Magnetic tape user guide

This User Guide provides a general introduction to the structure, use, and handling of magnetic tapes at Langley Research Center (LaRC). The topics covered are tape terminology, physical characteristics, error prevention and detection, and creating, using, and maintaining tapes. Supplementary documentation is referenced where it might be helpful. The documentation is included for the tape utility programs, BLOCK, UNBLOCK, and TAPEDMP, which are available at the Central Scientific Computing Complex at LaRC.