Windows 2000.
I did ask Microsoft why this was but all I got back was “While support for device independent miniport drivers remains (mcd.sys and tape.sys), all SCSI based devices are now developed for the SCSIPort and, preferably, Storport models.” which didn’t answer my question. Or am I missing something?
IBM, HP, Fujitsu, Tandberg, etc. all still manufacture drives, and my firm still uses them. The latest IBM3592 (TS1150) holds 10TB.
It’s getting more difficult keeping old devices working on Windows after XP. SCSI card manufacturers such as Adaptec just aren’t providing x64 drivers which means our 7-track, 9-track and one-inch 21-track tape systems will have to remain on XP.
Richard.
“SCSI card manufacturers such as Adaptec just aren’t providing x64 drivers”
Is this what you meant to say? If you buy a new Adaptec SCSI adapter and
install it on x64 Windows, it will most certainly load a 64 bit driver.
On Thu, Jul 28, 2016 at 3:47 PM wrote:
> I’ve noticed that the tape driver samples are no longer released in the
> driver sample kits, I think the last was with Windows 2000.
>
> I did ask Microsoft why this was but all I got back was “While support
> for device independent miniport drivers remains (mcd.sys and tape.sys), all
> SCSI based devices are now developed for the SCSIPort and, preferably,
> Storport models.” which didn’t answer my question. Or am I missing
> something?
>
> IBM, HP, Fujitsu, Tandberg, etc. all still manufacture drives, and my firm
> still uses them. The latest IBM3592 (TS1150) holds 10TB.
>
> It’s getting more difficult keeping old devices working on Windows after
> XP. SCSI card manufacturers such as Adaptec just aren’t providing x64
> drivers which means our 7-track, 9-track and one-inch 21-track tape systems
> will have to remain on XP.
>
> Richard.
>
>
> —
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></http:>
Jamey,
I think you’re both correct. You are correct when you note that Adaptec (now Microsemi) provides 64-bit driver support on recent Windows platforms for *new* adapters (e.g. the 29320 family).
But, if you are using a legacy SCSI adapter (e.g. the 2940 family), and you wish to migrate to a recent 64-bit Windows platform, you might be out of luck, as the OP (Richard) suggested, without some custom driver development.
Why continue using an older (legacy) SCSI adapter, you may ask? Sometimes there are valid reasons to do so, usually related to the specific devices you’re trying to talk to.
Thanks,
Don
Donald E. Matthews
President
NexiTech, Inc.
719-687-3225
xxxxx@nexitech.com
www.nexitech.com
“Jamey Kirby” wrote in message news:xxxxx@ntdev…
“SCSI card manufacturers such as Adaptec just aren’t providing x64 drivers”
Is this what you meant to say? If you buy a new Adaptec SCSI adapter and install it on x64 Windows, it will most certainly load a 64 bit driver.
On Thu, Jul 28, 2016 at 3:47 PM wrote:
I’ve noticed that the tape driver samples are no longer released in the driver sample kits, I think the last was with Windows 2000.
I did ask Microsoft why this was but all I got back was “While support for device independent miniport drivers remains (mcd.sys and tape.sys), all SCSI based devices are now developed for the SCSIPort and, preferably, Storport models.” which didn’t answer my question. Or am I missing something?
IBM, HP, Fujitsu, Tandberg, etc. all still manufacture drives, and my firm still uses them. The latest IBM3592 (TS1150) holds 10TB.
It’s getting more difficult keeping old devices working on Windows after XP. SCSI card manufacturers such as Adaptec just aren’t providing x64 drivers which means our 7-track, 9-track and one-inch 21-track tape systems will have to remain on XP.
Richard.
—
NTDEV is sponsored by OSR
Visit the list online at: http:
MONTHLY seminars on crash dump analysis, WDF, Windows internals and software drivers!
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Richard,
I agree, they didn’t really answer your question. The situation you are referring to, in which Microsoft has appeared to abandon
the support of tape devices, has been happening more or less since Windows Vista came out. Some of my clients at the time were
companies that made tape drives, and the best answer we could come up with was that Microsoft was intentionally discouraging the use
of tape backup in favor of disk-based backup.
Since that time, I’ve worked with certain high-profile customers that have similar requirements to yours that must keep using
systems running Windows XP, much to their dismay, due to SCSI-related issues. It might surprise you (or not) to know that there are
plenty of mission-critical operations out there in the field that still rely on Windows XP due to insufficient support and upgrade
paths offered by Microsoft and storage-related equipment manufacturers. But in some cases, it is possible (with some work) to find
decent workarounds that allow those systems to be migrated to Windows 7 and beyond.
Thanks,
Don
Donald E. Matthews
President
NexiTech, Inc.
719-687-3225
xxxxx@nexitech.com
www.nexitech.com
wrote in message news:xxxxx@ntdev…
> I’ve noticed that the tape driver samples are no longer released in the driver sample kits, I think the last was with Windows
> 2000.
>
> I did ask Microsoft why this was but all I got back was “While support for device independent miniport drivers remains (mcd.sys
> and tape.sys), all SCSI based devices are now developed for the SCSIPort and, preferably, Storport models.” which didn’t answer my
> question. Or am I missing something?
>
> IBM, HP, Fujitsu, Tandberg, etc. all still manufacture drives, and my firm still uses them. The latest IBM3592 (TS1150) holds
> 10TB.
>
> It’s getting more difficult keeping old devices working on Windows after XP. SCSI card manufacturers such as Adaptec just aren’t
> providing x64 drivers which means our 7-track, 9-track and one-inch 21-track tape systems will have to remain on XP.
>
> Richard.
>
>
> I did ask Microsoft why this was but all I got back was "While support
for device independent miniport drivers remains (mcd.sys and tape.sys),
all SCSI based devices are now developed for the SCSIPort and,
preferably, Storport models."
The response is wrong. tape.sys and mcd.sys are class drivers, not miniport drivers. tape drivers have nothing to do with a specific miniport architecture and don’t know or care about SCSIPort vs Storport.
I notice while the tape samples have been removed, the header files are still there so one should be able to build any tape driver with the latest wdk. Either start with your current source or the latest appropriate sample.
If the tape device is proper SCSI compliant, there really is no need for a
custom tape driver. SCSI is SCSI is SCSI. However, for custom tape devices,
or tape devices with new features, Microsoft created the tape miniclass
framework.
“NT-based operating systems provide a generic tape class driver that
handles operating system-specific and device-independent tape tasks. The
tape class driver is provided as a kernel-mode DLL. To support a new tape
device or family of tape devices, a driver writer creates a device-specific
tape miniclass driver that links dynamically to the system-supplied tape
class driver.”
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/drivers/storage/tape-drivers
On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 8:09 PM wrote:
> > I did ask Microsoft why this was but all I got back was “While support
> > for device independent miniport drivers remains (mcd.sys and tape.sys),
> > all SCSI based devices are now developed for the SCSIPort and,
> > preferably, Storport models.”
>
> The response is wrong. tape.sys and mcd.sys are class drivers, not
> miniport drivers. tape drivers have nothing to do with a specific miniport
> architecture and don’t know or care about SCSIPort vs Storport.
>
> I notice while the tape samples have been removed, the header files are
> still there so one should be able to build any tape driver with the latest
> wdk. Either start with your current source or the latest appropriate sample.
>
>
> —
> NTDEV is sponsored by OSR
>
> Visit the list online at: <
> http://www.osronline.com/showlists.cfm?list=ntdev>
>
> MONTHLY seminars on crash dump analysis, WDF, Windows internals and
> software drivers!
> Details at http:
>
> To unsubscribe, visit the List Server section of OSR Online at <
> http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=ListServer>
></http:>
Jamey,
I should have said:
Adaptec aren’t providing x64 drivers for their High Voltage Differential SCSI adaptor cards (such as the AHA-2944). The Low Voltage Differential SCSI cards - in particular, the x9160 series - are supported, but only up to Windows 7 x64 - according to their website.
Yes I’m well aware of the tape class/miniclass framework, have been using it since NT 3.51. The Microsoft tape class driver doesn’t handle variable-length transfers efficiently, doesn’t split large transfers the way I want it to, and doesn’t have the extra features I require, so I don’t use it.
Don,
It is reassuring to learn that others still have to use XP and that I haven’t missed a trick. As Windows 10 appears to be the last Microsoft OS, it would have been nice to get all SCSI devices working on it. It is a nuisance having to support more than one version of Windows.
Thank you for your comments.
Regards, Richard.
OK. I’m going to say it, because nobody else has: “Oh well.”
It’s not Microsoft’s fault, certainly. Adaptec doesn’t want to support their old hardware by investing in upgrading or even rebuilding their old drivers? No big surprise there, I don’t think. You won’t find new drivers for all sorts of other decrepit hardware such as the NE2000/3C509, either.
This is old stuff. If you need to keep old stuff working, just keep using the old software. You don’t want to use the old software, get new hardware.
I fail to see the issue, frankly. What would you have Microsoft do about it, given the drivers in question are owned by other companies?
One thing Microsoft has done well – to the point of lack of forward progress in some cases, if you ask me – is maintain backwards compatibility within the Windows operating system. Only with the release of Windows 8 and later, did some old Windows NT and Windows 2000 drivers stop working.
As numerous people have said (even a country song writer) “Time marches on.”
Peter
OSR
@OSRDrivers