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# QIC 40/80 Tape Backups Use a QIC-117 Driver in Windows NT

Article ID: 103935

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

APPLIES TO

- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1

This article was previously published under Q103935

## SUMMARY

Windows NT supports the use of the QIC-40/QIC-80 tape backup drives. However, the driver they use is named QIC-117.SYS; there are no files named QIC-40.SYS or QIC-80.SYS.
According to the QIC documentation, QIC-40 and QIC-80 are two types of "Flexible-Disk-Controller-Compatible Recording Format for Information Interchange." The specifications are as follows:

20 tracks, 10,000 bpi, MFM Encoded (QIC-40)
28 tracks, 14,700 bpi, MFM Encoded (QIC-80)

QIC-117 is described as a "Common Command Set Interface Specification for Flexible Disk Controller Based Minicartridge Tape Drives."
Therefore, QIC-40/80 is the name of a physical format standard and QIC-117 is the name of the command set used on QIC-40/80 drives, which is why the driver is named QIC-117.SYS in Windows NT. In other words, QIC-117 is the interface used to communicate with the drive while QIC-40/80 is the physical format used on the tape. Windows NT Backup uses Microsoft Tape Format (MTF) as its native format. MTF is not read or write compatible with QIC-40/80. Thus you cannot exchange tapes between Windows NT Backup, which uses MTF, and Colorado Memory Systems' Backup software, which uses QIC-40/80.
The QIC products included here are manufactured by a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

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