Old Computers and Bicycles
Took a trip to the past this weekend. A pleasant trip, except for the reminders of a changing world. The changing world being the subject of another post.
I was contacted by someone looking for parts for one of the computers I used to work on. While I have lots of official* parts, this fellow was looking for a third party part. Which I don't have. However, one of my old customers used the same part, so I e-mailed her and asked about the old system. Turns out they still had it, but hadn't powered it up for two years. And then only to retrieve or verify some old data. It was being used for storage** and in the way, so she was more then happy to let me have it if I'd pick it up. And erase the company data.
It was an interesting trip. I was fortunate in that most of my customers were wonderful people. I had a nice time visiting. And we had fun trying to remember the commands to erase the data. Between the two of us we managed to get the job done. It was like the old saying about riding a bike. You never really forget. Although it was a bit un-nerving how hard it was to bring back the old knowledge - stuff that I used for 20 years without a second thought. The last time I used that old system was 15 years ago.
This trip also reinforced something I've already learned. Which most of you may not have run into. Microsoft and computer technology in the last 10 years have made it so that most data is accessible as you upgrade. Not so from the early years. I have lots of stuff done with programs that no longer exist*** on media that's almost no longer available. Same with this customer's data. The backup tapes are only readable with a system by this vendor, and the disks only with the programs that ran on this computer. Not that it would be impossible to retrieve the data, but the expense would be unrealistic for anything short of saving the planet from destruction.
The moral of this story. Be aware that the data you have now, especially the critical data, gets moved to newer devices and storage media. Data includes not only the obvious (checkbook, schoolwork, letters to friends, etc) but also the not obvious (digital photos and movies, songs, etc). Just as very few have a turntable any longer, soon you memory card, CD, or even DVD will become obsolete. I have a lot of data on 5.25" floppies. Even the 3.5" floppies that most people are familiar with are getting scarce. It is now near impossible to buy a CD drive that is read only - the read/write drives are so inexpensive. And DVD's will soon replace CD completely.
My critical data has long since been moved from my 5.25" floppies and 800 meg Travan tapes to CDs. The 'sentimental' data is still on 5.25" floppies. When I get time, I'll move it over also. Probably to DVDs. I do have one advantage over most folks - I do have a lot of old tech that's operational and know how to use it. So my time frame for moving the data is less restrictive than it might be for some.
guntis.
* Official Parts. Back in the days of the minicomputer, hardware was usually only made by the manufacturer of the computer. And factory service people (like me) would only service 'genuine' equipment. Since there was no competition, prices were on the high side. OTOH, equipment was built to last. The system I picked up was over 20 years old and ran with no problems. Eventually, as more and more 'third party' manufacturers started making compatible boards, the factory service was forced to service those also. Contrast that to the PC, where the open standards allow many manufacturers to make parts for the PC. And keep the price low. In fact, prices from computers have been decreasing over the years.
** Storage. Their new computer, being PC based, was sitting on top of the old hardware. The old drives had a cabinet with storage underneath, which also was being used. The cabinet originally housed the controller, but the decreasing size of electronics made it possible to house the controller in the computer chassis rather than the drive cabinet. As a bonus, while cleaning out they found some forgotten items (as probably we all would if we really cleaned out our closets and other storage areas at home).
*** Having had computers for many years, I have data from PFS:WRITE, WORD STAR, GEM, and other old programs in formats that current programs can't read. Not only is the data on 5.25" floppies, but the format of the data was specific to the program that wrote it. Microsoft, despite many shortcomings, has made it so that the newest program will read data created by earlier versions. Note that with the soon to be released VISTA version of windows backwards compatibility will not go as far back. And DOS support will be near non-existent.
I was contacted by someone looking for parts for one of the computers I used to work on. While I have lots of official* parts, this fellow was looking for a third party part. Which I don't have. However, one of my old customers used the same part, so I e-mailed her and asked about the old system. Turns out they still had it, but hadn't powered it up for two years. And then only to retrieve or verify some old data. It was being used for storage** and in the way, so she was more then happy to let me have it if I'd pick it up. And erase the company data.
It was an interesting trip. I was fortunate in that most of my customers were wonderful people. I had a nice time visiting. And we had fun trying to remember the commands to erase the data. Between the two of us we managed to get the job done. It was like the old saying about riding a bike. You never really forget. Although it was a bit un-nerving how hard it was to bring back the old knowledge - stuff that I used for 20 years without a second thought. The last time I used that old system was 15 years ago.
This trip also reinforced something I've already learned. Which most of you may not have run into. Microsoft and computer technology in the last 10 years have made it so that most data is accessible as you upgrade. Not so from the early years. I have lots of stuff done with programs that no longer exist*** on media that's almost no longer available. Same with this customer's data. The backup tapes are only readable with a system by this vendor, and the disks only with the programs that ran on this computer. Not that it would be impossible to retrieve the data, but the expense would be unrealistic for anything short of saving the planet from destruction.
The moral of this story. Be aware that the data you have now, especially the critical data, gets moved to newer devices and storage media. Data includes not only the obvious (checkbook, schoolwork, letters to friends, etc) but also the not obvious (digital photos and movies, songs, etc). Just as very few have a turntable any longer, soon you memory card, CD, or even DVD will become obsolete. I have a lot of data on 5.25" floppies. Even the 3.5" floppies that most people are familiar with are getting scarce. It is now near impossible to buy a CD drive that is read only - the read/write drives are so inexpensive. And DVD's will soon replace CD completely.
My critical data has long since been moved from my 5.25" floppies and 800 meg Travan tapes to CDs. The 'sentimental' data is still on 5.25" floppies. When I get time, I'll move it over also. Probably to DVDs. I do have one advantage over most folks - I do have a lot of old tech that's operational and know how to use it. So my time frame for moving the data is less restrictive than it might be for some.
guntis.
* Official Parts. Back in the days of the minicomputer, hardware was usually only made by the manufacturer of the computer. And factory service people (like me) would only service 'genuine' equipment. Since there was no competition, prices were on the high side. OTOH, equipment was built to last. The system I picked up was over 20 years old and ran with no problems. Eventually, as more and more 'third party' manufacturers started making compatible boards, the factory service was forced to service those also. Contrast that to the PC, where the open standards allow many manufacturers to make parts for the PC. And keep the price low. In fact, prices from computers have been decreasing over the years.
** Storage. Their new computer, being PC based, was sitting on top of the old hardware. The old drives had a cabinet with storage underneath, which also was being used. The cabinet originally housed the controller, but the decreasing size of electronics made it possible to house the controller in the computer chassis rather than the drive cabinet. As a bonus, while cleaning out they found some forgotten items (as probably we all would if we really cleaned out our closets and other storage areas at home).
*** Having had computers for many years, I have data from PFS:WRITE, WORD STAR, GEM, and other old programs in formats that current programs can't read. Not only is the data on 5.25" floppies, but the format of the data was specific to the program that wrote it. Microsoft, despite many shortcomings, has made it so that the newest program will read data created by earlier versions. Note that with the soon to be released VISTA version of windows backwards compatibility will not go as far back. And DOS support will be near non-existent.