Quadra 650 Backup Solutions

[Berserker]

So I have a Quadra 650 that serves as a console to run some Virtual World 3.0 pods.  I have no other copies of the console software or drivers for the custom A/Rose arcnet nubus card that communicates between the console and the pods.

I need a solution to be able to back up the data and possibly the entire hard drive, that I would like to be able to take from and backup on server.

What are my best/easiest solutions?

Thanks

 

[finkmac]

Tape Drive and retrospect.

Or at least, that's what I'd use.

 

[Cory5412]

You could use a netatalk server and a system 7 network access disk. Keep a copy of Disk Copy on either the NAD or the server, and literally take an image of the whole drive every once in a while.

Retrospect may also be able to back up to floppy diskettes, but netatalk is likely to be your best solution.

The gotcha is that you will have to reboot the machine into the network access disk, and use either serial localtalk, a large external hard drive (a scsi2sd perhaps?) or a normal Ethernet connection to talk to the server. If these are things that need to be running 24/7, retrospect or just copying the files with finder will work a little better.

 

[Berserker]

Can you recommend a tape drive that would work with the Quadra 650 and a current PC, so I can get the data off the tape drive?

The retrospect is I just recently acquired these and am working on identifying a backup solution, hopefully before any catastrophic failure occurs.

Thanks

 

[finkmac]

If you're trying to move you data off the machine, you probably want to do what Cory5412 suggested above.

 

[Compgeke]

Depending on the size of the hard drive, another option would be a Zip drive. They're still fairly cheap and common, easier than trying to get a tape drive to work.

 

[Berserker]

There is no plan to put the Quadra 650 on a network (besides the pods), so that is not really an option.

Would this possibly work?

http://www.tech-faq.com/how-to-connect-scsi-to-usb.html

Compgeke, can you recommend a zip drive?

Thanks

 

[Unknown_K]

I would use 2 methods.

1. Restrospect and maybe a DDS2 or better DAT drive to backup the HD to tape. You will need a working OS and Retrospect to restore the files if/when the HD needs replaced.

2. Setup a PC server with Win2k (virtual win2k on Win7/8 should work as well) so that you can have apple shares and dump the files to the server for storage (and whatever backup method you prefer).

 

[Cory5412]

No software on a modern computer *(any modern computer) will be able to read what Retrospect puts on a tape.

Your best bet for "backup" is, if you aren't going to build a network, to buy a SCSI2SD or an AztekMonster and copy your data there. From that point, you can actually take the original hdd out of the machine and then boot from the scsi2sd or aztekmonster. You can also take the card out of the machine and use a modern computer to preserve its contents from time to time.

The linked SCSI adapter should let a mdoern computer use SCSI peripherals on a USB port, but won't let you connect your Quadra 650 directly to a modern computer, for file transfer.

One option that would do that is some sort of null modem serial cable. You could use whatever protocol you wanted (zmodem, ymodem, kermit, etc) to transmit files, but to be honest, that's a lot more fragile than most of the other methods, and will be a lot more difficult to restore or recover from, should something happen to go wrong. Plus, it will be significantly slower than LocalTalk, which itself will be way slower than EtherTalk using the 650's onboard Ethernet.

I would get a pi, put netatalk on it (maybe even just use a2server), and grab an AAUI transceiver. You can put these things on a switch and not connect them to the greater Internet, if you prefer.

 

[mrpippy]

I think the best solution is to connect the HD to a newer Mac (like a G3), make a Disk Copy image of it, and then move that to reliable storage (backup drive, online backup, etc)

You also should be able to do this from a PC (using dd from Linux), but you would need a PC with an (old) SCSI card and the correct cables.

It sounds like you don't have any other Macs around though--if you post where you live, maybe there's someone nearby who would help?

It would be possible to put it on a network with a PC (the 650 has Ethernet, just needs a AAUI transceiver) and somehow move files over that way, but I understand if you don't want to mess with the existing system software.

A Zip drive could work also, they're pretty cheap in SCSI/USB forms. You'd still need to get some Mac software onto the machine to compress/pack the files though, which could be tough if you don't have another Mac. Also all the files might not fit on a 100 MB ZIP disk.

I would shy away from backing up to tape or zip or another similarly old format--that media can and will go bad. You need to back it up to a file that can be copied to the internet or modern backup drives.

 

[Berserker]

I picked up an AztekMonster, the cables inside the case made it very challenging to hook up, but I was able to finally get the data and power cables connected.

The Quadra 650 does not see the drive, however, so I am not sure where to go from here.

If I go the network route, I want to make sure I get the right AAUI transceiver, can anyone recommend one?

 

[PowerPup]

Either one of these should do the job just fine: http://www.ebay.com/itm/191252926653?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Asante-Friendly-Net-Media-Adapter-10-base-T-10T-with-3-ft-cable-/221733551990?hash=item33a0597f76

Since you are using the LaserJet 4+ with a JetDirect ethernet card, you'll want an AAUI ethernet adapter anyway so the Mac can talk to the printer. (Or do you have it connected some other way?)

I am not that familiar with SCSI-SATA converters such as the AztekMonster, but from other member's discussions on similar converters on the forum I've noticed that using such a converter takes a bit of effort in finding a particular drive formatting program (or a specific version,) that will detect the drive so it can be formatted for use on an old Mac. Hopefully someone who owns an AztekMonster can chime in on this.

If the immediate concern is making an image of the hard drive so the software running the pods can be preserved, I could loan you my PCI 50-pin SCSI adapter so that you can connect the Mac's hard drive to a more modern PC and make a backup image as mrpippy suggested.

I'd be happy to do it for you too, if you're comfortable with shipping the drive in lots of bubble wrap. I could upload the image or burn it onto a DVD to send back with the drive. Let me know if you're interested in either option.

A long-term solution for continuous backups would be a netatalk/a2server server on a raspberry pi as Cory suggested, the pi is small enough ('bout the size of a business card,) to put inside the pod so it's all self-contained.