While cleaning a storage room, our staff found this tape containing #UNIX v4 from Bell Labs, circa 1973
Apparently no other complete copies are known to exist: https://gunkies.org/wiki/UNIX_Fourth_Edition
We have arranged to deliver it to the Computer History Museum
I hope they’re able to extract the data. I’d love to see it boot up.
I don’t think magnetic storage lasts that long. Even floppy disks become unreadable after sitting for 10 years in a box.
I recently dug up my father’s floppy disks. Stored in a dark dry attic. Each one contained about 10 photos of him on holidays and my birthday when i was 7. I had about 10 usable disks.
The disks are at least 25 years old. He died about 20 years ago.
It is true. Not all photos were saved but the disks held op really well!
Yeah if climate controlled they last a surprisingly long time. I’ve had 20-30 year old disks read ok. Honestly at this point I cant find a drive anywhere.
Yeah, I’m lucky nobody threw them out it the mean time.
It’s not a very desirable or trendy way of keeping data.
Magnetic tape can last multiple decades. There’s no telling whether THIS magnetic tape lasted that long, but the medium is pretty hardy.
I suspect that if you throw resources at the problem, you can tolerate much more degradation than standard tape readers.
Magnetic tape can be pretty good. This specific tape I don’t know, but there’s a reason enterprises to this day STILL widely use magnetic tape to store archives.
Though, that may be because a single tape cassette can hold way more than a hard drive, and is cheaper. But I imagine they’d need to have longevity too.
Magnetic tape storage is pretty standard. depends on many factors but might read just fine.
And it is still better than Windows 11
Still a better love story than Windows 11
And it is still better than Windows
11And it is still
better than Windows 11Andit isstill better than Windows 11Is it tho? That’s a LONG time for magnetic bits to remain stable.
You could erase that tape and it’d still be better than Window 11
just received my new ssd. installing it this weekend, then I’m choosing a distro (or two), then testing phase. If so goes well, I plan to say bye bye to Windows before the end of the year.
And my wife scoffs at my mild hoarding
What does “700 GP 3200 FCI” means ? One should be the length of the tape I guess.
3200 fci is flux changes per inch, so basically the number of bits per inch of tape.
700GP is the style of tape. 1/2 inch, 9-tracks.
The length of the tape depends on the size/diameter of the reel it’s on. Going by the markings on the left it’s about 1000ft of tape.
Well done
That is awesome. I guess there’s no way to clone it? Is there a virtual PDP-11/45?
I own a PDP-11 that still works. I’ll have to contact the museum to see if they want it. I bought it off of NYIT in 1999 for $200
They’ll want it I think!
Ping Usagi on Youtube
Thanks!
