The TAPE command 28-MAY-81 --- ---- ------- The TAPE command displays the current status of the tape drive. It is useful to save you walking in to the computer room to verify that the tape is at a desired position. To use the TAPE command, simply type TAPE [or just TAP] The display produced by this command informs you of the drive status by means of a sense characteristics function. Note that if the tape is engaged in a lengthy function when you issue the TAPE command, it may take a while for the output to be produced. The information that can be returned by TAPE is as follows: 1. Drive is Offline. This means that there is no tape mounted or that the drive is not turned online. To turn the drive online, press the "ONLINE" button. 2. Tape is past EOT. The tape us positioned past the end-of-tape (EOT) marker. 3. Writing is prohibited. The tape is software write-locked. 4. Tape is physically write-locked. The tape was mounted without a write-enable ring. 5. Current density is 800 BPI (or 1600 BPI). Self explanatory. 6. Tape is at load point (BOT). The tape is positioned right at the beginning. 7. Tape is at end-of-volume (EOV). The tape is positioned right at the end. 8. Drive is currently rewinding. Self explanatory. 9. Last tape command encountered EOF. The last operation on the tape encountered and end-of-file mark (unless the last operation was a backspace). 10. Writing with extended inter-record gap prohibited. Just what is says: no recovery will be attempted by the driver if a write error occurs, such as if the drive encounters a patch of bad tape.